A portrait of a clean-shaven man in a striped shirt. He is sitting in a relaxed manner and is looking at the camera. In white text, are the words: A portrait of statelessness. "I was waiting to be called up for NS, but I never got that call."

Kevin: A Portrait of Statelessness, Part 2

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

“So I started my first job as a barista
started working while waiting for National Service. One by one my friends were called up. I was like ok, just wait lah. I was then discharged from the welfare home, so I continued working, which is also how I met my wife. I was waiting to be called up for NS, but I never got that call. Looking back I should have called NS to find out why I didn’t get called up. That was my mistake that I didn’t call them up,” Kevin disclosed. “I really didn’t understand why, cos’ you …

Kevin: A Portrait of Statelessness, Part 1

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

Born and raised in Singapore, Kevin, 27, always felt a strong sense of belonging to this country. “To me, Singapore is really my home, I’ve lived here all my life, I feel proud like a Singaporean”.  It was only natural for him to feel that way, after all, Kevin grew up in the heartlands and like many other Singaporeans, sang the National anthem ‘Majulah Singapura’ in school. But despite having spent every minute of his entire life in Singapore, Kevin is stateless.  Growing up for him was not easy, as both his parents were in and out of prison, from …

Another Week Beyond – 2249

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Family circles

Dear friends, 4 youths were waiting for another to show before starting a meeting to discuss the notion of financial independence. It was a regular check-in where young people who have progressed in their studies mentor those attempting to qualify for tertiary education. However, the meeting started with disturbing information as the person everyone was waiting for, stormed into the room exclaiming that he was feeling very hurt and angry. “I have just returned from my mother’s workplace and her supervisor was not at all understanding or helpful!” He explained that his mother was crying when she called him from work complaining …

Another Week Beyond – 2248

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Women, youth

Dear friends, The youth were surprised when a mother revealed that when she was violated as a child, the adults she confided in did not believe her. It was an experience the other three mothers present resonated with and they added that such was their reality when they were young. After a brief pause, one of the youth responded, “I am feeling rather sad because the trauma you experienced as a child has remained with you all these years.” These mothers and youth are neighbours who are working together to keep their neighbourhood safe from sexual and domestic/dating violence (AWB …

Another Week Beyond – 2247

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

Dear friends, 15 years ago, a 3-year-old girl we shall call Nina was a student at our Healthy Start Child Development Centre. Her mother was a foreigner, and she was born before her parents were officially married. We remember her because while she had a Singapore birth certificate, she did not have citizenship.  When her father was incarcerated, Nina moved in with her grandmother and Nina’s mother moved on to start life anew. We also remember that soon after, Nina withdrew from our Centre, and we lost contact. In February 2020, an intern reported that during a visit to a …

Another Week Beyond – 2246

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Family circles

Dear friends, Last month we featured Ela her on our Facebook page. She shared her story with us as she wanted to acknowledge how being a part of Family Circles had benefitted her. When her circle met this week, she appeared rather upbeat, and others present complimented her for coming a long way. They recalled how they were deeply concerned when Ela contemplated having a knife near her for self-defence. While they appreciated Ela’s fears, they were glad that she took their advice not to do so because any chance of a better life would diminish if she ended up …

Another Week Beyond – 2245

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, foreign workers

Dear friends,  Global Handwashing Day took place on 15 October, and it was a day to highlight the value of washing our hands with soap and water to ward off disease. To honour the spirit of the day, Soap Cycling Singapore in collaboration with Purely Fragrances, hosted several complimentary soap making workshops for us this past month. The soap bars produced were then distributed to various social and community organisations. Here with You, a social service for migrant workers was one of them and this week, 2 workers who are recovering from an injury at work joined us in a soap making session. The teens listened carefully as their mother …

Another Week Beyond – 2244

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, volunteer

Dear friends, Weng Lum and Qayyim were seated at a stone table usually used for chess games. They were not having a game of chess but pouring over Qayyim’s school work in preparation for the upcoming year-end examinations. They were also oblivious to a male stranger in his 60s who was observing them while seated at a similar table some distance away. So, they were a little startled when this man came over to speak to them. He asked Weng Lum if she was a volunteer helping Qayyim with his schoolwork. When he confirmed that Weng Lum was not a …

Another Week Beyond – 2243

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, HeadStrong

Dear friends, 2 youth who were unable to reach our meeting venue on time requested for arrangements to join the session online. We were discussing the topic of failure and they felt a need to register their thoughts on what it meant to them and how it made them feel. “Failure is when you are in a bad place and you do not even want to try to push on,” was how one participant put it. We gathered that he meant that failure is the absence of hope, the resignation that one would never taste success any which way. This resonated …

Another Week Beyond – 2242

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, youth

Dear friends, 8 youth from different neighbourhoods responded enthusiastically to an invitation to explore how they could lead or be a part of a social action project that they cared about. They told us that they were inspired by mothers in their respective neighbourhoods who organized community activities, spoke to their neighbours about improving their health and cared for older people. They also fondly recalled activities like “really free markets” where they could pick up preloved clothes, bags, and household items as well as potluck dinners and community events where they were welcomed to have their fill. There was always something …