– Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, author and motivational speaker
There are many issues that the community is facing. And only when we take the effort to find out more and keep ourselves up-to-date, can we be part of the solution and change can happen, to truly build a community that cares.
More Singaporeans step up to help others
More Singaporeans were moved to help others in 2019 through various online platforms and physical volunteer centres, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). Online charity portal Giving.sg saw a 35% growth in the number of registered users in the...
Actor chosen for his strong personality for MINDS film
Muhammad Nur Arif Muzani, 22, has global developmental delay, an intellectual disability. He is also an actor. Speaking to The Straits Times, Arif has to be coaxed to talk about acting in short film Layang Layang Terbang Melayang (The Kite Soars High). Released in...
Going the distance to befriend migrant workers
Unlike those who spent the recent year-end holidays at overseas resorts, Ms Isabel Phua and six friends opted to travel to Bangladesh to visit the villages where families of some migrant workers in Singapore reside. For 10 days last month (December 2019), they...
Do good with tech
Software engineer Tengku Hafidz remembers the first time he fell in love with coding - during a class in polytechnic. Mr Tengku, who went on to study information systems at university, now imparts tech skills to young people, particularly those from the Malay and...
Breaking down barriers in schools, one step at a time
When her son started at Northoaks Primary School earlier this year, Mrs Sarasvathy Mahendran had a wish - that her child does not think he is different from his friends in Primary 1. Seven-year-old Tejas Mahendran has cone-rod dystrophy, a disorder that results in low...
Singapore student volunteers to fight bush fires
22-year-old Mark Yeong is a Singaporean studying in the University of Sydney who spends his holiday in a different way. This second-year student physiotherapy student is a volunteer firefighter that has been battling the bushfires that have been plaguing Australia...
‘National service’ of the mentoring, tutoring kind
Outside of regular full-time national servicemen duties, six NSFs also spend their Saturdays running a free tuition programme for children living in rental flats in the Henderson area. Mr Chua Tze Hean, who started Budding Minds in October last year, roped in five...
Eye surgeon’s mission to help the less fortunate
“I have a vision to bring eye care technology and innovation to communities-at-large and underprivileged societies. I strongly believe that technology can help improve awareness on eye health and give better eyesight for all.” Eye surgeon Claudine Pang is the first...
Meeting the needs of underprivileged families in Singapore
It was life in the United States that opened Singaporean Nilofar Iyer's eyes to the needs of the underprivileged. While in Pennsylvania with her husband in 2014, the housewife was struck by the poverty and juvenile delinquency in some neighbourhoods. "It bothered me...
Making books come alive for young children
Seven-year-old Yin Le used to struggle with reading in English. Her mother, Ms Wendy Kang, fretted as her command of English was not strong. In January, Yin Le began attending weekly Story L.A.B. reading sessions at Potong Pasir Community Club, where volunteers read...
Grocery shopping trips teach kids nutrition
Armed with $30 worth of supermarket vouchers, 12-year-old Muhammad Khairunnas wandered around the Sheng Siong mart picking out groceries. It was part of local charity Children's Wishing Well’s FRESH Programme, which organises weekly supermarket trips, pairing...
Dreaming of a green Christmas
A sustainable Christmas without sacrificing the good things in life? Three eco-warriors show how they’re doing it. BJORN LOW, 39 Founder of Edible Garden City The founder and managing director of urban farming social enterprise Edible Garden City has always celebrated...
The zero-waste movement is on the march in Singapore
With climate change and urbanisation, much attention is focused on our consumerist lifestyle, and how all the waste we generate is destroying the planet and our children's future. For a small city state like Singapore, a conversation on waste is particularly...
Paying it forward to address gaps in society
Hedge fund founder Danny Yong understands how getting one chance can change a life. After all, Mr Yong, one of Singapore's richest men, was once the recipient of a life-changing opportunity. In 1997, after graduating with first class honours studying business at...
Deaf grab drivers can do everything but hear
Like many other private-hire car drivers in Singapore, Steven Chong spends long hours on the road. However, Mr Chong is not like most of the more than 41,000 people here who hold a private hire car driver’s vocational licence (PDVL). The private-hire car driver of...
Charity baking scheme gets its own space
To help pay for utilities, groceries and her grandchildren’s pocket money, Madam Rusnah Sajee joined a local charity programme that enables her to bake snacks for sale. Madam Rusnah, 59, is part of Bakers Beyond, an initiative by Beyond Social Services that gathers...
Social enterprises get $1.3m grant from DBS
Yummy noodles that also ease small-scale farmers' woes: the goal of one food science start-up in Singapore. That firm, NamZ, is now getting a boost - to take its high-protein, lower-fat NoodleZ from pilot to product. NamZ was among nine regional businesses that...
Collective to showcase works of people with disabilities
A collective will be set up to showcase and market the works of people with disabilities, giving them more opportunities to hone their skills and sell their craft. I'mable Collective aims to be the preferred first stop for organisations keen to support the purchase of...
Vision of Singapore based on values
A recent casual chat with a friend turned to emigration, that old chestnut of an issue. She is a 24-year-old law student, and is all set on a legal career when she finishes her studies. Asked if she would consider leaving Singapore to work one day, her bold statement...
Connecting seniors in need with professional caregivers
Entrepreneur Gillian Tee has a soft spot for seniors, as the main people who took care of her growing up, besides her mother, were her grandmother and an elderly nanny. Her late nanny, a Malaysian woman in her 60s, raised her lovingly till she was 10. And in Ms Tee's...
