Another Week Beyond – 2122

May 28, 2021

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 a while before it is second nature to them. During a zoom call with a group of volunteers, caregivers shared that they found it difficult assisting their children to navigate online learning platforms and requested for the volunteers to return when restrictions have eased.

Change is difficult and so this year we have been engaging children, youth, and caregivers in conversations about their online learning experiences and their views are taken to co-create a Theory of Change for a Culture of Online Learning. Youth have been honest in providing feedback. One shared that online learning moved too fast, and it was embarrassing to stop the session. The good thing about it though was that she could have a warm drink as the teacher was talking and this helped her focus.

The conversations are ongoing, and they are essential because their participation improves the outcomes of the decision-making process. Some caregivers have also expressed that the conversations have been informative, and they are gradually warming to the notion of online learning. Nonetheless, we hope that those who come to our conversations do not walk away experiencing our effort as tokenism or worse, feeling manipulated as we aspire for a partnership.

In our work, change is an ongoing conversation. We do our best to get one meaningful conversation going at a time and this week, one change we are optimistic about is a new support group comprising six youth currently pursuing tertiary education. Two are undergraduates, one in a part-time diploma programme and the other three full-time at a polytechnic. We were pleasantly surprised that despite being the first meeting, these youth shared their challenges openly and felt that sharing resources with each other was a good idea. At the end of the zoom call, two of them decided to study together and one provided a possible job opening to another who had lost her part-time job.

Perhaps, the pandemic has brought about a sense of vulnerability and mutual help groups seem like a practical resource and with our busy schedules being disrupted, a person-to-person connection fills a void. Anyway, as we journey with our members to navigate the challenges brought about by Covid-19, we will be encouraging them to gather into mutual help groups and we will do our best to be in the service of their efforts to improve their own situation.

Wishing you health and peace of mind.

Sincerely,
Gerard

There are discussions on how to listen to residents more and let them participate in decisions. Most are half-hearted attempts that do not actually let participant’s lead their own change. It is time to give up power and instead facilitate and resource the efforts of everyday people. – Mutuality Platform

PAST AWB POSTS

2506 – Collective Wisdom, Community Building

March 6, 2025 No Comments

Written by Wilson, Community Worker As is our practice at Beyond, we start every new year by sharing the goals we hope to achieve as a community. We gather young and old, have discussions and plot the journey ahead together. We call these sessions Community Conversations. Typically, everyone present introduces themselves and shares their experience volunteering in the community, and what “community” means to them. We then wrap up with a Beyond staff talking about the value of community development. That, however, was not how a session held in the Bukit Ho Swee neighbourhood went. The Beyond team just sat

2505 – Saving Together, Growing Together

February 27, 2025 No Comments

One of the most pervasive problems encountered by lower-income communities is building financial reserves. The daily demands for every cent, when you have little, usually takes priority. However, there is still a value of building such reserves, even if in small amounts. This is why we created the Community Tabung Programme. Loosely translated, “Tabung” means “money box” in Malay – an apt name for an initiative to help our members grow their savings in support of their children’s health and educational needs. It is a means to help our members achieve their aspirations and save for those rainy days. And

2504 – Growth On The Sidelines

February 20, 2025 No Comments

Amir* wasn’t always the calm, composed young man people look up to today. Not so long ago, he his fiery temper put him in the midst of a heated argument. So to witness him play the peacemaker recently was pleasantly astonishing. That moment could have shaped how others saw him — and how he saw himself — but instead, it became a lesson that helped him grow. Amir was playing at a futsal tournament. Two boys – Danial* and Josh* – got into an altercation. Danial accused Josh of “showboating” and not being a team player…costing them the game. Josh,

2503 – How Roblox Helped James Minimize Screen Time

February 20, 2025 No Comments

10-year-old James is like many of the children who attend our learning programmes. He has an unhealthy attachment to his phone with little interest in academics. When asked to focus on his schoolwork, he would often throw tantrums. Rather than play board games with Beyond volunteers, he’d stick to games on his phone. Still, James would voluntarily show up at our sessions, where he was always welcomed. Our approach isn’t about forcing change but about creating a space for it. We set a clear boundary — schoolwork first, then fun and games. But getting through to James wasn’t easy. We

2502 – Community wasn’t built in a day

February 7, 2025 No Comments

Written by Shariffah, Community Worker What is community? This is a question that shapes much of what we do at Beyond. Building a thriving community isn’t just about solving problems or organizing activities — it’s about creating spaces where people can connect meaningfully, share ideas, and take ownership of their collective future. Community development often begins with small, intentional steps. Our “Community Day” is one such step. This isn’t just a celebration, but part of a process — a chance for residents to collaborate, discover their strengths, and build something meaningful together. Our last Community Day of 2024 was held

2452 – A Fire, A Friend, A Community

January 31, 2025 No Comments

When a fire broke out in a Jalan Bukit Merah flat last year, the damage wasn’t confined to just the one unit. Smoke engulfed neighbouring homes, leaving behind physical damage and disruption. One of the worst affected residents was Madam Tan*, an elderly woman whose flat directly above the burning apartment. While her story didn’t make the headlines, her struggles were very real. She clearly needed help. This is where H comes in. The 28-year-old coach and former educator was no stranger to helping others, but this experience would touch him on a personal level. “I didn’t initially think about

2451 – The Grace to Give

January 31, 2025 No Comments

I joined Beyond in 2005 as a community worker reaching out to children under 6 years old to get them registered for early childhood education and after a couple of years, I was seconded to support our main grant maker. After which, I left social services but rejoined Beyond in 2016. I came back and rejoined the sector to meet my needs for meaning, connection and well-being. Last Friday, I was supporting a corporate volunteer group to distribute care packs comprising necessities for the new school year to children in a neighbourhood where we work. This group engaged youth from

AWB 2449 – When LIFE Happens

January 31, 2025 No Comments

Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” We at Beyond, wholeheartedly believe this. So we’ve made it one of our missions to bring education to life for the kids in the neighbourhoods we serve. So, it is no coincidence that we call one of our education programme, LIFE! or Learning is Fun and Exciting! LIFE is a child-centric initiative that’s designed to make learning enjoyable and meaningful. Activities are tailored to children’s individual strengths, interests, and learning styles. At every turn, we nurture them to become independent, self-motivated learners. We