Bridging Books and the Big, Wide World

Mr Eugene Tan hopes to develop a broader worldview in children through thought-provoking questioning after reading stories.

“How can I contribute to society?”

This simple thought drove Eugene Tan to respond to a CDAC volunteer recruitment ad and sparked the start of his volunteerism journey in 2017.

When Eugene first started helping with CDAC’s kidsREAD programme, which aims to cultivate good reading habits in children aged five to eight, he had much to learn.

“Most of the kidsREAD participants are preschoolers who need more attention and tend to express their emotions more openly,” explains Eugene. “Having no prior teaching experience then, I had to learn how to engage the participants by observing and emulating more seasoned volunteers.”

Two years into volunteering, Eugene and a few fellow volunteers started the Joy Read Club in 2019 to extend the reading programme to older children in primary 3 and 4. Like kidsREAD, the Joy Read Club hopes to foster a love for reading, with an added element of helping the mid-primary level participants develop critical thinking skills.

Eugene’s approach to Joy Read Club goes beyond reading books. He takes the participants on exploratory neighbourhood bus rides, sparks curiosity with simple science experiments, and even gets them cooking with easy recipes. These hands-on activities allow participants to bridge the gap between the stories they read and what they observe in the real world.

The 33-year-old also initiates discussions that encourage young minds to think past the “moral of the story.” For example, after reading a story involving a tattooed character, Eugene asked his young participants, “Does having tattoos make someone bad?” These thought-provoking questions challenge the children to see beyond first impressions, inspiring them to develop a broader worldview.

For Eugene, a full-time Chinese teacher at an international school, volunteering is not just a side activity. It’s a way for him to apply his teaching skills in a familiar environment while expressing himself creatively and freely when reading to the young beneficiaries. Eugene’s dedication to helping develop young readers stayed firm even during the COVID-19 pandemic when reading sessions had to be conducted online. For his steadfast contributions to CDAC and our young beneficiaries, Eugene was presented with the Volunteer Commendation Award and 5-year Long Service Award in 2023.

This year, Eugene welcomed his own child, necessitating a temporary pause in his reading sessions. However, when asked if he plans to step down as a volunteer for good, Eugene’s answer is heartwarmingly clear:

“As long as the children continue to benefit, I have no reason to leave.”