In celebration of Social Work Day, Trybe interviewed one of our colleagues, Brandon Lim. We got to know what motivates and heartens him as a youth work practitioner.
Brandon started as an intern in Trybe after graduating from polytechnic. His pleasant experience working as an intern in Trybe has led him to return as a full-timer after his National Service. He was first motivated to join the social service sector because of his belief that everyone is inherently good. He explained that at-risk behaviors displayed by youth probationers are only due to their unfortunate circumstances. Hence, such behaviors were carried out in protection of themselves. Brandon’s empathy towards disadvantaged youths spurred him to contribute to the social service sector to fight the stigma that surrounds youth probationers to this day.
As a youth worker, Brandon has taught the youths to form positive bonds despite the inevitable conflicts arising from living in the same space. Thus, he felt that one of the knowledge he passed on to the boys is the ability to live together as a community.
At the same time, Brandon also learnt a lot while working with the residents. One of the greatest lessons he imparted from the youths was the importance of empathy. Brandon explained that it came as a timely reminder when one of the youths questioned if he truly understood what they had been through. This incident made him introspect and acknowledge that everyone experiences different hardships, and he could never fully understand all of them.
Through his encounters with the youths, Brandon views his role not as a problem solver, but as a facilitator for the youths. He believes that he should act as a guide for the youths to work towards an appropriate solution. However, he emphasizes that all solutions should ultimately be derived by the youths.
All in all, Brandon is optimistic about the future of the youths, he encourages existing and aspiring youth workers to be open-minded in this field of work. A message he wants to convey to aspiring youth workers is to “just go for it, a wonderful life awaits you”. Lastly, to all youth practitioners, Brandon encourages all to keep up the good work!