Another Week Beyond – 2346

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Children and youth, Community, community spirit

Dear friends, “After so many years on the job, I continue to be amazed by how neighbours treat each other like siblings,” my colleague commented to the parents who had organised a barbeque to recognise their children’s efforts at a recent street soccer tournament. The team did not win but the parents wanted to applaud the teamwork and sportsmanship displayed. The parents listened as she continued, “There is so much love among the children and every adult is like an aunt or uncle.”  In response, a parent thanked her for trusting them with a budget to get the event going. He …

Another Week Beyond – 2345

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Children and youth

Dear Friends, In the spirit of community-led change, our learning programmes have been moving toward self-organised and self-directed learning. Peer Learning Circles are study groups supported by a circle of volunteers who do not teach but provide academic resources and learning guidance. The initiative is also constantly on the lookout for neighbours who offer the hospitality of their homes for the learning to take place. We envision Peer Learning Circles as an initiative that provides an opportunity for families, neighbours, and others in the locality where the students live, to play a part in encouraging their efforts to learn. Currently, …

Another Week Beyond – 2344

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Volunteers

Dear friends, “What are the most important values to hold in being a local volunteer?” This was a question on a Kahoot quiz put forth to 72 volunteers who also reside in the public rental neighbourhoods we engage.  Last Saturday, these volunteers were attending a Neighbourhood Volunteers Appreciation Event which was also an opportunity for volunteers from different neighbourhoods to collectively reflect on their experiences. Apart from appreciating their efforts, we facilitated activities that encouraged everyone to clarify if they really understood the purpose of our presence in their neighbourhood. The answers to the above question that participants could choose from were: A. …

Another Week Beyond – 2343

Comms Team ABCD, Another Week Beyond, Community

Dear Friends, Of late, we have been requested to speak about our work to different audiences. These past 2 weeks we have shared how Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is practiced in our work on 3 occasions and we have another 2 engagements in the next fortnight. ABCD believes that people have talents and can organise themselves to achieve their aspirations, address their concerns and basically to create a world they want to see. People would also include children and young people. Since August, 18 young people aged from 6 to 14 years old have been meeting regularly with a …

Another Week Beyond – 2342

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

Dear Friends, We welcomed our second batch of Community Fellows with a kick-off meeting where they were introduced to the alumni. 7 residents from 3 different neighborhoods put forth a proposal that they passionately believed was important for the collective wellbeing of their community. They reasoned that their proposals would address needs that if unmet, could lead to more serious problems. 2 proposals sought to engage children who are prone to mischief whenever they gathered in the common areas. The Community Fellows feared that if the children did not receive any attention, they would progress from mischief to petty crimes.  The other …

Another Week Beyond – 2341

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Children and youth, Community

Dear Friends, The Lengkok Bahru September Babies Celebration impressed on 13 children that they were loved by family and friends. A mother baked a 4kg vanilla cake adorned with chocolate sprinkles and youth living in the neighbourhood kept the party going with games, good cheer, and gentle banter. The celebration took place at the rooftop garden of the Leng Kee Community Club and the parents and youth who organised the event were determined to get the next one going after their Member of Parliament assured them that they could continue using the facility for this purpose without charge. Mr Eric …

Another Week Beyond – 2340

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

Dear Friends, Last Saturday, 55 members of Swim Schooling swam their hearts out to raise funds for our Jiak Ba Buay Campaign where every dollar goes toward the purchase of food and household essentials for families in need. Together they covered 3335 Olympic-size pool laps in a swimathon. On the same day, Bank of America (BofA) organised Fairground, a fund-raising carnival in aid of our Community Tabung, a savings programme to meet children’s developmental needs. The event was greeted with much joy and gratitude because this annual event was shelved by the pandemic after its last iteration in 2019 and it was the first community engagement initiative …

Another Week Beyond – 2339

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Employment

Dear Friends, Marlina, who has been living in a public rental neighbourhood for more than 12 years has recently joined us as a colleague responsible for coordinating programmes where she lives. She told me that securing a full-time job with employment benefits was not something she thought was possible after being a full-time caregiver for many years. Blessed with an outgoing personality, she succeeded in securing contract work, but she revealed that the job seeking process has always shaken her self-confidence.  “I completely understand when other mothers in the neighbourhood are unable to secure work. Interviews can really be intimidating,” …

Another Week Beyond – 2337

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, digital access, digital literacy, digital literacy

Dear Friends, Last year, our Board set out to explore how technology may empower our efforts for better programme outcomes. As such, with the support of the Info-Tech Board Committee, we introduced technology to those who have not been able to reap the benefits of a digitalised lifestyle. 5 mothers who were not digitally savvy learnt to set up a store on Shopee without capital and leveraged artificial intelligence to identify saleable products.  After the initial training, 2 mothers managed to operate their online store for about 6 months, and another is still operating today. Operating an online store had its challenges but we …

Another Week Beyond – 2336

Comms Team Another Week Beyond

Dear Friends, Sue, 56 years old moved into a new neighbourhood 7 months ago and about a month later, she sent a message to our Facebook page requesting educational support for her 13-year-old granddaughter for whom she has legal guardianship. She asked for a colleague who had spoken to her when she was living elsewhere, and we updated her that this colleague was no longer with the organisation. Nonetheless, we said that we are very happy to have reconnected and looked forward to continuing the friendship. Today, Sue appears to have settled in her new neighbourhood and we are in discussion …