Taking place annually in September, the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union (SMOU) annual Bursary and Scholarship Awards recognises the hard work put in by members’ children to achieve good academic results in school. At the same time, the Wavelink Book Awards help to support these children with the costs of education.
On 10 September 2016, some 22 bursaries, 18 scholarships and 34 book awards were given out to 42 deserving recipients by guest-of-honour Mdm Halimah Yacob, Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
The total of 74 awards amounted to a sum of $37,400, and was co-funded by the NTUC-U Care Education Co-Funding Scheme.
“SMOU and the other unions affiliated to NTUC place great importance on the education of our workers’ children, and for very good reasons. A good education enables our children to access the many opportunities that are available so that they can continue to have a good life and a great future.
“Education should not be seen just as a means of getting a good job. It should also be seen as a pathway to help develop you more holistically to become good, decent human beings and responsible citizens,” said Mdm Halimah.
SMOU has been supporting its members’ children with the presentation of bursaries and scholarships since 1982. To date, the union has given out more than $1.4 million and impacted the lives of over 3,200 members’ children.
