IN THE 1950s and 1960s, social services in Singapore focused on providing necessities such as food to the poor.
Today, the emphasis in the sector is on professionalising social service staff and ensuring that charities are well-run.
The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) celebrated its 50th anniversary on Friday and its president Kwek Siew Jin traced the sector's development in the last five decades.
The challenge in the days ahead, said the NCSS chief executive Ang Bee Lian, is for charities providing social services to work together to 'optimise resources and pool expertise'.
