His bleak childhood was enlivened only by the colourful world of his dexterous doodles, through which Daniel Ng Wing Keet, 17, learnt when he was still studying in a mainstream school.

“I was listening to the lecturer explaining the science concepts and I just started to doodle to help me mind-map,”
says the second-year Molecular Biotechnology (MBIO) student.

Dr Noel Chia, 48, Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education, who diagnosed Daniel with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) when he was four, says, “Since young, Daniel loved doodling. It did not matter what he scribbled because every scribble that he did, there was a story to tell.”

SLI is a developmental language disorder, where a person’s verbal IQ does not match up to his brain IQ.

While most parents would have been devastated by such news, Daniel’s mother, Mrs Janette Ng, 52, looked at it from another perspective. To her,  Daniel was merely taking an alternative route to learning.

“There was no neurological damage. His speech and his developmental oral skills were just delayed,” she says.

Daniel’s awkward social verbal skills made him a target for bullies in school. He withdrew into himself, and the situation deteriorated until his air stewardess mother decided to quit her day job and home-school him in a bid to arrest the problem.

As a result of Mrs Ng’s hard work throughout his 12 years of home schooling, his speech today betrays no hint of its former impairment.

Daniel was also taught from young that he should not feel sorry for himself, as there were others who were worse off
than him.

Family excursions often meant visits to orphanages, and community work quickly became one of his two loves.

The other was science. Daniel liked that it was a practical subject where the “possibilities were limitless”. The twin passions eventually led to his decision to publish a science dictionary.

Daniel, who was “ecstatic” when he first saw his dictionary in its completed form, says, “I wanted a product that people could really use, something more everlasting, and that was when I came up with the idea of starting this science dictionary. It is like killing two birds with one stone.”

The dictionary, titled Dan’s Dynamic Dictionary on Science and published in 2007, is filled with almost 300 doodles, all individually hand-drawn and coloured. A second edition was released in May this year.

It comes as no surprise then, that the soft-spoken boy is well liked by his peers and lecturers.

Dr Wayne Lee Forday, 51, Deputy Director of the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology, was effusive in
his praise.

“He is mature for his age, very focused and ambitious. It is good that he wants to achieve something. He has that talent and he uses that talent for doing good,” he says.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Daniel has plenty more ambitious dreams waiting to be fulfilled.

He says, “I may go into Food Sciences after completing my diploma and serving National Service; that is the one that interests me the most.”

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Whirling in rapture and disbelief after winning bronze at an international dance championship in Las Vegas last August, Joyce and The Boys (JATB) is all set to bedazzle the hip-hop fraternity in the Land of the Rising Sun.

JATB will be taking part in Japan Dance Delight, a renowned international hip-hop dance competition, which will be held in Osaka. The members, who were once with NP’s New Revolving Age (NRA), will compete with elite dance crews from Shanghai, Seoul, Paris and New York at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium in front of a 10,000-strong audience on Aug 21.

This was made possible at the Singapore Dance Delight (SDD) Vol. 1 earlier this year in April, where they beat 18 other strong contenders to a surprising win at the dance competition. SDD is the local version of the Japan Dance Delight.

Says JATB leader Terence Then, 23,  “The competition was really strong and everyone was good enough to be in the top three, so it was really unexpected to win SDD.”

However, win they did - much to their jubilation. That was also not their first taste of success. In August last year, they earned the “Singapore’s Best Dance Crew” title after winning the namesake competition.

Following that, JATB flew to Las Vegas to represent Singapore in the World Hip Hop International Championship, which is widely regarded as the Olympics for hip-hop dancing. There, they defeated former champion Philippine All-Stars en route to a bronze medal.

JATB’s dance choreography is a refreshing combination of various hip-hop styles like popping, locking and house.

Says Muhd Sophan Ng, 23, who graduated with a Diploma in Aerospace Technology in year 2007, “We did not intentionally try to ‘come up’ with a new style. We are just being ourselves and doing what we are good at. The choreography naturally followed suit.”

However, the journey to success for this humble crew of eight did not come easy.

Practice time together in the NRA studio is a challenging feat as they have three members who are currently serving National Service, while the rest have either work or school commitments.

“I am very thankful and lucky to be able to dance after work every day and during  the weekends,” says Glen Ng, 23, a full-time National Serviceman who often has to devote his weekends to practices, especially during competition crunch-times.

“All our hard work has paid off,” says Glen, “because going to Osaka has always been one of my biggest dreams.”

Two of the members may not be able to compete in Japan as they will be enlisted to National Service. Despite that,
the morale of the zesty dance crew remains high.

“Regardless of the number of people eventually going [to] Japan, we will always be eight-people strong [in spirit],”  says Sophan.

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Just two months old, Izzi Restaurant & Bar (not to be confused with Indonesia’s casual dining restaurant chain) is immaculately furbished and serves an eclectic fusion of Western and Italian cuisine, alongside standard fares like pastas, burgers and pizzas.

The Chicken and Mushroom Vol-Au-Vent ($8) is a delightful pairing of shredded chicken thigh and shiitake mushroom, with garlic cream that is fragrant yet subtle. However, while it is slightly too heavy as an appetiser, this will be a perfect main course for light eaters.

Izzi’s signature dish, the Pan-Fried White Cod ($28), comes generously served with an Idaho potato salad (wrapped in cabbage leaves) and julienned vegetables. The fish is seared till lightly charred and drizzled with a sweet-sour sauce, without compromising on the crispness outside or the sweet moistness inside.

The Seafood Pasta ($17) is cooked al dente and comes with plenty of seafood like dory fish, New Zealand green-lipped mussels and prawns. The pasta sauce, however, stole the limelight with its offering of assorted sauces like tomato, cream, and rose.

Disappointingly, desserts were uninspired fare like Crème Brûlée and bread pudding.

The service was impeccable; the staff were prompt and attentive. To them, everyone - including students - is a VIP.
Says manager Michael Ho, “We wish to make Izzi’s something that NP students can look forward to after a long day
in school.”

Izzi’s prices might be a tad too expensive for students, with a four-course meal costing $40. But the food is a spark of brilliance amid the Les Misérables fine dining scene here, and worth every bite.

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From left: Estella Hema, Aaron Leong, Sharon Chee, Shawn Teo, Dylan Heng, Felicia Liew and Rachel Phay cannot wait to welcome visitors to this little red dot they call home.

An online campaign led by seven Film & Media Studies freshmen, who call themselves FADERS2, has met with unexpected success, garnering a phenomenal 15,300 sign-ups within three weeks, making it one of the fastest youth-initiated campaigns in Singapore.

The Facebook campaign, entitled “Welcome the World”, aims to extend Singapore’s warm hospitality to the rest of the world in view of upcoming events that will place the island republic on the global radar of mega milestones - the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), National Day 2010, and the newly launched integrated resorts.

The campaign also includes a competition, which encourages Singaporeans to join them in showing their welcome by uploading creative photos or videos related to the campaign title.

Dylan Heng Kwok, 17, a first-year Mass Communication (MCM) student and member of the FADERS2 concept, says, “We decided on a Facebook campaign as it is used by most youths, and photos and videos are easy to post up. Simplicity is the key to getting people to join the contest.”

“Welcome the World” was actually inspired by a speech made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on May 7 to mark the 99-day countdown to the start of the YOG. PM Lee said, “Be gracious to Singaporeans as well as our guests, welcome the world to Singapore, embrace them with our warmth and our hospitality.”

His message has clearly struck a chord in the hearts of these patriotic youths.

“We want Singaporeans to feel proud of our country, and, hopefully, galvanise youths into contributing towards making our foreign visitors feel at home. By managing this campaign, we also feel more excited about the upcoming events,” says Rachel Phay Si Ying, 17, a first-year MCM student and fellow team member of FADERS2.

Their success caught the attention of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and Ignite Lab, who promptly threw their support behind the team in the form of prize sponsorships and media publicity.

“We like campaigns that involve active youths and find this a great opportunity to create excitement on the ground. Sometimes, youths are enthusiastic, but they do not have the resources, so we provide the funds to motivate them,” says a spokesperson for MCYS.

On their tremendous achievements, Dylan says, “We are ecstatic that it managed to attract so many people. We just hope that it actually does what it was supposed to do, which is to get youths to warmly welcome the world to Singapore.”

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Pedestrians can often be seen crossing the roads of Wuhan with impunity.

Despite having lived in Wuhan for five years, Dr Rumana Jafarey still watches the roads carefully when she crosses them.

The 27-year-old doctor who works at Renmin Hospital in Wuhan University, says, “Some drivers are very forceful and reckless. They do not care and just want to keep going.”

It does not matter that drivers in this capital city of Hubei Province in China are supposed to give way to pedestrians when they are at a pedestrian crossing.

Dr Jafarey adds, “Last year I saw a car accident happen right here in Wuhan University. The roads are supposed to be safe, but it still happened. Both drivers refused to give way and they crashed. One of them died and the other had to amputate his leg.”

Collisions like these are usually caused by drivers who violate traffic rules, such as not stopping when there is a red light at a traffic crossing, or giving way to pedestrians who are crossing the roads.

But it is not just the drivers who do not seem to care much for traffic safety. Pedestrians themselves do not seem to be bothered about it either.

“Pedestrians crossing the roads are also at fault. They believe that the drivers will stop for them, even if they cross when the traffic light is red,” says Mr Xu, 43, a taxi driver with over 18 years of experience.

A recent report by the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China showed that the number of motor vehicles in China had increased by 12.6 per cent to 180 million since 2007.

In Wuhan alone, there are 86 million motor vehicles.

Mr Gandou Christlain Johnson, 19, puts it succinctly when he describes Wuhan as a “jungle”.

“During the rush hour period, you can see the cars coming at you from all directions,” says the African, who is a first-year student at Wuhan University.

One reason for the increase in cars is the relative ease of getting a driving licence and a car.

Says Mr Xu, “You just have to pay a few thousand dollars for a few months’ lessons before taking the driving test to get a driving licence. It is also very cheap to buy a car, which can cost as little as 100,000 yuan ($20,000).”

But it is not all bad news, as the Chinese government has been taking action to rectify the issue.

Since 2004, traffic safety campaigns have been launched to educate children and motorists about pedestrian safety.

This has led to an annual decrease of 27 per cent in terms of road fatalities and casualties, to the current death rate of about 166 deaths per day.

However, despite these preventive measures being taken, Dr Jafarey is not going to take take any chances while crossing the roads in Wuhan.

“Even though the road situation here is not so bad now, I am still going to be cautious. I want to protect my life.”

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Roadside stalls like the one pictured above are a common sight throughout China.

In a narrow sidewalk at Dong Hu Road in Wuhan, a little make-shift fruit stall is propped against a single-windowed wall.

Look into it and you will see the home of Mr Huang Xiaohua and his wife, both 54, which also doubles up as a fruit stall - the rice bowl that covers their daily expenses and rent for their one-room apartment.

This scenario is not unusual among the  many hawkers in China.

In search of a better life, Mr Wang Li, 25, moved from a village in Funan to Wuhan after graduating from high school to run his own food stall.

“I thought it would be better to work here (in Wuhan), but the rent is too expensive. I am putting in too much money and gaining too little back,” says Mr Li, who makes a living out of selling beef noodles in Donghu, one of the spots in Wuhan brimming with roadside stalls.

He is just one in an estimated 130 million migrant workers in China, many of whom are rural folks who moved to developed cities in search for a better life. Numbers are so huge that such statistics are only rough estimates at best.

More often than not, these migrants have no official resident permit card (hukou card). Without it, they have no access to government benefits such as healthcare, medical insurance, education and the rights to work in the city.

Their children are also often unable to secure a place in a local school, and have to enrol in privately owned schools if they want to study. This costs about 300 yuan ($60) for each semester - when education in their home villages is free.

This adds an additional burden to their already strained finances. In most cases, migrants have no choice but to become roadside hawkers to make ends meet.

Setting up a typical roadside stall with two tables would cost about 4,000 yuan ($800). In a good month, it can generate up to 5,000 yuan ($1,000) in profits.

Competition is cutthroat tough, and most are pressured into slashing prices and operating for longer periods of time to gain an edge over their competitors.

Ms Qin Yan, 24, a single mother with a two-year-old child, depends on her roadside stall selling charcoal-grilled food at Guang Ba Road to bring in the dough. Working alone from 7 pm till 4 am, she does everything from setting up the stall to cooking and serving to cleaning up.

“I have a permanent backache from the long hours of standing, but what can I do? I have no choice. I have to support my child,” says Ms Qin, who is not receiving any financial help from the government.

A classic example of roadside hawkers, Ms Qin earns about 3,000 yuan ($600) a month, of which 40 percent goes to the rent for her one-room apartment. The rest is barely enough for the family of two’s daily expenses.

“I am not sure if the government provides subsidies or any other forms of help. Even if they do, I do not know where to get them,” says Ms Qin.

Just as the roadside hawkers do not know who to turn to, the authorities are equally baffled on how to help.

With the increasing influx of people from rural areas to the cities, and the failure of these migrants to register themselves, it is a near impossible task for the authorities to track them down, much less render assistance.

Mr Tu Chao, 30, a policeman, says, “Today, I might offer help to one roadside hawker. But when I turn around, I see five more of such hawkers, all of whom require similar financial aid. The next week, there will be 10 more of them.”

China’s economy may be developing rapidly, but many of its citizens are still struggling to stay alive.  Until changes are made, people like Ms Qin will just have to grit their teeth and get on with their lives.

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If you’re talking about entertainment in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province, then there is only one place to go - Hankou.

Undergraduate Mr Liu Wen Xiang, 24, swears by the allure of Hankou, one of the three boroughs of Wuhan. Highlighting Jiang Han, the most popular shopping area in the district, he beams as he exclaims, “Whatever entertainment it is that you seek, Jiang Han will have it, and then some more.”

Indeed, Jiang Han is anything but typical. A 24-hour entertainment hub with the standard array of shopping centres, goods, and cinema theatres, it also has street stalls and other oddities, such as street games reminiscent of our own Pasar Malam (night market).

In fact, people in Wuhan have always described the Jiang Han district as “that which never sleeps”, even before New York became synonymous with that title.

Although the countless seasons that have passed may have brought about some changes, the very core of the place remains unchanged.

“The things sold might have changed, but the spirit of Jiang Han remains very much alive, ” says Ms Chen Rui, 64, a drinks vendor who has worked in the district for over 15 years.

We walk down Jiang Han’s 12-km long Pedestrian Street (Bu Xing Jie), replete with shopping centres housing international and domestic brands. Here, the resplendent lights, inexhaustible variety of things to do and archaic architecture come together to provide an experience of unparalleled entertainment.

Ms Tanya Adrienne, a French tourist, has nothing but praise for it. “The shops and department stores seem to go on forever! I love how spacious the street is, and the Chinese sculptures add another dimension of cultural sophistication to this place,” she enthuses.

Due to its popularity and rich cultural significance, Jiang Han’s Pedestrian Street has also received the prestigious title of China’s “Golden Flower”, sharing the accolade with Beijing’s Wangfujing, Shanghai’s Nanjing Road, Tianjin’s Heping Road and Harbin’s Central Avenue.

It is 6 pm in the evening and as the skies burst into a fiery riot of crimsons and purples around me, the district’s nightlife slowly stirs to life.

At Jiang Han First Street, apparels, accessories and trinkets trade hands amidst the incessant chatter of hard-won bargains. The great variety and cheap prices make it a shopping paradise for China’s youths who love shopping but have tight budgets.

A few metres away, music mingles with the steam and sizzle from hot woks as musicians, young and old, peddle their artistry to diners at Ji Qing Street.

Madam Pin Ru, a 37-year-old diner, merrily remarks, “Good music aids in better digestion.”

It is now fast approaching 11 pm. The hustle and bustle winds down as street vendors pack up their unsold goods. The shopping centres and stores in Pedestrian Street had long since closed their shutters.

But if you think that that is all there is to Jiang Han, then you are mistaken.

Right beside the Yangtze River is the picturesque Jiang Tan Park. The hypnotic crashing of waves coupled with the pulsating beats of club music in the background create a surreal sensation of Zen, which draws an endless drove of lovers, who seek respite within its verdant grounds. If you tire of the park, an endless line of bars opening into the wee hours await you.

It is easy to lose track of time in Jiang Han. The clock now reads 6 am and the hubbub of laughter, shouting and drunken singing rampant in the air just moments ago fades into a quiet murmur. But while Jiang Tan sleeps, shops in Han Zheng Street stir to life, prepared for a new day of business.

A street vendor wheels his cart out from around the corner of the street, his arrival heralded by the aroma of freshly made fried bean curd skin (Dou Pi). We walk towards breakfast, towards a new day.

“This is why I keep coming back. There will always be something for someone here in Jiang Han, no
matter the time,” sighs Mr Liu Wen Xiang emphatically.

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The NP Fuel Cell testifies to the team spirit and creative initiative of the Engineering Team.

A year of hard work for 13 students paid off when one of their two eco cars came in second at the recent Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia 2010.

Shell’s challenge was for the teams to design, build and drive an energy-saving car that maximises fuel use but limits carbon dioxide emissions. The team of 11 Mechanical Engineering students, one Mobile Business Solutions student and one Marine & Offshore Technology student, boldly took Shell on.

The eco car, “NP Fuel Cell” (NPFC), was entered in the Prototype Fuel Cell (Hydrogen) category of the race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur from Jul 8 to 11.

Running 535.4 km on just a single litre of fuel, the car lost only to the team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, whose car managed to run 598.8 km on one litre of fuel.

“Since the competition is held nearby, we did not want to waste such a golden opportunity. It is a perfect time to make our presence felt,” says Mr Kaya Totong, 51, the lecturer in charge of the project.

The cars cost around $25,000 each, and were partially sponsored by Intermech Machinery, Shimano, Parametric Technology Corporation, Product Development Solutions, Singapore Technologies Kinetics, Wai Seng Hydraulics, and NP Co-op.

“After a whole year of building the cars and spending a large sum of money on them, I am glad that we did not disappoint NP,” says Mr Totong.

For three months leading up to the competition, the students braved the scorching sun to test-drive their cars at the Sports Complex every week.

“Since it is our first time participating in this event, our [team’s] goal was to just complete the race. Winning the race was the icing on the cake, and helped to affirm all our hard work,” says Muhammad Azhar Bin Adnan, 24, a final-year Mechanical Engineering student and fellow driver of the NPFC.

The team received a medal and trophy for their win, as well as US$800 ($1100).

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The smiling faces of these Juyuan students betray no indication of the tragedy that struck them two years ago.

A trip to Sichuan Province in China that is still living in the shadow of a seismic earthquake that measured 8.0 on the Richter scale might sound daunting, but for the 20 students and two staff members from The Christieara Programme (TCP), the learning experience triumphed over any fear.

The team spent two weeks in March teaching English and Physical Education classes at Juyuan Middle School in the small town of Jiyuan.

“The students were amazed at the people; how resilient they were. The message learnt was that life has to go on and we have to pick ourselves up and not look back,” says Mr Jeffrey Yang, Deputy Director of Alumni Relations for SDAR, who was the team’s mentor during the trip.

He notes that the trip bore greater meaning beyond teaching the local children, and that lessons learnt from being in Sichuan were brought home.

Farah Diyanah, 19, a final-year Mass Communication student, gave the example of how being exposed to a different culture opened her eyes to the discrimination and prejudice that some Singaporeans harbour towards foreign workers.

“I realised that some of their bad habits, such as spitting on the floor, was because they were raised that way. We have to accept that it is a different way of life, instead of (summarily) condemning them,” she says.

Sharing her views is Brandon Choo, 18, a second-year Product Design & Innovation student, who adds, “The trip really helps you in your personal character growth. By living there, I have learnt to be more considerate and tolerant of different cultures.”

The cultural exchange was not only experienced by the Singaporean students, but also by Elsa Qiu, 20, one of the five Sichuan nationals currently studying in NP, who led the team around Sichuan.

Says the final-year Electrical Engineering student, “The most important thing in this trip was for meto interact with my Singaporean peers; to get to know and understand Singaporeans better, and to introduce them to my culture.”

Mr Yang, who has been leading teams on cultural exchange trips since 1997, adds, “It is something I truly believe in as it is a life changing experience. In two weeks, you can change your life as well as someone else’s life, so why not?”

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To mark Singapore’s 50th year of self-governance in 2009, 50  local poets compiled their cherished memories of the country in the form of poems, photographs, and illustrations, hence the title, Fifty on 50.

Each poem and picture allows readers to see Singapore through the eyes of the authors. Edwin Thumboo and many renowned writers like Alfian Sa’at contributed to this book.

The poems are written in the official languages of Singapore - English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, which provides readers with a multi-cultural view of olden Singapore.

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