Dear Friends, Together with some neighbours, Marlina leads a community health initiative in their neighbourhood called Healthy You & Me. They are constantly reaching out to their neighbours with information on affordable healthcare services and inviting them to activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. In their conversations, they also convey that good health is not attained at clinics or hospitals but comes about from what one does to stay healthy. In the process, they hear for themselves what really matters to people. 2 months ago, Marlina told us that she had 2 ideas that would be helpful for her neighbours. One was …
Another Week Beyond – 2315
Dear friends, After a performance at the Esplanade in 2019 to mark our 50th Anniversary, our community theatre took a short break that turned into a rather long one because of COVID-19. Hence, we were thrilled when a young person from the programme took the lead last August to revive it with new members and some volunteers skilled in theatre craft. The group is aiming to launch its first forum theatre performance by the end of May even though they don’t have a name for the show yet. Inspired by the efforts of young people addressing the issue of sexual violence at …
Another Week Beyond – 2314
Dear friends, “What was one thing that you were stressed about this week?” The young people present responded to the question thoughtfully. They were then instructed to pen down how they felt immediately after the stressful incident and how they felt a day later. This was a simple exercise in developing self-awareness because when we document an experience, we are listening carefully to ourselves. Over time, we become more familiar and comfortable with our emotions, which puts us in a better place to prevent them from upsetting our well-being. However, not all of us can find the words to say …
Another Week Beyond – 2313
Dear friends, We have 4 mutual support groups we call Family Circles comprising 28 caregivers who attend regularly. Meetings are held at least once a month in the language that members are most comfortable with and so there are Chinese and Malay speaking circles. During meetings, members submit to us a self-report of their household income, expenses, savings, and debt. After a year, the collective data across all 4 circles revealed a 34% increase in the median income and 25% in the mean income. There was also a 100% increase in median savings and 82% in mean savings. Where debt …
Another Week Beyond – 2311
Dear friends, For the past 10 years, we have been enabling women who are unable to take on full-time employment for various reasons to acquire a livelihood. Sew Can We and Bakers Beyond have been 2 such programmes where participants got to “learn and earn.” The sewing and baking jobs were not enough for the women to sustain their households, but the earnings enabled them to meet increased household expenses during festive periods. This was important as the means to celebrate festivals provided their families with a sense of normalcy. Besides generating income, our goal is for the women to learn …
Another Week Beyond – 2310
Dear friends, 6 months ago, a father who was well-regarded in his neighbourhood as a friendly and caring person contacted us. He was distraught that his children aged 15, 13 and 10 would be placed in care if he could not convince the authorities that he was able to manage his household. His home was in a mess and deemed unhygienic. As a single parent and a wheelchair user, cleaning up the home was a challenge even with the help of his children. When we learnt of his situation, we set out to organise a clean-up, but the children were …
Another Week Beyond – 2309
Dear friends, Lunch, bingo, a sing-along, and a lucky draw would be a common Sunday afternoon at a social and recreational club. Thanks to The Lodge of St George No 1152 E.C and the Beach Road Residents’ Committee, the experience was recreated at a common area in their neighbourhood for 60 older persons who live there. This neighbourhood has a significant population of older residents and there is a senior activity centre ensuring that those in need of medical help or care receive the appropriate services. This centre also arranges for meals and social activities for those in reasonable health …
Another Week Beyond – 2304
Dear friends, Hope you had many joyful moments with family and friends this Lunar New Year season. During a family circle discussion this week, we were reminded that family is also a commitment to care and friends are an important source of support. After sharing how they spent their holidays, and exchanging festive greetings, Zoe shared that her husband had been in hospital for some weeks now and she had been caring for her children on a reduced family income. It was clearly a very difficult situation, but Zoe communicated her challenge in a matter-of-fact way. It appeared that to fulfil her …
Another Week Beyond – 2302
Dear friends, “I was so worried when I could not reach her. Her phone battery was dead and so I went downstairs to see if I could find her. I was so relieved when I met her and learnt that she had been knocking on the doors of her neighbors and getting them to leave their homes,” recounted Hafizah who was trying to contact a friend when she noticed the fire from her home in the opposite block. The fire in the neighbourhood that happened a month ago on 8 December was still fresh on the minds of everyone when …
Another Week Beyond – 2246
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 …