Dear Friends, A planned conversation did not start on time. Many youths we invited did not show up and eventually the 8 that came were not familiar faces at our activities. With the small number, the adults in the room outnumbered them and we were concerned that the youths would feel over-powered. Thankfully, the ice-breakers got people mingling and reduced initial perceptions people may have had of each other that would have been a barrier for active participation. So, when asked to act out what life would look like in 5 years’ time, 3 visitors from Germany, 3 volunteers from …
Another Week Beyond – 1906
Dear Friends Since September last year, some of our colleagues have been corresponding with 15 undergraduates from the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences via email, WhatsApp and the occasional skype call. The communication provided the German students, a sense of the people and country they will be visiting on a study tour entitled, “Community-based child care and social work in Singapore: Exploration of Singapore as a city, as a culture, as a welfare system and as a community.” It was also an enriching experience for our colleagues to welcome questions that required a reflective response about our work, their professional …
Another Week Beyond – 1905
Dear Friends, We all know that when a decision must be made, it is best that everyone who has a stake in its outcome is part of the decision-making process. Not that everyone has a right to decide but everyone has a right to inform the decision. What happens then if the one who will be most affected by the decision is unable to voice his or her views and requests? Last Saturday, 12 persons came together for a meeting to discuss the care arrangements for an infant we shall call Richie. His mother has been struggling with his care …
Social workers need to work with neighbours too
I thank Mr. Kwan Jin Yao for his thoughtful comments with reference to his response “Social services don’t necessarily replace support networks; Jan 12” (A response to a Straits Times opinion piece by Mr Gerard Ee – Link below) A community development approach by no means seeks to undermine the good work that is done by social workers. However, the expression of many core social work values gets buried under the deluge of organisational and structural constraints. Because the majority of endorsed practices in Singapore over the past 30 years have focussed on the professional solving problems for the individual, …
Stop seeing people as problems. They’re assets who build social capital
This article by Gerard Ee, first appeared in the latest volume of Commentary, a journal from the National University of Singapore Society. In the 1980s when I was a youth worker, young people who did not have the benefit of succeeding in school got on in life by taking up a trade. If they were willing, it would not have been difficult, by word of mouth, to find plumbers, carpenters, electricians or other craftsmen to take them on as apprentices. Most of the youth who came to my programmes started off as painters and along the way picked up other …
Another Week Beyond – 1904
Dear Friends, When we tell our youth members that they are responsible for creating the neighbourhood that they wish to live in, it generates some excitement among them but often when it is time to do the work, not many show up. However, this week 15 youth in Ghim Moh showed up for a neighbourhood dream-building session. We were pleased and gathered that it was probably because the invitation was made by a parent who has been most concerned with their well-being the past few months. Moreover, this mother together with some other neighbours had prepared a meal of chicken …
Another Week Beyond – 1902
Dear Friends, It is said that we often know more than what we give ourselves credit for. The danger is not so much what we think we do know but what we think we know when we really don’t. Anyway, eight mothers who are a part of Bakers Beyond, were tasked to design a part of our premises that is to be repurposed as a workplace for baking and sewing activities. All came to the session wondering how they could actually take on the task without the necessary expertise. After greeting the mothers warmly, Raja a volunteer from the School …
Another Week Beyond – 1903
Dear Friends, Last year, with the help of volunteers we sought to gain a better understanding of a neighbourhood by talking to residents, shop-owners, social service providers, grassroots leaders and others who lived or worked in the vicinity. The information was put together as a “neighbourhood health report” and we presented it as part of a meeting with 19 families residing there to reflect on the year gone by and to engage them for the one ahead. When we mentioned that the men seemed to be missing in their neighbourhood, a roomful of women laughed. There was one man present …
Another Week Beyond – 1901
Dear Friends, During the last week of the school holidays, we met with Susie’s form teacher and school counsellor to discuss how they would like to begin the school year for their Primary 6 class. Last year, Susie and several of her classmates were often absent and Susie in particular, for a significant part of the year. They decided that the school day will start with a warm welcome and if some students were not present, to have the class reflect on the situation. If so, questions such as “Who is not in school today? Why do you think they …
Another Week Beyond – 1852
Dear Friends, Nashir Uddin, 36 years old was brought up to believe that every kindness is a gift and blessing extended to him by God. Hailing from Bangladesh, he is now supporting 2 school going children, both parents and his wife who looks after the household in his absence. For the past 6 months, his sister-in-law and 2 nieces have also been counting on his support as her husband died suddenly from a stroke. 11 years ago, Nashir arrived in Singapore and began working in the construction sector. The last couple of years though, he has been employed as an …