Outreach initiative by music school for special needs kids among 25 projects lauded for social, climate impact

SINGAPORE – Learning music can give children with special needs benefits that go beyond improving hand-eye coordination and focus, said Ms Samantha Soh-Tann.

These include fostering creativity and self-expression, which a tailored music education can provide.

To address this gap, Ms Soh-Tann set up The Radiant Spectrum, a music school for children with special needs, about three years ago.

For these children, music is a tool for communication and enjoyment with their loved ones, said Ms Soh-Tann, who co-founded the school with her husband, Dr Wesley Joon-Wie Tann.

The school now has an outreach initiative that provides interactive music lessons and workshops, allowing these students to develop their talents and confidence through music.

The initiative has involved three special education schools so far.

The school’s project was one of the 25 projects that were recognised as part of the annual Steward Leadership 25 (SL25) list.

Organised by the Stewardship Asia Centre, the list showcases projects that have significantly contributed to protecting and enhancing the environment or society across the Asia-Pacific.

The 25 honourees were recognised during the two-day Steward Leadership Summit, which is taking place at Pan Pacific Singapore over Oct 23 and Oct 24.

A total of 139 applications for the list were submitted by 122 for-profit organisations across 25 countries. This year saw the most entries since SL25 started in 2021.

The selected projects span 15 industries, making their impact across 12 countries, including Australia, China, India, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.

Among those that applied, 39 per cent were from large corporations, with the rest coming from small and medium-sized enterprises and social enterprises.

The shortlisted projects focused on environmental sustainability and community upliftment, and came from several industries, including financial services, healthcare, agribusiness, food and beverage, energy and real estate.

Each project was chosen for its commitment and impact in driving profitable growth by addressing pressing social and environmental challenges, reflecting equal merit among all.

One of these projects is by D2L.sg, a social enterprise that upcycles food surplus and food waste.

The D2L.sg platform uses intelligent matching technology to redistribute excess food to needy families in Singapore by reusing and repurposing non-sellable food items that are edible. Non-edible waste is also repurposed for other uses, such as animal consumption.

“Our project is our contribution to society towards achieving zero food waste,” said Ms Lin QingHui, its founder.

The home-grown company started as an informal group in 2018, and registered as a legal entity and became a social enterprise in 2023.

A project by social enterprise Liberty Society also made the list.

The organisation collaborates with corporations to repurpose waste into high-quality merchandise and gifts made by women in Indonesia, said Ms Tamara Gondo, its founder and chief executive.

A facility under the organisation provides skills training and support for these marginalised women, helping them to earn sustainable incomes. Each sale of the products made from waste also reinvests 10 per cent of proceeds into training programmes for women in Indonesia.

Mr Patrick Daniel, director of SPH Media Trust and an SL25 judge who spoke at the SL25 list unveiling dinner on Oct 23, said: “It is not enough to first do well financially and then devote some resources to doing good.

“The goal is to do well by doing good, and embed this as corporate strategy.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said the D2L.sg platform uses intelligent matching technology to redistribute excess food to needy families in Singapore by reusing and repurposing edible non-sellable food items. D2L.sg has since clarified that their non-edible non-sellable food items are also used for non-edible purposes, such as animal consumption.