‘It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.’ - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

From March 25 to April 25, 2018 CHUM hosts the “The Grateful Things' Exhibition (*) at Cerporer. This exhibition is the culmination of memories made at CHUM throughout the last 3 years; it shows the little things that our Big and LIttle Chums hold dear. We showcase and preserve these things here so that all can have a retrospective look, seeing what we have shared and are sharing between one another, so that we can appreciate one another all the more.

Attending the exhibition, I was deeply touched, by the endearing words that CHUM's mentors and mentees exchanged, and by the happy photos of their being together.

At the same time, during the launch of this exhibition, we have the opportunity to write down things which we treasure, framing the words to make a big word — CHUM. We also get to watch an adorable play, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Golden Fish performed by our Blue Ocean team. Then, we listen to our girls sing the song ‘It's so great to be a girl'.

Most specially, we play ‘Gratitude Circle'. Yarn balls are thrown around, and their recipients would get to hear words of gratitude from the throwers. The threads intertwine, leaving no one out and threading everyone into a network of gratitude and love. Though the words of thankyous stem from mundane, little instances of kindness in life, they help us realise that expressing such words will nurture our relationships, bringing us closer together as well as reminding us to be ever more considerate towards one another. (*)

(*) This exhibition showcases a collection of things little chums produced from the journal-writing activity and the “Appreciation"’ campaign; both aim at developing the habit of retrospection, encouraging the little Chums to reflect on the relationships they have with their mentors and others, as well as on the events in their lives. Through retrospection, we can come to a deeper understanding of our thoughts and feelings, which subsequently allows us to respond to the things that we are blessed with in the best way.

More photos of the exhibition can be found here https://www.facebook.com/pg/CHUM.Bandonghanh/photos/?tab=album&album_id=904692786379852