SINGAPORE — Over three days, 20 youths took part in a camp that sought to highlight the plight of the less fortunate.

They did field cooking and ate instant noodles. Every night, they pitched tents at Pasir Ris Park, and come morning, they had to take down the tents as organisers wanted them to experience the “uncertainty” of not having a secure roof over their heads.

The camp-goers also participated in activities where they were blindfolded or could only use certain parts of their body so as to experience what it could be like to be blind or handicapped.

The camp, held last August, was part of an ongoing movement called L.O.V.E., which stands for Living On the Very Edge.

Initiated by 11 youths across various tertiary institutions, it seeks to raise awareness and funds for the less fortunate in Singapore. Besides organising the camp, the group has been selling orange wristbands at S$2 each.

They hope to raise S$120,000 by the end of the year, which will go towards launching volunteer-driven events to benefit the Singapore Red Cross Society and the Family Life Centre.

To date, the group has raised S$36,000 — 30 per cent of its target — through wristband sales at nearly 20 roadshows, as well as bulk purchases from corporations such as supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice, which bought 7,500 wristbands.

Said L.O.V.E. chairperson Kelly Cheng: “We discovered that it was rather difficult to bring the movement into public areas due to restrictions and rules that mall management may have — not all we approached were receptive to having our booth there.”

“But it helped that we had the support of NTUC Club and the unions, which gave us spaces to sell the wristbands after we wrote in to them personally to share about the movement,” added the 21-year-old National University of Singapore student.

L.O.V.E. will plan more roadshows this year and focus on securing bulk purchases from companies.

After hitting the S$120,000 target, the group will move into its second phase. This will include getting youth to “go beyond donating money” to organise events for the two beneficiaries, said Ms Cheng.

In recognition of their efforts, Ms Cheng and her team were awarded the Initiative of Extraordinaire at the Spirit of Youth Awards presented by nEbO, NTUC’s junior membership arm, on April 13.

Ms Cheng, a member of nEbO, also received nEbO’s EXCEL individual award. She has been organising community service projects for the less fortunate over the last few years.

“I’m grateful to nEbO for giving us this opportunity to plan events and recognising our efforts. These are things we won’t experience in school and I’m glad that, through nEbO, like-minded individuals can band together and achieve something for society,” she said, adding that organising the movement has taught her to appreciate and be thankful for what she has.

Mr Lim Eng Lee, NTUC Alignment Director (nEbO), said: “(The group’s) passion and dedication to do more for the less fortunate have motivated other youth members … Through the Spirit of Youth Awards, we want to recognise the contributions of our youth and their efforts in serving the community, so they will be motivated to do even more.”