LUMEN Issue 12 - December 2016 | Page 17

My hope for PRISM is that it becomes the starting point of significance , that it embodies what it was created to do , to inspire others and to make a difference .
PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
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Jared Sim ( JC 106 ), Vanessa Ku ( JC 103 ), Jessilyn Liew and Cai Lize ( JC 103 ) from Team Agape received the YFC 2016 Merit Award for displaying commendable effort throughout the entire process . Team leader Jessilyn commented , “ Looking back at what we have achieved and the problems we had to overcome , all our efforts were worthwhile .” The team had the help of two unofficial members : Oo Guo Xuan ( JC 103 ) and Thomas Kent Bean ( JC 103 ) who were instrumental in supporting them throughout their journey .
Through YFC , students have matured into a group of passionate , innovative , and responsible young entrepreneurs who are better prepared to tackle new challenges , contribute to the community by supporting the less fortunate in society .
Raffles Business Symposium Another three teams from PRISM joined Raffles Business Symposium 2016 , an inter-school competition hosted by Raffles Institution to promote entrepreneurship in Singapore ’ s future leading generation . Each team had to pitch a comprehensive business strategy that would enable their business to be successful in a world of conglomerates . Eventually , Metamorphus emerged third while Velocity reclaimed the honour of being champions .

My hope for PRISM is that it becomes the starting point of significance , that it embodies what it was created to do , to inspire others and to make a difference .

Raphael Chua ( JC 104 ), Sheares Toh ( JC 101 ), Juan Tan ( JC 105 ) and Gabriel Yong ( JC 104 ) from Metamorphus tackled the problem of poor eating habits and lack of fitness in many Singaporeans . They proposed the idea of establishing highly-customizable and subscription-based e-platform Dr . Life , a one-stop service catering to people who wish to adopt a healthier lifestyle . Determined , the team overcame the obstacles faced and won $ 100 .
Velo-city ’ s winning idea of SAM ( Smart Assistive Monitors ) - an innovative and multifunction medical wristband that monitors senior citizens ’ health conditions in Singapore clinched the top prize of $ 500 . Members Yong Zheng Yew ( JC 104 ), Teoh Le Yi ( JC 109 ), Gerard Christopher ( JC 109 ) and Hrishikesh Harish Pai ( JC 104 ) impressed the judges with their smooth delivery and strong value proposition of SAM as the solution to the increasing needs of the rapidly aging population in Singapore . This was the same team that did not succeed when they participated in the Social Innovation Relay . Their perseverance paid off .
Social Innovation Relay Two teams also participated in the Social Innovation Relay 2016 that was jointly organized by Junior Academy Europe and Junior Academy Singapore . The competition focuses on creating unique business solutions to problems plaguing society today . GoBAD emerged third while DITH-fference was ranked among the top 10 .
DITH-fference chose professionals , managers , executives and technicians ( PMETs ) as their target group . Team members : Tristan Lim , Darren Ong , Ira Jain and Lee Seung Hyun all from JC 107 realized that in this increasingly competitive work environment , older PMETs are often retrenched , and unable to regain employment resulting in an immense waste of valuable talent and work experience .
Noah Joel Lopez ( JC 106 ), Do Sy Hoang ( JC 102 ), Vignesh Sankar Iyer ( JC 109 ) and Ethan- Benedict Ng ( JC 110 ) from GoBAD decided to tackle the issue of food waste . The idea birthed from their observation of Josephians undertaking special effort to reduce food waste in the school canteen . They
then developed a business plan to bridge food waste producers to companies that converted the food waste into organic fertilizers for subsequent resale to the agriculture sectors in the Asian markets .
Collaboration with BMDP 2016 also marked PRISM ’ s first collaboration with the BMDP , who was keen on the partnership as they were impressed with the team who participated in the Citi-YFC 2015 Programme that helped to raise awareness of leukaemia and the total number of registered bone marrow donors in Singapore .
Participating in the 11th International Donor Registry Conference ( IDRC ) in Singapore , which was organized by BMDP and attended by delegates from 42 countries , PRISM presented a special item as part of the closing ceremony at Hotel Fort Canning on 10 June . Nearly all the PRISM members were involved in this huge event and use lighted balloons to form the letter , SG , which then transformed into GER . The change represented the passing of the baton to the next host country of the IDRC from Singapore to Germany . Synchronized to the tune of the song ‘ Fight ’, the formation of the balloons symbolized the fight and hope of cancer victims . The item not only garnered a long applause but also high praise from the delegates .
The event took up several days of preparations , which ran right into the June holidays . All members were united in the common goal of doing their part to help the cancer patients . The students learnt to appreciate BMDP ’ s inspiring work and each of BMDP staff and volunteer , as in the lyrics of ‘ Fight ’, is like “ a small boat on the ocean , sending big waves into motion ….[ who ] might only have one match but ... can make an explosion .”
While PRISM has achieved many milestones despite being a relatively young club , this is just the beginning . PRISM wants to challenge its members to look beyond their own needs and wants so as to make a significant difference in society . This aspiration is best summed up by the CEO of PRISM , Cai Lize , “ My hope for PRISM is that it becomes the starting point of significance , that it embodies what it was created to do , to inspire others and to make a difference .”
Facing page : Team Mer-C and volunteer helpers selling panda soft toys at the Ground Zero Run
This page ( top ): RBS teams : Velo-city and Team Metamorphus after the final round of the competition . Standing ( from left to right ): Raphael , Sheares Toh , Gabriel , Juan . Seated ( from left to right ): Zheng Yew , Le Yi , Hrishikesh .
This page ( bottom ): Forming SG during one of the last rehearsals for the IDRC