MEDIA RELEASE
4 JUNE 2016
BIG HEART STUDENT CARE INSPIRES MINDS AND TOUCHES HEARTS BY PROVIDING A CONDUCIVE AFTER-SCHOOL CARE ENVIRONMENT TO SUPPORT THE HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS.
The Self Help Groups Student Care Limited Family Day was held at Xingnan Primary School today, with Mr Ng Chee Meng, Acting Minister for Education (Schools) officiating at the event. Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health and Chairman of CDAC and Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Trade & Industry, and Chairperson of SHGSCL were present at the event as well. The event was attended by 300 guests, including community leaders from the four Self Help Groups, namely Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Yayasan MENDAKI, Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), and the Eurasian Association (EA), students from the Self Help Groups school-based Student Care Centres and their family.
The SHGSCL Family Day is a day of family bonding with fun-filled yet meaningful activities including Parent and Student Workshops, showcases and exhibition booths by the student care centres and a family carnival with game stations designed by students from Jurong JC and “Kampong Fun” by National Heritage Board, offering old-school games such as five stones, chaptehs, pick-up sticks, kuti kuti to promote our multi-racial heritage. The family carnival was successfully carried out with joint community support and volunteers from Jurong JC and the four SHGs. Acting Minister and the participants also enjoyed the music percussion performance from Big Heart Student Care students, which is part of their holistic development programme benefiting from NAC’s arts programme for the positive youth development.
Additionally, it serves as a platform to unveil SHGSCL’s new branding, “Big Heart Student Care”, for all its student care centres going forward. The school-based Big Heart Student Care Centres run by SHGSCL aim to 1) provide homely and conducive after-school care environment for students; 2) complement MOE in providing educational and developmental support to the students; and 3) reach out to students from less advantaged backgrounds and their families to provide holistic and family-centric assistance. Towards this end, SHGSCL has also forged a partnership with MOE through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in August 2015, witnessed by then-Education Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat.
“Where and how children spend their time after school has important implications for their development. After-school care is a golden opportunity to enhance and enrich our children’s growth and learning beyond academics,” said Parliamentary Secretary Ms Low Yen Ling, who is also Chairperson of SHGSCL. “Big Heart Student Care aims to provide quality and affordable after-school care services to all students and their parents. Parents can work and have peace of mind when they know that their children being nurtured and guided in a safe environment. As the name, Big Heart suggests, this student care service welcomes students of all backgrounds, and aims to inspire these young minds to realise their strengths and contribute back to society.”
Xingnan Primary School is SHGSCL’s latest dedicated centre and the school works closely in partnership with Big Heart Student Care to develop a comprehensive learning and development programme that reflects the school’s core values. To date, there are six Big Heart Student Care centres, with another four centres being established in July this year. These four new centres are Fuchun Primary, Greenwood Primary, Yumin Primary and Teck Whye Primary. It aims to operate a total of 30 school-based Student Care Centres by year 2020, catering to an estimated 6000 students at a steady state.
ANNEX 1
Prepared Quotes from SHGs
Quote from Mr Pok Cheng Chong, Executive Director, CDAC:
“Through the Student Care Centres operated by the Self Help Groups Student Care Limited (SHGSCL), the Self Help Groups could further engage their targeted families and achieve effective outreach through holistic support and help schemes”.
Quote from Mdm Tuminah Sapawi, Chief Executive Officer, Yayasan MENDAKI:
“At MENDAKI, we acknowledge the need to provide affordable and quality support for students. Our collaboration with the other SHGs enables us to collectively continue extending quality services through a more coordinated and concerted effort. We aim to reach out, connect and support parents, empowering them to be more supportive of their children’s learning journey. Together, we can help create higher value and make a difference in realising the common goal of better upliftment of the community at large.”
Quote from Mr K Barathan, Chief Executive Officer, SINDA:
“At SINDA, we believe that the task of bettering society is each one’s responsibility. In that vein, the concerted efforts of the Self-Help Groups, in establishing school-based student care centres island-wide, is proof of our commitment towards creating an environment that will encourage better upward social mobility and building a brighter future for our students.”
Quote from Mr Benett Theseira, President, Eurasian Association:
“We are pleased to have been part of the partnership between the Self-Help Groups for the Collaborative Tuition Programme and once again for this new initiative for the school-based Student Care Centres (SCCs). This is a necessary supportive infrastructure for students, especially those with working parents. The SCCs will provide a platform to engage with students, widen their horizons and offer them opportunities to achieve much more. We have confidence that the SCCs will nurture our students and harness their talents for the progress of our community.”
ANNEX 2
About Self Help Groups Student Care Limited (SHGSCL):
The Self Help Groups Student Care Limited (SHGSCL) is a joint venture company owned by the four Self Help Groups (SHGs), namely, the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Yayasan MENDAKI, Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), and the Eurasian Association (EA). It was set up in November 2015 to operate 30 school-based Student Care Centres (SCCs) that will cater to students of all races.
The four SHGs have a long history of collaboration with our schools to benefit our students, especially those from lower-income families. They have been effective in spurring community support for this purpose. Towards this end, the SHGs have forged a partnership with the Ministry of Education (MOE) through a Memorandum of Understanding. This partnership, initiated by the joint commitment of the four SHGs, aims to help schools to better support the holistic development of our students, especially those from less-advantaged backgrounds, by tapping on the community resources of the four SHGs.
Big Heart Student Care
The name Big Heart represents SHGSCL’s vision is that the name Big Heart represents our vision of “Inspiring Minds and Touching Hearts” by creating an inclusive education where students of all backgrounds feel welcomed, accepted and are given equal opportunities to learn and contribute back to society.
Beyond academic knowledge, Big Heart Student Care aims to instill and inculcate the right values in our students from a young age as this will shape the paths that they take in future. With this in mind, we strive to inculcate our core values, I.CARE, in our students. I stands for Integrity, C for Compassion, A for Adaptability, R for Responsibility and E for Excellence.
Big Heart Student Care’s mission is to provide quality and affordable after-school care services to support the holistic development of our students through a professional, committed and compassionate team, in partnership with parents, schools and the community.
ABOUT SELF HELP GROUPS:
Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC)
CDAC was set up on 22 May 1992 by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) as a self-help group for the Chinese community. CDAC offers programmes and assistance schemes to help the less privileged in the community to maximise their potential and strive for social mobility through self-help and mutual support. In 2015 alone, CDAC supported close to 20,000 households through its various programmes for students, workers and families.
For more information on CDAC, visit the website – www.cdac.org.sg
Yayasan Mendaki
Yayasan MENDAKI (Council for the Development of Singapore Malay/Muslim Community) is a pioneer Self-Help Group formed in 1982 dedicated to empower the community through excellence in education, in the context of a multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore. In 2015, MENDAKI went through an envisioning exercise to sharpen its focus on education. Its programmes and services are now streamlined into three key pillars – School Ready, Perform in School and Future Ready.
MENDAKI’s programmes largely target the bottom 30% of the Malay/Muslim population and are therefore highly subsidized. They are mostly preventive and developmental programmes to provide early assistance to the beneficiaries. The programmes are designed to supplement or complement national initiatives.
MENDAKI works extensively with partners that share and support its vision and mission. They consist of government agencies, schools, mosques, Malay/Muslim organisations, employers, community centres and MAECs, family & student service centres and many more.
For more information on MENDAKI, visit the website – http://www.mendaki.org.sg
Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA)
The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) is a Self-Help Group, set up in August 1991 to address educational and socio-economic issues facing the Indian community in Singapore. Its key areas of focus are education, youth aspirations, family resilience, social assistance and forging meaning community partnerships.
SINDA actively strives to build a well-educated and confident community of Indians that stands together with the other communities, in contributing to the progress of multi-racial Singapore. In the course of fulfilling its objectives, SINDA works closely with many volunteers, schools and grassroots organisations. In the process, SINDA has steadily evolved into a credible organisation that serves as a pillar of the Singapore Indian community.
Today, SINDA runs a wide array of programmes that not only uplift the educational performance of Indian students, but also promote family harmony and uplift the social status of ethnic Indians.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, is Chairman of SINDA’s Board of Trustees. Ms Indranee Thurai Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance, is President of the Executive Committee.
For more information on SINDA, visit the website – www.sinda.org.sg
Eurasian Association
The EA has a long history of serving the interests of the Eurasian community in Singapore since its inception in 1919. In 1994, the EA was formally accorded ‘Self-Help Group’ status by the Government to act on behalf of the Eurasian community in Singapore. The EA provides services for the community in three key areas: Educational Advancement, Family Support Services and Community Development.
As part of its mandate of serving the community, the EA works towards preserving the unique Eurasian heritage and traditions, as well as increasing awareness about Eurasians in Singapore. The Eurasian Community House is the home of the EA and Eurasian Heritage Centre, and is a focal point for the Eurasian community and a platform for us to work together for the good of the community.
For more information on EA, visit the website – http://www.eurasians.org.sg/
For media enquiries, please contact:
Pang Kim Poh (Ms) Manager (Communications)
Self Help Groups Student Care Limited
Tel: 63949713/ Mobile: 97686184
Email: kimpoh@shgstudentcare.com.sg