Another Week Beyond – 1945

November 8, 2019

Dear Friends,

Firstly, thank you for the tremendous support we received for Kumar Connects on Wednesday evening. Watching a full house at the Capitol Theatre laughing and having a good time in support of our work moved us. My team and I went home deeply encouraged and we are very grateful for your generosity and goodwill.

Having recovered from a mild stroke she suffered last year. Rusnah 60 years old, took part in a recent Deepavali baking project. As a caregiver for 4 grandchildren, she feels blessed that she is well enough to fulfill her responsibilities. In 2014, when we began Bakers Beyond, Rusnah was one of the first to join us and soon after, was chosen by her peers to lead the projects that came our way. She was grateful for the opportunity and clear about what it meant. “We are not here to get a hand-out but to use our hands to work things out,” she would remind the others and stress to newcomers.

During the Deepavali holiday, members of the recently concluded baking project held a potluck barbeque lunch to thank each other as well as the volunteers who chipped in for another successful project. It was also an opportunity for their family to see where “mummy will be most of her time when she is not home.” In January this year (AWB – 1902), with the assistance of volunteers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the bakers designed what their ideal training space should look like and it was ready just in time for Deepavali.

Also present at the potluck event, were 2 mothers who are no longer part of our baking programme. Both have moved out of rental housing and run a small food enterprise to support their families. Initially, they were a little reluctant to accept the invitation but when they arrived, they were greeted warmly and assured by the rest that Bakers Beyond only offers a “life-time” membership and regardless, the friendships remain.

At lunch, Rusnah cut a cake with 9-year-old Janna, a daughter of another baker who shared the same birthday. It was a chocolate cake with cheese frosting based on a recipe the group had learnt 2 weeks ago. When the lively celebrations had toned down, we asked Rusnah how she felt about the new training space. Because of her illness, she did not take part in the design process, but as a key member of the programme her views were important to us. We were deeply heartened when she praised her peers for their good sense and taste in design. She also expressed that the training space was an important representation of the progress the programme was making and it is a dream come true for her and the rest. After years of makeshift training spaces and working at different borrowed facilities, the Bakers finally have a place they can call home and to welcome more to join them.

As we listened to Rusnah, we gathered that a satisfying life for her is one where she is meaningfully occupied with what she enjoys and is good at. Where she can fulfil her responsibilities to those who depend on her and where there is much cooperation and friendship with those she works with. This new training space has enhanced her ability to lead a satisfying life and she is grateful.

As an organisation, we are grateful for the many friends who have supported Bakers Beyond these past years. There have been numerous volunteers who offered their guidance and worked alongside the mothers, each helping to enhance our capabilities. If you are reading this, please contact me so that we can show you our new training space. At this point, I would like to thank the corporations who have contributed significantly to sustain the programme and to bring about our new facility. Thank you Cargill TSF Asia Pte Ltd, City Developments Limited, Expedia Singapore Pte Ltd, GIC Private Limited, Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd and Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited. You have helped women like Rusnah get up every morning with a purpose that keeps them going.

Enjoy your week

Gerard

“In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.” – Albert Clarke

PAST AWB POSTS

2610 – Oranges, Dates, and Party Plates

March 6, 2026 No Comments

Story Contributed by Dira, Neighbourhood Leader Some evenings come together in unexpected ways. Our monthly community birthday celebration in Ang Mo Kio happened to fall at a time when Chinese New Year was still in the air and Ramadan was already underway. So the evening became a mix of all three – oranges for the New Year, dates for those breaking fast, and party plates laid out for the children celebrating their birthdays that month. Close to a hundred residents – seniors, adults and children – came downstairs to join the gathering. A few of us residents helped organise the

2609 – How We Spend Our Time

March 6, 2026 No Comments

Story contributed by Anne Marie, Resource Mobilisation It has been some years since we last stood behind a volunteer recruitment booth in a school setting, and so earlier this month, when we were invited to take part in Nanyang Technological University’s Social Impact Week, it felt like a return of sorts. For two afternoons, we found ourselves in the middle of student activity, surrounded by clubs, social enterprises and fellow agencies. We were there with a simple invitation: to talk about volunteering, particularly in support of the older youths in our academic programmes. At our booth, we asked visitors to

2608 – Holding The Middle

February 20, 2026 No Comments

Written by The Beyond Editorial Team She has always cared for others. Long before we knew her, Mdm Sng* was already checking in on elderly neighbours, helping them navigate services, passing along information, gathering what they needed. When we began working in the area, she reached out quickly. Not for herself. For others. Over time, though, something shifted. There was no single incident. Just the quiet accumulation of strain. Our team had become leaner. Priorities evolved. Expectations were not always spoken clearly. Along the way, misunderstandings surfaced. Community tensions are rarely linear. They sit in the middle of relationships –

2607 – Refreshing Our Purpose

February 20, 2026 No Comments

Story Contributed by Shariffah, Community Worker In January, we gathered again in a familiar circle. Since then, three Capability Building sessions have brought together 26 Neighbourhood Leaders and Community Volunteers from three neighbourhoods. It was not a workshop in the traditional sense. It was a space to pause, reflect and ask ourselves what kind of community we are shaping together. The most recent session, Refreshing Our Purpose, did exactly that. It slowed the momentum of activity and returned us to the questions underneath the work: What are we building? For whom? And how do we know it is truly shared?

2606 – Still Here

February 9, 2026 No Comments

As shared by Daybet, Former Beyond Youth Twenty years had passed since Daybet last walked through the doors of Beyond’s office. The space felt smaller than he remembered, but not unfamiliar. Before he could fully take it in, he saw a face that pulled him straight back into memory. “Uncle George!” George paused. It took a second. Then recognition landed – fittingly, on the very day he marked 23 years of working at Beyond. What followed was the easy rhythm of reunion: updates exchanged, laughter over half-forgotten details, stories filling in the years that had slipped by. “You remember Daybet?”

2605 – It Takes Time

January 29, 2026 No Comments

Written by Wilson, Community Worker I first met Jamie* early last year. She sat close to her mother and said very little. When I asked her questions, her mother often answered first, then turned to Jamie to check if she wanted to add anything. Jamie listened carefully, nodding, offering short replies when she felt able to. Her mother had approached us for support because Jamie was no longer in education or employment. Since leaving school, Jamie spent most of her time at home. Apart from attending school previously, she rarely went out, and once that routine ended, her days became

2604 – When Learning is Small Enough to Notice

January 29, 2026 No Comments

Story Contributed by Jie Ying, Community Worker Last Saturday, we gathered to mark the end of a small Early Learning Programme class at Lengkok Bahru. The class began in June last year with seven children. Over time, some families moved on as needs shifted and priorities changed. By January, three children remained. We did not see this as a shortcoming. Community work often teaches us that participation ebbs and flows, and that small numbers are not a sign of failure but an invitation to pay closer attention. With fewer people in the room, there is more to notice. Parents sat

2603 – When Youths Take the Field

January 20, 2026 No Comments

Story Contributed by Yik, Resource Mobilisation In December last year, a small group of children gathered at Delta Sports Centre for a football session. There were six of them, between four and nine years old. One of the youngest arrived with his mother, staying close as the day unfolded. The session wasn’t run by adults or coaches brought in from outside. It was planned and led entirely by Learning Coaches – youths from the community who already spend their weeks supporting younger children with learning. Over time, these youths have become familiar faces to families, people children listen to and