Celebrating our volunteers for their efforts and resilience towards a caring Singapore

Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law at the MENDAKI Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony 2022

1. Good afternoon to all of you, those who are here physically as well as those online.  Thank you very much for having me. It is my real pleasure to join you at the MENDAKI Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony 2022.
2. This is the first time that we are holding this event in a hybrid form, and certainly the first time in a long time since we are able to be present with one another. And I think that is such a welcomed respite. We are gathered together today, both in presence and online, to celebrate the contributions of our friends and volunteers who have been supporting the community wholeheartedly with MENDAKI.
   
   

   Celebrating volunteers for their efforts and resilience amid unprecedented times

3. This year’s appreciation ceremony is a particularly significant one because of the challenges we had to face since the COVID-19 pandemic started two years ago.
   a. The pandemic, of course, disrupted our lives but particularly affected the vulnerable even more.
   b. Volunteering in this truly unprecedented climate, when we are unable to come together, to see each other or shake hands has made volunteering particularly challenging.
4. Instead of being hindered by these disruptions and retreating into their shell, volunteers from MENDAKI have stepped up to ensure the continued delivery of programmes and support to the community, by quickly adopting digital technologies.
   a. For example, mentors in MENDAKI’s Empowerment Programmes @ ITE conducted engagements with mentees through online platforms to ensure your mentees continued to receive guidance, support and mentorship.
   b. As volunteers, you remained enthusiastic about getting back to work and were ready to adapt as training sessions and programmes all took on a virtual, and in some cases, a hybrid form.
5. Your continued efforts in driving programmes such as Mentoring and PSLE Maths Coaching have benefitted 75,000 families, children and workers, including those who were affected by the pandemic last year.
6. This truly exemplifies our SG Cares spirit, where Singaporeans come together and work together to navigate through these difficult times, with the objective of building a caring society for all.
   
   

   Volunteerism builds a Singapore that cares

7. As we continue to cultivate care as part of Singaporeans’ DNA, volunteers play a critical and important role in building and uplifting the well-being of the community.
   a. To share an example, Nurshahiddin Abdul Rasid, who is a volunteer in the PSLE Maths Coaching Programme, went beyond the traditional classroom interaction to ensure his students continued to receive guidance and support.
   b. As classes went online, he enriched his lessons by incorporating the use of interactive flashcards and other tools to keep the attention of his mentees.
   c. In this new mode of engagement, he also placed importance in building trust and rapport with his students by lending a listening ear when they needed it, going well beyond just coaching in math.
   d. His students are now a lot less daunted by Mathematics.
   e. Nurshahiddin’s desire to rise above the challenges to find new ways of connecting and go beyond just being their coach in math has exemplified that spirit. These are truly the exemplary traits of volunteers that will really keep Singapore going for a long time.
   f. This is an example of an all of society effort, everyone coming together, all hands on deck to uplift our society.
8. And in that respect, we have seen the Malay community achieve significant progress over the last few decades.
   a. The 2020 Census highlighted that the proportion of Malays who attained post-secondary or higher qualifications is three times higher than 20 years ago, from 15.8 percent in 2000 to close to 48 percent in 2020.
   b. The number of Malays holding PMET jobs has also increased from 28 percent in 2010 to 39 percent in 2020, and a larger proportion of Malays are employed in fast-growing sectors such as information and communications, finance and insurance, and professional services.
9. Since its formation in 1982, MENDAKI has helped contribute to uplifting the Malay/Muslim community’s educational performance and develop its resilience and adaptability. It has really anchored its place in Singapore’s society.
   a. Some of MENDAKI’s notable programmes include the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme, which provides quality and affordable tuition to help Muslim students, as well as KelasMateMatika programme, which guides parents with preschool children to teach their children basic nummary concepts.
   b. The programme has helped 3,500 families, not only in supporting their preschoolers with numeracy, but also in boosting the confidence of their parents to be teachers and guides to their children.
   c. We also saw a 40% increase in the number of recipients of the Anugerah MENDAKI award in the last ten years. Last year, close to 500 students received the award for being in the top 10% of the cohort of the national examinations. The number of recipients for the Anugerah Cemerlang (‘Excellence’) award, given to graduates with first-class honours degree, also increased by almost twelve-fold from six graduates in 2011 to 71 graduates last year.
10. 10. MENDAKI has also played an important role in driving that volunteerism spirit and training volunteers to play a part in uplifting the community. In short, paying it forward.
11. Despite the pandemic, the number of volunteers registered with MENDAKI in 2021 has risen to more than 2,700, an increase of 41% compared to 2020.
    a. I understand that volunteers also took on the initiative to actively share experiences and best practices with one another as you adapted to serving beneficiaries through the pandemic.
    b. This truly exemplifies the 3Cs – character, competence, and of course, citizenry – which our volunteers continue to inspire others in the community as we build a strong and resilient Singapore.
    
    

    Forging a strong community spirit by lifting others

12. There are also many opportunities to volunteer and be a truly positive force in the community.
    a. One set of opportunities is in youth mentoring.
    b. In 2019, MENDAKI established the Youth Mentoring Office under the M³ framework to build a strong mentoring culture in the community, where youth are connected and actively contributing to the aspiration of a Community of Success.
    c. Since then, the Youth Mentoring Office has trained more than 1,000 volunteers who have been deployed to mentor some 3,000 mentees in 2021.
    d. MENDAKI is expanding its youth mentoring programme at 11 M3@Towns and will be recruiting 500 more volunteers to mentor an additional 1,000 mentees.
13. I encourage more youth to step forward to join MENDAKI as mentors to share their experiences and their life journey. There is no better way to guide someone who is young, perhaps vulnerable, uncertain and unsure in these times, than one who can put their arm around the shoulder, when you can of course, and tell them that they know the way forward, they have walked it before and share their experiences with them. There is nothing more comforting than hearing that.
    a. Volunteering for mentoring programmes is not only a great opportunity to find a way give back to the community, but you also learn new skills and widen your network as you connect with others.
    b. In turn, your own mentees will be inspired by your effort to give back and uplift the lives of others in the community. In doing so, you will also generate a self-reinforced cycle of paying it forward. You volunteer to impact the lives of your mentees positively. Your mentees will learn from you and one day, your mentees will also pay it forward to the community.
    
    

    Conclusion

14. Let me once again take this opportunity to congratulate all 126 award recipients. Your work has been very inspiring. And if nothing else, the work that you do in the cause of the pandemic, despite the pandemic and its challenges, has made it even more rewarding for yourselves.
    a. Your efforts will, indeed, encourage many others to volunteer, step forward, lend a helping hand and give back to the community.
15. Together, we can all play a part to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore. One that we will leave behind for our children and their children, one that which is gracious, cares for all and makes sure that no one gets left behind.
16. Thank you very much.