ADDRESS BY MS INDRANEE RAJAH, MINISTER, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRESIDENT, SINDA, AT THE SINDA APPRECIATION TEA ON SUNDAY, 21 JANUARY 2024 AT GARDENS BY THE BAY, SINGAPORE

SINDA Board of Trustees and Executive Committee Members;

SINDA CEO, Mr Anbarasu Rajendran;

Community leaders, partners, donors, and volunteers;

Ladies and Gentlemen and friends,

Introduction

1. Thank you so much for coming today. Today’s event is mainly for you, for us to say thank you and to give a big expression of appreciation in this beautiful setting. We thought that it would be a fitting place to let you have an afternoon of enjoyment, camaraderie and friendship.
2. It’s right that we should recognise our volunteers because of all that you do. SINDA is very much a volunteer-driven organisation. We have our Board of Trustees, we have our Executive Committee, we have our management and staff, but really what gives it the power, the energy and the reach is volunteers like yourselves. So once again thank you and a big hand for everybody.

Appreciating Efforts in 2023

3. Let me just say a few words about things which have happened in 2023. In 2023, we were able, through your volunteering efforts, to expand our reach and depth of SINDA services, and this was through partnerships with other stakeholders and individuals as well.
4. This has led to a very good outcome, which is that more underprivileged individuals and families have been able to receive benefit from SINDA and the number of beneficiaries has been growing significantly over the years. When we say the number of beneficiaries has been growing significantly over the years, please don’t take that as the Indian community is not doing well. What it means is that we have been able to increase our outreach, be more effective in our outreach, and to reach those who really need our help. And that again, is due to the efforts that you have put in.
5. Providing this kind of support, doing this kind of outreach, really requires extensive resources, time and energy. You saw on the slide just now, the Door Knocking Exercise – that is painstaking work, because we go to the rental blocks and we literally knock on the doors. So, door knocking doesn’t sound very deep and profound, but we call it like it is, because that’s exactly what you do. You knock on the door and see them open the door, and find out what their issues are, and then see how you can help them, connect them to SINDA services, or connect them to national services, or any other services they might ned.
6. But that kind of work takes time, takes effort and it needs people. So, it’s not possible for us to do this, working by just one organisation alone. We’ve only really been able to achieve this increased outreach due to people stepping forward, due to partnerships with social service agencies, as well as partnerships with friends and collaborators.

Acknowledging Key Efforts

7. We also want to acknowledge the key efforts and the people who have put in those efforts. Our volunteers have done a lot.
8. You have guided students in their academic studies, you have nurtured youths through mentorships, and you have visited in-need households to render help. We were very excited to have organised ‘YouthGiving24’ last year, Singapore’s first 24-hour youth-led volunteering effort. And in the span of a full day, these youths undertook 12 initiatives, focused on various causes – environmental, social and community-driven – and it was heartening to see the youth driven, stepping up to do their part. And on our part, SINDA will continue to nurture their potential and provide them with purposeful platforms to make a difference.
9. And to our partners and donors – it’s due to your efforts that we have been able not only to sustain, but to expand our efforts to reach and support the community. The success of our support during festive seasons, for example, has brought joy to many families:
   • Through Celebrate! Festive Gift Packs, donors sponsored gift packs across the festivals, and partners and volunteers distributed these to low-income households. It may not seem like much, but honestly, if you’re from a lower-income household, and you can’t afford some of the things which others can during the festive period, having somebody provide you with an ang bao or goodie bag with festive gifts, makes a difference because it means you can celebrate with your family.
   • During Project Shine, donors, partners and volunteers joined us in cleaning the homes of low-income families, so that they could welcome the festivities with brighter homes.
10. Each effort, no matter how small, contributes to the overall goodness that we can bring to the community and the people that we serve. These are vital to SINDA’s goal of uplifting the community, and as needs evolve, your role will be even more important than ever.

SINDA PCI Enhanced to Meet Evolving Needs

11. So looking ahead to 2024, what are some of the things that we have in mind? I want to share two things today.
12. We want to continue to improve social mobility of the more vulnerable groups in our community. We want to help them to achieve their aspirations, and we also want to be able to leverage on Government strategies and programmes. So SINDA should be a catalyst and should connect them with things that can uplift them and help them go further. SINDA and its networks must also ensure that the Indian community continues to receive the best possible support.
13. So we did a scan of the challenges and the needs, and through the Door Knocking Exercise we got a better sense of what people needed. Whilst we have also worked with the lowest 20% of the community in terms of income, we also need to bear in mind rising costs of living. So with this in mind, SINDA will be enhancing its Per Capita Income criteria, or PCI. Currently the PCI is $1,000, meaning that if there is a PCI of $1,000, but if someone’s income is just above $1,000 then they will not be eligible for our support.
14. But we will be increasing the PCI to $1,600, so this will enable us to do a lot more. So, with this increase, we will be able to benefit an additional 11,000 families, or about 12% more in the community. They will be able to benefit from SINDA’s financial aid and support schemes, and they can also benefit from its complete range of programmes for free. More in the middle-income groups will have access to essential support and will be able to enjoy full fee waivers when they enrol into SINDA programmes.
15. SINDA arrived at this PCI of $1,600, by looking at Singaporeans’ income distribution. As of 2022, the ‘Monthly Household Income From Work Per Household Member’^[1] was $1,623 at the 20^th So, SINDA revised the PCI to include a broader income band and this aligns with SINDA’s intention and goal to serve the lower-earning bands of our community.
16. We will also increase the amount that we are spending on our social programmes, and other forms of support by $5 million. That will be spread across the different programmes, but essentially, we are injecting more because we want to be able to provide more support and importantly, ensure that that support reaches the groups who need it most.
17. So we hope that families will find this additional support helpful in easing their financial constraints, and also in helping them to access the programmes.

Working Together

18. All this can only happen if we work together. So, the mission of supporting an increased pool of families and individuals is not one that SINDA can undertake by itself. We need your help. We’ve come this far – we’ve managed to expand the pool, increase the reach of programmes through your assistance – and this year and in the years ahead, we will continue to need your help and your support.
19. Please do bring in others. There’s important work to be done. We can only reach the ones who need it if we have people who can reach them.

Conclusion

20. And with that, I just want to conclude by saying that I wish you all a Happy New Year, and a happy Pongal as well. Thank you once again for all your support. I hope we can do much more together.
21. Thank you.

[1] Source: SingStat, Key Indicators on Household Income from Work Among Resident Employed Households, Last Updated 9 Feb 2023. https://tablebuilder.singstat.gov.sg/table/TS/M810361