Dear Friends We bumped into Farhana, an 11-year-old as she was skateboarding in her neighbourhood. A week ago, a family we knew had introduced her to us incidentally and she nodded nonchalantly as we caught her eye. Farhana is the oldest of 5 siblings and cared for by her grandmother when dad is at work. When we got within speaking distance, we asked her for a minute of her time. We told her that we had a lot of toys and school bags which we thought children in her neighbourhood would appreciate. However, we did not know many families living there …
Another Week Beyond – 2101
Dear Friends Happy New Year! As we are now in Phase 3 and gradually expanding the domains of our work and personal lives, we have much to be grateful for and optimistic about. In the later part of this year, schools will implement home-based learning as a regular part of their routine, and I suppose virtual meetings and working from home will continue at the workplace. Virtual meetings and learning while not always preferred or ideal, have been the gains of the pandemic that we will take advantage of whenever appropriate or desired. Another gain has been the stark demonstration of …
Another Week Beyond – 2047
Dear Friends An 11-year-old girl waited her turn timidly in the safe-distancing queue and when we asked if she was alone, she said. “Yes, mummy does not like these things.” Nonetheless, we ushered her into our premises to receive her food, goodie bag and a note of encouragement acknowledging her efforts at school. Around this time every year, we hold a Celebration of Learning to affirm our young people’s learning efforts. So, from 10 am to 6 pm last Sunday, young people and their families arrived at their assigned time slot and we were so glad that even without the music, a …
Another Week Beyond – 2042
Dear Friends, “They look like they are studying at Hogswarts,” a child commented after meeting students from St Ninian’s R.C. Primary School in Edinburgh Scotland online. It was a hilarious moment but understandable as the fictitious school of wizardry in the Harry Potter stories was in Scotland. 9 young people aged from 8 to 14 years old, are part of “In a New Light,” a 13-session project to sensitise participants to the crisis of climate change. The project designed by Imaginate Scotland brings together artists and young people in Scotland, Bangladesh and Singapore who face barriers accessing the arts. As part …
Another Week Beyond – 2041
Dear Friends A group of children ran up excitedly to a colleague as she was on the way to a home visit. Dressed in similar tee-shirts, they greeted her with a big grin expecting a reaction. “Wow! You guys look so sharp and colourful. What’s up?” she obliged. Immediately the children gushed that they were now a sepak takraw team. Intrigued, she asked them to say more. They told her that they had just begun and pointed out their coaches who were waiting for them some 50 metres away. The coaches waved and my colleague recognised them as youth who …
Another Week Beyond – 2038
Dear Friends, Last week, 7 youth delivered 5 performances at the Substation. “Men with Pens” featured lived experiences they had penned down, and the show was part of Septfest 2020 Fringe which featured immersive experiences to generate conversations around issues faced by various marginalised and displaced groups. In January this year, volunteers Subhas Nair and Yanni Chia began meeting youth living in the Whampoa neighbourhood; listening to their stories and encouraging them to write them down in a notebook. The sessions started with dinner and initially through structured exercises, the youth were guided to identify strong feelings they frequently experienced and to map out the context …
Another Week Beyond – 2036
Dear Friends, It is said that a school is a place with four walls that holds the future within. For Azlinah, a mother of 3, it is also a place where people are always present for her children and her. This week she presented our teachers with a fabric coin pouch as a token of appreciation for Teacher’s Day. Each gift also came with a home-made “thank you” card prepared by her children. As a long-term social visit pass holder, our Healthy Start Child Development Centre has been a familiar and comforting place for her, she tells us. Over the past 3 …
Another Week Beyond – 2028
Dear Friends, Today, Singapore votes. At a virtual Youth Day Celebration last Sunday, we asked our young people what they understood or thought about the elections as they were enjoying a meal prepared and delivered by a family living near them. With COVID-19 looming, we are mindful that wherever possible we provide opportunities for our members to put some money into their pockets. Perhaps, the food was so good that the question was ignored but eventually, one replied that he was a little too young to understand. Others concurred but another who was a little older added that if given a …
Another Week Beyond – 2019
Dear Friends, We continued to enable internet connectivity and have pushed out another 40 computers to students who needed them. Digital inclusion is social inclusion and especially now, when it facilitates the strong social connections that are so important for our wellbeing. Internet connectivity among our members will be uneven for a while more, even as we work at resolving the issue for the near and longer term. As we provide devices to meet immediate needs, we are also working closely with IMDA and MOE to get our members onto government digital inclusion programmes. Some members who had a head start with internet connectivity …
Another Week Beyond – 2018
Dear Friends, With the assistance of Lalamove, an approved courier who provided their services pro-bono, we delivered 41 computers and 7 portable wi-fi dongles this week. In total, we have given out 122 computers and 81 dongles. While school holidays begin today and home-based learning takes a break, our efforts to bridge the digital divide will continue as digital inclusion is very much social inclusion. 2 days ago, in a Channel News Asia feature entitled, Home-based learning blues: Life in a rental flat during the COVID-19 circuit breaker, a mother was quoted “In my heart, it is not cramped. We are thankful to have a roof over …