Sincere Hope, an organisation run by 13 “mummy volunteers”, started an initiative to distribute food to the residents of a HDB estate in Jalan Bukit Merah that comprises mostly of one- and two-room rental flats.
The group supports residents in the neighbourhood who are mostly families with many children, single-parent families and the elderly.
“A lot of them are struggling,” group co-founder Renemarlina Osman said.
Ms Renemarlina, a single mother with two boys aged nine and 10, has had her fair share of hardships. After her divorce in 2013, she struggled to make ends meet and had to move into a shelter home for a while. Now, she lives in her own rental flat with her children, although everyday life remains challenging: One son has dyslexia and the other faces emotional issues due to the divorce.
Although her schedule is packed – the 38-year-old works as a part-time care assistant at Singapore General Hospital – Ms Renemarlina is determined to help the community as much as she can.
“I know their struggle. I go through it as well. To be a single mother or to be unemployed – sometimes you just don’t have the money to buy food,” she said.
The volunteering began as an unofficial initiative among a few concerned mothers in the neighbourhood. They organised activities such as tuition sessions for underprivileged children and goodie bag distributions during Hari Raya.
It was only in September 2017 that the group came together officially and named themselves Sincere Hope.
Now, around 100 families benefit from their activities.
Despite the lean manpower and lack of resources – the group does not receive government support, and relies purely on sponsors – Ms Renemarlina hopes to start organising more activities for residents and their children. There is a children’s trekking programme in the pipeline, as well as plans for iftar (break fast) during Ramadan.
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Source: The Straits Times, 2 May 2018