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| ‘It’s
in giving that we receive’ |
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| MOF staff
visit the Geylang East Home for the Aged
every month. |
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The
Ministry of Finance (MOF) has adopted the Chen
Su Lan Methodist
Children’s Home and the Geylang East Home
for
the Aged.
The home for the elderly has about 30 to 40 residents, most of whom are recipients
of public assistance. The children’s home has about 70 children aged 4
to 12. Most of these children come from broken families and have single or divorced
parents, parents in prison or drug rehabilitation centres, or simply parents
who are “missing in action”.
The adoption of the homes represents MOF’s commitment to give regular help
to the residents. Since then, MOF’s outreach efforts have included monthly
visits to the homes and fundraising activities such as jumble sales, a charity
concert and food fairs which have raised about $30,000. The residents of the
homes also joined MOF for corporate events such as the recent Family Day held
at the Singapore Zoo.
Through the regular visits, some of the residents have come to know some MOF
staff by name. One staff even visits the children’s home during her Saturday
off days and brings the children out for activities.
When MOF first adopted the homes, we merely intended to provide some help by
raising funds and organising activities for the residents. But we soon discovered
that many of our staff also found joy and meaning through the programmes.
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| A charity
concert and other initiatives helped
to raise $30,000. |
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In
an internal staff survey carried out in October
2002, up to 73% of the MOF staff who have visited
the homes responded that they benefited from the
visits.
In another survey conducted in April 2002, about 75% of the staff who participated
in the home visits organised by MOF indicated that they would not have otherwise
done any community service. The Chen Su Lan Home recently recognised MOF as its
Outstanding Corporate Volunteer
of the year. |
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By
Lee Kok Fatt, MOF
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