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Singapore Highlights Volunteers Are Invaluable Assets

Source: Government of Singapore
Posted on: 18th November 2009

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Volunteers Awards 2009.

Speech by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports at National Museum Glass Atrium

Distinguished volunteers
Colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen

We are here this evening to honour the passion and dedication of the many volunteers that have devoted their time and energy generously to the work of MCYS, and to the society at large.

Volunteers are invaluable assets. You are our eyes and ears and hands on the ground. You reach out to those who are in need, providing them with a shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough. Without our pool of dedicated and passionate volunteers, we would not be able to create hope, dignity and mobility for the vulnerable groups in society.

And it is only with hope and dignity that Singaporeans can learn to be self-reliant ? one of the key fundamental principles of our social safety net. In this regard, volunteers are the key pillars of our social safety net. It is your compassion, dedication, values and energy that ensures that the needy and most vulnerable members of our society receive the help they deserve. ”Many helping hands” would be meaningless without volunteers.

Over the years, we have come across some volunteers who have literally made volunteering their life’s work – they gave their all selflessly, whole-heartedly and unequivocally. To honour them, my Ministry has introduced a new MCYS Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award this year.

The inaugural winners are Mrs Ann Wee and Mdm Indranee Nadisen. Both ladies have unwaveringly and unconditionally contributed to the causes of MCYS for more than 30 years.

Mrs Ann Wee is a veteran in the field, having started volunteering in the late 1950s. Not only has she been a tremendous help in adoption services, she is also on the advisory panel to the Juvenile Court since 1970, where cases for delinquent youths are discussed before sentencing.

40 years down the road till this very day, Mrs Wee continues to read and prepare case notes on these youths each week before attending Court, even though she is already in her 80s – this is an amazing lady that we know we can count on anytime. I am told that she will be officially retiring next month, and I would like to say this to her – Mrs Wee, thank you for being a constant and consistent support for our troubled youths and children waiting to be adopted.

Then there is Mdm Indranee Nadisen, who is affectionately known as the ”Super Foster Mom”. In her 32 years as a foster mom, Mdm Nadisen has cared for 43 children, retiring only in July last year because of persistent shoulder and knee problems. Mdm Nadisen’s adoptive mother had also been a foster mom, and she was influenced to volunteer when she saw her mother’s love for the children.

My staff told me that Mdm Nadisen would cry uncontrollably every time a foster child was ready to leave her charge, simply because she loved them so much. To Mdm Nadisen – thank you so much for your unconditional love. Not only have you have given children from troubled families a warm and loving environment to grow up in, you have also given them hope and a future to look forward to.

Besides Mrs Wee and Mdm Nadisen, we are also presenting awards to a select group of volunteers as ”Friends of MCYS” this evening. The group of 17 has provided long and outstanding service to my Ministry, playing a significant role to the success of the community-based programmes under MCYS.

We will also be honouring 53 volunteers who have served the society for periods ranging from 5 to 40 years. To express our deepest appreciate to the generosity and hard work of our volunteers, my Ministry commissioned award-winning local sculptor Mr Chua Boon Kee to create a special sculpture this year. Named the ”Circles of Life”, the sculpture is depicted by five interlocking circles that symbolise the five pillars of the MCYS mission in an abstract form.

This sculpture will be presented to all our volunteers annually from now on. In this regard, I would like to congratulate and thank Mr Chua for an excellent piece of work.

There is another group of volunteers that we are congratulating this evening, and they are volunteers who have been conferred this year’s National Day Medals. The good work of this group of 12 has been recognised at the national level and we are indeed privileged to have them with us today.

To celebrate their dedication to volunteerism, my Ministry had invited 12 children and adults with disability who each drew a special painting for these 12 special volunteers.

The contribution of volunteers goes far beyond time and money. We value your moral authority and your ability to transform lives even more. Consequently, meaningful volunteering will never be easy. Our volunteers not only dedicate their time and efforts, they are also fully committed to the job that they are doing. Nevertheless, I hope the sense of fulfilment that you achieve will keep you going strong. Not only is your spirit of volunteerism inspirational, you are also wonderful role models.

On this note, I would like to thank each and every one of you once again, for making a huge difference to the lives of others and to the community we live in.

I hope that you will continue with your good work, and I hope to see many others with the same passion and dedication following your footsteps, to volunteer their time and their skills to benefit the disadvantaged, the poor and the needy.

Thank you.

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