Dear Friends, 2 brothers in their 60s, told us that they were finding it difficult to stay in touch with their families in Indonesia. Without SMART Phones, calls were expensive and being illiterate, texting was not an option either. They lamented that sometimes, by pressing a wrong key, $10 to $20 worth of pre-paid data is depleted without a connection. So, we lent then a used SMART phone each and showed them how they may reach their families on WhatsApp without cost. It did not take long for them to catch on. As boatmen who made a modest income, they decided …
Another Week Beyond – 2038
Dear Friends, Last week, 7 youth delivered 5 performances at the Substation. “Men with Pens” featured lived experiences they had penned down, and the show was part of Septfest 2020 Fringe which featured immersive experiences to generate conversations around issues faced by various marginalised and displaced groups. In January this year, volunteers Subhas Nair and Yanni Chia began meeting youth living in the Whampoa neighbourhood; listening to their stories and encouraging them to write them down in a notebook. The sessions started with dinner and initially through structured exercises, the youth were guided to identify strong feelings they frequently experienced and to map out the context …
Another Week Beyond – 2037
Dear Friends; After helping to process one cycle of financial assistance, the women on our Digital and Family Competence Enabling Team (AWB- 2033) told us that they really valued the flexible work hours that enabled them to attend to their children and household matters. Working from home on a computer was an entirely new experience that they savoured. The efforts of these women have helped us reach more families whose household income have been badly reduced by COVID-19. As on today, we have committed $2.6 million to 1571 families and by end of this month, we would have disbursed $2.1 million. These …
Another Week Beyond – 2036
Dear Friends, It is said that a school is a place with four walls that holds the future within. For Azlinah, a mother of 3, it is also a place where people are always present for her children and her. This week she presented our teachers with a fabric coin pouch as a token of appreciation for Teacher’s Day. Each gift also came with a home-made “thank you” card prepared by her children. As a long-term social visit pass holder, our Healthy Start Child Development Centre has been a familiar and comforting place for her, she tells us. Over the past 3 …