I welcome the pledge by Social
and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin to improve the coordination among
the public agencies so that assistance is made easier for vulnerable groups
“Coordinated support for vulnerable groups to be improved”; 27 July , TODAY Newspaper ).
It is also encouraging that the MSF
Minister is keen to get more people to become volunteers as they can play an
important role in society.
I have been a volunteer with the
Institute for Mental Health and two other mental health providers for several years,
and it gives me a great sense of satisfaction as I am able to motivate, inspire
and give hope to patients and their family caregivers with the ultimate goal of
giving them all a meaningful purpose in life.
Volunteering that makes a big difference in the lives of the vulnerable
and bring sheer joy to them can be the motivating and guiding principle for
people to sign up as volunteers.
It is no easy task securing volunteers, but I fervently
believe that the civil service which is Singapore’s biggest employer with a
workforce of 82,000 civil servants can lead by example. To achieve this, I propose that a Government
ministry be appointed to secure volunteers from every ministry and then
organise programmes and activities to reach out to the vulnerable in our
society. For better team work, public
sector volunteering programmes can be within a ministry or across ministries.
The vulnerable in our society should not be just children or those living in
one-room HDB flats, but adults, persons with disabilities – visible and
non-visible and those living in bigger flats who are isolated with lack of
social support.
Whether it is sprucing up a home, painting a flat,
befriending the elderly, taking the less fortunate for meals, accompanying the
elderly sick to hospitals and clinics for medical appointments or organising a
sponsored event for nursing homes and hospitals, such meaningful work can give
a deep sense of satisfaction to the volunteers.
Added to this, once public sectors officers carry out volunteer work, they
will have a better understanding of the marginalised in our midst and then be
well positioned to help their senior management and ministers fine tune
policies and make Singapore a truly inclusive society where no one is left
behind.
The noble job of volunteering can be factored in the
yearly staff appraisals, and ministries and staff who excel in proving
excellent programmes for the vulnerable can be given awards annually in
recognition of their dedication and commitment
to the less fortunate.
RAYMOND ANTHONY
FERNANDO
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