Nina Gunasingham I grew up in London and moved to Singapore in 1998, when I got married. My husband and I joined the Hollandse Club when our eldest son (now 11 years old) was 10 months old. Shortly after that, there was a call for new Kids’ Committee members, and I signed up as a volunteer. I first discovered the library when it was tucked away where the Chill Out room is now, and rediscovered it a few years later when it had moved back downstairs to its present location, by which time I had my second baby in tow. I also discovered that the library needed volunteers to stay open, and since I was spending so much time at the Club anyway, waiting for my older boy to finish various activities, I thought I might as well spend some of that time in airconditioned comfort, surrounded by books. Now that my six-year-old, like his brother, also has classes at the Club, volunteering in the library keeps me occupied while I wait for them to finish, and they also pop in occasionally with their friends to read, or even ‘help’ out.
Angela Bowskill We have had a family membership since 2005 when we returned to Singapore from Hong Kong, and the Club has featured throughout my children’s lives as they have grown up over the years. After a few years of being a member, I personally wanted to give something back to the Club and so I joined the Library Team as a volunteer. I have always loved reading, ever since a mobile library visited our farming community once a fortnight when I was a child in a rural part of Northern England, to being taken to the local community library by my grandmother at the nearest market town, and to reading daily, which I view as my ‘treat’ at the end of every day and which I still do to this day. I hope that the library at the Hollandse Club will continue to attract new volunteers, which will help it to have longer opening hours.
Ellen Goense Hi, my name is Ellen, born and raised in the Netherlands. I have been living abroad for twenty years. We have four children, and the youngest is living with us in Singapore. The other three live and study in the Netherlands. This summer, we will be moving back to the Netherlands. My hobbies are outdoor-sports like road cycling, mountain biking, swimming, running, gardening and reading. We have been members of the Hollandse Club for the last two years, where I have enjoyed doing social work for the library.
Annabel Klaassens Eight years ago, I moved to Singapore because of my father’s job, and my family joined the Hollandse Club soon after. We come to the Club very often for many different reasons, such as swimming lessons, eating and for the library. After I turned 14, I thought that I would like to volunteer to work at the library, as I always love reading and the atmosphere of the library. I like working at the library as it is not too busy and I can do my homework there when I am done with all my tasks. Also, I can read there peacefully if there is no one that I can help at the time. This is why I enjoy working at the library and why I joined in the first place.
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