Dear Friends, Faced with charges relating to rioting, mischief, causing hurt, failure to comply with the conditions of a provisional driving licence and riding a motorcycle without insurance, Morris, 19 years old believes that he is heading for jail. A report filed in March, by a probation officer assessed that Morris is not suitable for probation. Following which, a pre-sentencing assessment recommended that Morris be sent to the Reformative Training Centre (RTC). Unlike Morris, his mother believes that he should be heading home instead of the RTC so that she can keep an eye on him. His older brother also feels that …
Another Week Beyond – 2025
Dear Friends, Today, Singapore moves another step toward a new normal which is COVID-19 Safe. Eateries will be opened for dining-in and I know several of my colleagues will be going out for a meal. “Takeaway food is just not the same,” they tell me and eating out is one thing they have missed since 7 April 2020. Small group social activities will also be allowed and so, we will gradually be meeting our members face to face once again. However, we hope these meetings will be as efficient and sincere as those which we have been having online. Over the past 11 …
Another Week Beyond – 2024
Dear Friends, There is an African saying that if we educate a man, we educate one person but if we educate a woman, we educate a family. Men’s lack of involvement at home seems to be taken as a norm and if we look at our members who volunteer in their neighbourhoods, the majority are mothers. So how do we make sense of such an observation? Well, we think it is best to simply take the view that men are contributing, but in ways we are not aware of yet. Iskandar, 38 years old, is a father of 6 children. He lost his …
Another Week Beyond – 2023
Dear Friends, During the circuit breaker we were in touch with 235 persons who were unemployed and looking for work. We kept them informed of job opportunities and linked them to resources provided by the government, the labour movement and other non-government organisations. Most job applications were online and several needed assistance navigating e-portals as well as putting together simple resumes to upload. Our actions offered these members some comfort but those who have been unable to nail down a job would probably feel much discouraged. From speaking with these jobseekers, we also learnt that distance to the workplace is an important factor for …