SINGAPORE - Pathlight School students have designed special, limited edition tote bags that will be given out at events on Saturday (Aug 5) and Sunday (Aug 6) to mark 50 years of national service (NS50).
Each bag will feature on one side an image related to national service life - such as soldiers in uniform - all drawn by students from Pathlight School.
On the other side of the bag, there will be a special design unique to the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force. For the army, navy and air force, the bags will replicate the design of each of their camouflage uniforms.
Pathlight principal Linda Kho said: "With their unique perspectives of the world around them and meticulous attention to detail, our students have demonstrated that they too can make valuable contributions to the nation."
Participants who completed a set of activities at the Get Active and Celebrate NS50 Sports Festival in Toa Payoh Hub, and the Families for Life "Celebrating NS50" picnic at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) on Saturday were given the bags.
The bags will be given out again on Sunday, the second day of the Sports Festival, at the same venue.
Businessman Lee Yee Theng, 32, received a Republic of Singapore Air Force tote bag at the SDC event. He was there with his parents and four-year-old daughter. He said: "It's a meaningful thing to receive, especially since I served in the air force. It's a pity that we can't collect them all."
Housewife Joy Aw, 40, was also at SDC with her eight-year-old son and 46-year-old husband, who also got an air force bag. Said Ms Aw: "I think it's a very unique design."
More than 700 families took part in the SDC picnic.
Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Osman, who was at the event, said: "NS is very important for national defence, and it is the responsibility of all Singaporeans to ensure that we protect our nation, our families, our loved ones.
"Our boys, our men, have been involved in national service for the last 50 years, and not just them, but also their family members, their employers, and every sector in Singapore has shown support for national service."
The NS-themed picnic was an initiative by the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (Accord) to mark NS50, and was jointly organised by the Families for Life Council and SDC.
