1 NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS) launched “WeCare kidsREAD”, a reading club for the children of single mothers at today’s “WeCare Kids Show and Tell” officiated by Madam Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
2 “WeCare kidsREAD” follows the pilot success of the first phase of the “Reading Programme”, rolled out in March this year under the “Educational Programmes for the Young” initiative by WeCare for U Project. While the first phase of the “Reading Programme” targets children of 7 to 12 years old, “WeCare kidsREAD” serves to complement the existing programme by targeting a younger group of children between 4 to 7 years old.
3 “Educational Programmes for the Young” is an initiative introduced under WeCare for U Project early this year, with a key focus to inculcate good reading habits in young children of single mothers and help them establish a good education foundation.
About WeCare kidsREAD
4 NTUC WDS believes that the a sturdy education foundation can only be established if one starts building it from young. “WeCare kidsREAD” is thus born to substantiate this belief, with an aspiration to help single mothers who would experience challenges in providing related benefits to their children.
5 Through collaboration with Raffles Institution and with support from National Library Board (NLB), this reading club aims to cultivate the love for reading in young children and ultimately enrich their lives and opportunities for future success. Student volunteers will be taught by trainers from Asian Storytelling Network on how to conduct reading sessions for the children.
6 To date, 24 students vounteers from Raffles Institution and 20 children have registered with the programme. An initial eight sessions have been secured. After each session, each child will be given a healthy snack, kindly sponsored by NTUC FairPrice as a form of reward and encouragement. The end goal in mind is to grow the club, through working with more schools and reaching out to more children who can greatly benefit from this meaningful programme.
Pilot success of first two educational programmes introduced
7 Early this year, WeCare for U Project rolled out two programmes - the first phase of the “Reading Programme” which partners Hwa Chong Institution and a “Speech and Drama Class” which was in collaboration with The Arts Attic Centre.
8 The children who participated in the “Reading Programme” were brought to the nearest public library where student volunteers from Hwa Chong Institution were attached to them to monitor and help them with reading. The initial phase of this programme only targeted children staying at Bukit Batok, Choa Chu kang and Bukit Panjang area. The “Speech and Drama Class” were designed to help children express themselves better, in turn building up their confidence.
9 At today’s event, a total of 34 children will graduate from the two programmes, having successfully completed the lessons. Going forward, as these first two programmes have been well-received by members, continuing efforts will be made to extend both programmes to reach out to more children. While the “Reading Programme” could be expanded to cover more areas islandwide, NTUC WDS will also continue to work with The Arts Attic Centre to plan for more sessions of the “Speech and Drama Class” in 2012.
10 “My son attended both programmes and I’m pleased to see that he has enjoyed them and benefitted much from the classes. I really appreciate the help that has been extended from NTUC WDS which, in so many ways helped make my family’s life better. I look forward to more of such programmes for the children”, commented Ms Amanda Nuar, who has been a WeCare for U Project member since 2009.
WeCare for U Project to date
11 Since the start of WeCare for U Project in 2009, NTUC WDS has continued to witness a steady growth in its membership. As at June 2011, its number of members stands at 1,269 (comprising 432 mums and 837 children). To date, 28 bonding activities has been organised, which in turn benefitted 2,901 single mothers and children in total.
12 The activities organised thus far include learning journey to school, movie screening, talks on legal issues, workshops on financial skills, training on first aid and CPR, one-day overseas learning journey etc.
13 “Other than providing continual assistance to the single mothers to address issues that they are commonly faced with, we hope that through the various programmes focused on education, help is extended to their children as well. Ongoing efforts will be made to expand existing programmes and produce better programmes and acitivites, thereby providing a more holistic support to our members”, concluded Ms Slyvia Choo, Director of NTUC WDS.
WeCare for U Project
14 WeCare for U Project is a community outreach programme launched in March 2009 by the NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS) to provide support to the single mothers and their children faced with continual emergent and complicated issues. The main objective of the project is to help these single mothers build greater resilience and stronger independence.
15 Working with various partners and agencies, the project provides assistance with regards to jobs, financial, childcare and housing issues. Workshops, family outings and learning journeys are also organised to help the single mothers build confidence and bond with their children.
