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Sinda, Mendaki set up centre

It is the first time the two self-help groups are coming together to run a mini family service centre

Two self-help groups, Mendaki and the Singapore Indian Association (Sinda), will set up and run a "mini family service centre" by August, to provide counselling, referral services and family life programmes to people of all races.

This is the first time that Mendaki and Sinda are combining efforts to run such a centre, which will offer the services of three counsellors, instead of the usual 12 found in full-size family centres.

To be known as a social services centre (SSC), the mini centre aims to cater to all races and will operate under the flagship of the Joint Social Service Centre (JSSC).

To start with, counsellors will provide information and referral services, said Mendaki's chief executive officer, Mr Sumardi Ali.

The new centre will then handle and follow up on individual cases from June next year when the JSSC premises at Toa Payoh West Community Centre is fully renovated, he added.

To ensure that no one is turned away due to languages barriers, the centre's three counsellors will speak at least one of these languages - Mandrain, Tamil or malay.

He said the combined effort is in line with JSSC's aim to share resources. "It means that we can maximise and use each other 's network, as well as reach out to more people."

JSSC draws its resources from the five self-help groups - Mendaki, Sinda, Chinese Development Council, Association of Muslim Professionals, and Eurasian Association - and is run by the Central Community Development Council.

Sinda's CEO, Mr S. Vivakanandan, said: "This effort is a clear expression of JSSC's aim to facilitate the pooling of resources from the various self-help groups."

JSSC has organised 19 projects during the past year, mostly talks and camps with topics ranging from how to motivate children to enriching one's marriage.

The centre's record showed that these programmes have reached almost 2,500 people so far.

One main project in the pipeline is a student service centre, which will be managed by CDAC. Its facilities will include a library, a study area and a computer laboratory.

JSSC will hold its first year anniversary celebrations tomorrow with Community Develepment Minister Abdullah Tarmugi as the guest of honour.