Self-help groups play crucial role in Singapore society: President

President Halimah Yacob and Sinda president Indranee Rajah (in green), Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Education, touring the Sinda bus, which has been retrofitted to serve as a hub for activities like read
President Halimah Yacob and Sinda president Indranee Rajah (in green), Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Education, touring the Sinda bus, which has been retrofitted to serve as a hub for activities like reading sessions for children. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Self-help groups play an important role in building a cohesive and collaborative society, President Halimah Yacob said yesterday.

She added: "We all want to do a common good, with all the communities. This is the way we should move ahead. There is scope for self-help groups because they understand the needs and challenges facing the community and therefore can provide very dedicated service in order to uplift the community."

She was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) in Beatty Road. Sinda, a self-help group that aims to uplift the socio-economic status of the Indian community, was set up in 1991. It offers a wide range of services to support less fortunate students and their families.

Madam Halimah said Sinda has grown from just providing financial assistance to offering holistic programmes that cut across various types of services for a wide range of beneficiaries, such as needy families, those who have family members who are incarcerated and children who need education.

She said that self-help groups in different communities can work together across social boundaries. "The important thing is also that... the different self-help groups are very collaborative in the work they do. They create a lot of common services and common spaces, such as giving collaborative tuition (to students), for instance," she added.

"I think that is good because then it encourages the cross-fertilisation of ideas and the common use of support services and crosses the boundaries of race or religion."

Madam Halimah talked to Sinda beneficiaries and volunteers, and met social workers from its family service centre to better understand the issues facing the Indian community.

She also toured the Sinda bus, which has been retrofitted to serve as a hub for activities such as reading sessions for children.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on January 19, 2020, with the headline Self-help groups play crucial role in Singapore society: President. Subscribe