As APLYC8 comes closer to its end, after many presentations, sharing by fellow Lasallians, and a Journey to the one-room flats of Toa Payoh, delegates were asked yesterday to spend time thinking about the future.

"Nahut"

After a hearty breakfast of macaroni, the delegates made their way to the hall of St. Patrick’s School. What they saw made them mildly curious. There was a group of people, a mix of members of the organising team and delegates, huddled together in the centre of the presentation space. The delegates gathered around as instructed, wondering what was next. The setup was part of a skit entitled ‘Nahut’, the Malay word for ‘god’ spelt in reverse. It began with a narration by congress facilitator Doreen Da Costa about a society that lived harmoniously, but whose members eventually grew suspicious of each other because “some had different colours, and some looked rather odd.” They split into four groups, represented by the materials plastic, glass, metal, and diamonds, which in turn were treated as symbols of attitudes towards the poor. ‘Plastic’ people, for example, being “flexible” and “elastic”, are indecisive and noncommittal about helping the poor.

Sharing their personal reflections about the skit, delegates spoke about how the skit depicted the marginalisation of the poor, the materialism of society, and the difficulty of defying social norms to make a difference. Another facilitator, Eric Amaladas, continued the rest of the session. He spoke about the risk we take by making different choices from the rest of society, and the danger of being unable to sustain our passion because it is easier to fall back into routine. Using a game, he illustrated the need for single-minded focus in order to achieve our goals. The session ended with the choice being placed in our hands. As Eric put it, we have the “freedom of choice” as to how we response to any stimulus. Whether we make a difference ultimately depends on the decisions we make.