Starting community service at age 9 at a Pongal event, Aadya Komaravalli has since immersed herself in a variety of activities.
By engaging in activities ranging from teaching traditional Indian games to the wider community, delivering bento boxes to the needy, raising funds for the Red Cross, and serving as an emcee at large community events, Aadya has honed multiple skills.
The now 12-year-old Marymount Primary School student was a proud recipient of the Singapore Silent Heroes Student Award this year, along with 194 other awardees, at a ceremony on May 23.
Aadya, who is a prefect and chairperson of the Orators’ Club, also delivered a speech about her experiences alongside four other students.
“Community service does not require a superpower, a cape, or a mask but simply a smile, helping hands, and a heart,” she said on the auditorium stage at the former Spring Singapore building.
Launched in 2023 by the Civilians Association Singapore, the awards showcase students engaged in various socially beneficial activities, including standing up to bullying at school and helping the elderly and the disabled.
Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau, who graced the occasion, had asked the Silent Heroes award team to focus especially on identifying students who stand up against bullying.
“The only enduring way to stand up against bullying and to spread a lot more kindness is to have more of our students being brave enough, standing up for their friends who are bullied, and telling their own classmates to stop doing this (bullying),” she said.
Congratulating the award winners, she urged students not to get sucked into the cycle of unkindness, even amid pressure to “be less and less kind”.
“There will be pressures on you to work faster, to think of yourself more, to focus on your academic grades, to strive, to compete, and often, you may not even notice how you are changing. But I hope when you have a chance, you think about what you are receiving your award for today, and think about how you felt when someone said that you are a Singapore Silent Hero,” Ms Lau noted.
Another awardee, Evyav Arunkumar from Edgefield Primary School, told tabla! about his decision to befriend someone with special needs.
“My (special needs) classmate had an outburst in class, turning over tables and throwing books, which forced the rest of the class to step outside,” the primary six student said.
Despite the incident, Evyav “simply decided” to become his friend.
“I walked up and asked him, stating there was no grand reason, other than I just wanted to make friends,” he said.
Spending time with the student at every recess, Evyav also accompanies him to the school’s special-needs room to help him calm down when he gets angry.
Expressing his appreciation for being awarded, Evyav has these words for his peers: “Don’t judge a book by its cover, and the power of friendship. Teamwork will make the challenges easier.”
Thanking stakeholders for their support, Silent Heroes Awards founder M.P. Sellvem said, “In a world of aggression, compassion isn’t ‘nice to have’. It’s the operating system for a future that doesn’t tear itself apart.”
He added that out of the 194 student awardees, five will be selected to become Silent Heroes Apex Student Winners, who will be presented with awards together with the main Silent Heroes Award winners on Sept 19 at the Shangri-La Hotel.
