Leaena Tambyah, the ‘lioness’ of the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, dies at 86

SINGAPORE - Mrs Leaena Tambyah, whose name means “lioness” and who started Singapore’s first school for children with multiple disabilities, died on Friday at the age of 86.

Mrs Tambyah was a social worker and well-known advocate for disabled people with the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA).

In 1979, Mrs Tambyah started a playgroup for children with multiple physical disabilities who were not going to school.

The Handicapped Children’s Playgroup, which began with seven children in the Church of St Ignatius, received the United Nations Community Excellence Award in 1983.

The group eventually became AWWA School, which serves close to 400 students with moderate to severe special needs.

In 1994, she was named Her World Woman of the Year.

Her son Paul Tambyah, a doctor and professor of infectious diseases who is also chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party, said his mother got him and his sister Malini involved in voluntary work from a young age.

He said they helped children with disabilities play in swimming pools, before hydrotherapy pools were built.

Professor Tambyah said: “That opened our eyes, and I think it helped both my sister and I to get a very different perspective on life.”

He described his mother as a kind and organised person, who could be intimidating with her meticulousness, not shying away from correcting the grammar in her co-workers’ reports.

Prof Tambyah added: “She looked out for people, and she was aware of people who would otherwise get bypassed. Sometimes, when we went to shopping malls, we’d see somebody who was sitting alone. And she would smile and say ‘hello’.”

Mrs Tambyah had spent years writing letters to persuade ministers to include children with special needs in the Compulsory Education Act, and to exempt mobile therapy vans from having to bid for a certificate of entitlement.

Mrs Tambyah had said in a National Archives interview: “One of the joys in my life is that though our school is at the bottom rung of the ladder of education, we have given an opportunity for education to children who nobody wanted to touch.”

Prof Tambyah said his mother’s persistence in her advocacy influenced him to enter politics.

He said: “It was the idea that even if the government says something, it’s not always fixed in stone. And that if you try hard enough, and if you use multiple different approaches, you can change things.”

He said his mother was diagnosed with a blood disorder in March and had a stroke last week. She was adamant about not being kept alive through artificial means.

His sister, who lives in Britain, flew home on Tuesday, and they got their mother into palliative care. She died at about 1pm on Friday.

Prof Tambyah said: “She was in church three weeks ago and took communion. But she was getting weaker and weaker. She was suffering. So, in a way, this is a blessing.”

His father died 12 years ago.

Born in 1937, Mrs Tambyah came to Singapore from Penang when her father was appointed headmaster of St Andrew’s School in 1940. She studied at Raffles Girls’ School and graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in social science.

Mrs Tambyah founded AWWA’s Therapy and Educational Assistance for Children in Mainstream Education, an integration programme for children in special schools who could be in mainstream schools.

It includes a mobile therapy clinic for students with physical disabilities whose parents cannot afford to take them to hospitals for therapy.

Tributes poured in on Saturday, with AWWA posting on Facebook: “The late Mrs Tambyah has inspired so many to always do better to shift the needle of societal norms, so that everyone is able to thrive according to their aspirations and abilities.”

Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli wrote on Facebook that Mrs Tambyah had a vision of a world where people with disabilities were supported to fulfil their potential and dreams.

He said: “Mrs Tambyah had dedicated much of her life to social work and improving the lives of others, especially persons with disabilities. She has left a mark on many lives and society, and she will be dearly missed.”

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post: “She has been a leading light in the social service sector and I have heard and seen her good work since my years in MSF (the Ministry of Social and Family Development).

“Her work, and the work of other outstanding pioneer generation leaders like her, inspire us to continue our efforts in this sector today.”