A CALL TO SERVE a reflection by Benjamin Chia
Published: 19 Jan 2023
In my professional life as a full-time creative, photography, filmmaking and teaching take up most of my time. Personally, I was going through a dry season in my life this year and it felt like it was time for me to seek out a deeper meaning and purpose for my work.
Photography and videography are tangible skillsets that can be readily applied to any situation that warrants the need, and hence I found the perfect opportunity to contribute these gifts to a community called ACTS (A Call To Share), of which I came to know about through Jess – the boss of the learning centre I teach part time at. She is an active member and volunteer at ACTS.
ACTS conducts mission trips to Southeast Asian countries that include Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia to deliver aid in the form of education, medical services and fellowship. I went on one such trip to Cambodia in December and got to experience a great deal of love, service, compassion and humility.
As a firm believer in the power of media, it was my chosen field in which I would volunteer and thus I was the designated photographer and videographer throughout the trip. It felt like a privileged position as I was given the opportunity to sit back and record events as they unfolded, often observing the nuances of human behaviour, taking in the emotions of everyone in front of me, and having time to contemplate about the meaning of the work that we do in the villages that we visited.
We would organise fun and games, educational programmes, and medical services for the locals who comprised mainly of children, teenagers and young adults. At times we could enjoy a game of football for recreation.
The highlights of the trip to me were the moments in which I interacted greatly with the Cambodian children, and the religious priests and sisters who were based there to take care of the communities.
I had the chance to interact with a young boy who was interested in my camera gear (a gimbal to be exact) when I was filming some activities. I could see his laser-like focus develop as he grew more and more interested in how to operate this peculiar piece of equipment – which he probably had never seen before. It was such a stark contrast to how fidgety, distracted and mischievous he was a few moments ago. This led me to realise the importance of education, and that if a child’s curiosity could be piqued, he or she could focus his/her energy, potential and drive towards learning a skill that might ultimately allow him/her to survive in the world – especially when these children are already in a disadvantaged position.
Learning and knowledge would be key to getting these children and youth to avoid the dangers of staying on the streets, or to go out and hustle on their own, often ending up in a life of crime, or being taken advantage of. My heart goes out to them and I hope that in the near future we as a community can impart certain skillsets and know-how to allow them to chart their own path in life and create an identity for themselves in today’s world.
I sincerely thank ACTS for giving me this opportunity to volunteer and contribute my creative gifts, for it was in the process of the journey that I was humbled and made aware of how tangible and real our contributions can be.
