Dear friends, We were invited to be on a panel at an inaugural conference by PRISM, the social enterprise club of Saint Joseph’s Institution. In light of the current climate, the conference on 1 June was moved online and attended by about 200 students from different schools. For the past 6 years or so, we have been facilitating income-generation projects for …
Another Week Beyond – 2122
Dear friends, We gave out 35 laptops this week to support home-based learning mainly for children taking their Primary School Leaving Examinations later this year. The laptops have been available for some time but with this current “heightened alert,” families are requesting for them urgently. These children and their caregivers acknowledge that online learning is now a reality, but it will be …
Another Week Beyond – 2121
Dear friends, With the “Heightened Alert” beginning this week, attendance at our child development centre has dropped to an average of 17 children a day. Children with household members who are ill were not permitted to be present. Preschools remain open to support parents who need to work and so children who have a caregiver at home during the day, were encouraged …
Another Week Beyond – 2120
Dear friends, In the service of people’s efforts, a colleague joined Mariam, a mother of 2 grown up children as she prepared to distribute 120 packets of food to her neighbours. Mariam has been living in her 2-room public rental flat the past 10 years and she revealed that she has not exactly been socialising with neighbours and had preferred very much …
Another Week Beyond – 2119
Dear friends, Returning to Phase 2 measures for a few weeks tomorrow is necessary and understandable. Nonetheless, it is dampening news. Although not preferred, most of our children and youth have been able to meet their volunteer tutors online when face to face learning programmes were stopped. One programme that did not stop though was our child development centre for those …
Another Week Beyond – 2118
Dear friends, We have been speaking to residents in two different neighbourhoods to better understand how they are caring for their health. This effort is done with a view of encouraging residents to act on improving their neighbourhood’s collective health outcomes. A Singhealth study has shown that public rental housing was an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality and we are in …
Another Week Beyond – 2117
Dear friends, After receiving a pre-loved basketball, a 10-year boy began bouncing it enthusiastically. A volunteer who was nearby said hello and learnt that he was waiting for a friend. When he offered to hang out with him till his friend came by, the boy threw him the ball. As he caught it, he dribbled a little before passing it …
Another Week Beyond – 2116
Dear friends, A group of 4 mothers were delighted when they learnt that we would like to revive the savings programme toward their children’s development account (CDA) where their deposits are matched by the government. They told us that because the programme was not held last year, there is hardly any money remaining in their children’s accounts. They have found the CDA very …
Another Week Beyond – 2115
Dear friends, We marked one year since our circuit-breaker on 7 April 2019 and working from home is no longer our default practice. 75% of our workforce is now allowed backed into their offices and while COVID-19 is still a serious threat, we must count ourselves fortunate relative to others elsewhere. Hannah (not her real name), tells us that she has …
Another Week Beyond – 2114
Dear Friends, After explaining our work at a meeting, someone listening quoted the Scriptures. “The poor will always be with us,” she commented. I have heard this said many a time and it is from Matthew 26:11. “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me” is the complete sentence and Jesus was foreshadowing …