By Fawwaz Baktee
The President’s Challenge has set aside a handsome sum of $10 million over the next five years to improve the lives of the vulnerable such as low-income families, the elderly, the disabled, and ex-offenders.
The amount will go towards the new Empowering for Life Fund.
Singapore President Halimah Yacob made the announcement today (11 February 2018) at the launch of this year’s President’s Challenge.
The launch was held in conjunction with the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union’s (HSEU) bursary award ceremony at Downtown East.
The new fund will sponsor programmes to help vulnerable groups upgrade their skills and build capacity for employment.
The idea is to hand hold the most disadvantaged families and help them bounce back from setbacks and stay adaptable.
“We expect our societal needs to be more complex and multifaceted. President’s Challenge will have to respond by adopting a sharper focus on key complex issues. Our main aim should be to empower the vulnerable.
“President’s Challenge must help disadvantaged groups change their circumstances and bring about more sustained changes to the lives of those we impact. This way, we can partner one another to build a Singapore we want – a home where we care for each other, a community where we give each other a leg up, and a nation where we move forward together,” said Mdm Halimah in her address to some 900 participants.
Pathfinder Programme
One programme that will be supported by the fund is the NTUC Lift-Up Pathfinder. The pilot initiative will see 50 low-income families undergo customised training to improve their employability, skills and resilience.
NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), together with training providers, will undertake the training of the beneficiaries.
The training will last four to six months and will touch on areas such as communication, digital and financial management and even emotional resilience.
There will also be volunteers to help provide support and guidance to the beneficiaries.
The Lift-Up Pathfinder is an enhancement to the ongoing Lift-Up programme launched under the NTUC-U Care Fund in 2016.
The current Lift-Up programme enables low-income union members to attend enrichment workshops to promote family bonding and broaden experience in fields of interest such as photography and entrepreneurship.
Through the partnership between the President’s Challenge and NTUC, some 5,000 low-income union members and their families will benefit each year from both the Lift-Up and Lift-Up Pathfinder programmes.
Moving Up the Ladder
Chan Nget Hoong’s family will be one of those signing up for the new Lift-Up Pathfinder programme.
Her family of five is already receiving support from the Lift-Up programme as well as bursaries from HSEU for the last five years.
Mdm Chan, 46, works as a senior patient service associate with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
With a monthly income of slightly more than $2,000, she hopes the new programme can help her family improve on their current situation.
Her husband is currently in-between jobs, and they have a son aged 18, and two daughters aged 15 and 2.
“It is a challenge to find the time and the right courses to upgrade myself. My son wants to be an entrepreneur and the talks we have attended under the Lift-Up programme often encourage him to think big and pursue his dreams. My daughter is studying hard in the hope of becoming a lab technician. I hope Lift-Up Pathfinder can offer more customised support that can help point my children in the right direction, bolster their career aspirations and bring them better-paying jobs,” said Mdm Chan.
Other Beneficiaries
A total of 59 organisations will receive funds from the President’s Challenge this year, including those in children and family services, healthcare and eldercare services, disability services and the rehabilitation of ex-offenders.
Mdm Halimah also encouraged unions to partner the President’s Challenge to carry out volunteerism programmes.
