As part of Sparkletots “Start Small, Dream Big” project, the Singapore National Paralympic Council was nominated as the beneficiary for the President’s Challenge 2019. Held in PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Tampines East Blk 261, the objective of this project was to raise the children’s awareness of people with special needs and create understanding, acceptance and respect for these individuals through a series of challenges. The project was divided into 3 segments: Awareness Education, Quilt Wall of Love and the ParaSports Challenge @ 261. 

The first part of the project was awareness education, where Kalai Vanen, one of our powerlifters, visited the pre-school to share about his condition and journey as a para- athlete. Through this sharing, Kalai hopes that the children will learn to be more empathetic to people with special needs or disabilities. 

After the awareness education came the quilt wall of love, where the pre-schoolers wrote notes of encouragement to the para-athletes and displayed them on a wall for all to see. They also helped to raise funds for the para-athletes by collecting donations through pledge cards.

The grand finale of the project was the Para Sports Challenge, where children and families came together to participate in a series of challenges ranging from the tennis ball, sitting volleyball,  “we can transfer” and the cheerleading challenge. Both powerlifters, Kalai Vanen and Nur ‘Aini, also made the effort to be present at the event to engage with the children and families. 

With the help and support from the children and families, Sparkletots managed to raise an astounding total of $10,188.70 from the entire project which was channeled to the President’s Challenge.