finances and courses on business skills.

These classes are run by a non-profit school founded by an American, Dr Sarah Mavrinac (below), 47, a former finance lecturer at business school Insead here.

A Singapore permanent resident (PR), the Harvard graduate moved here with her family seven years ago to teach finance at the Singapore campus.

The mother of two gave up her five-

figure salary and founded Aidha - Sanskrit for 'that to which we aspire' - where she runs courses with the help of volunteers, including university lecturers.

While teaching had been satisfying, she said 'this project has given me the opportunity to give back to the community and to women'.

On Friday, she was named Singapore's Social Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 at an awards ceremony at the Fusionopolis research centre in Buona Vista.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.