SINDA gave me all-round support in different areas of my life. SINDA’s Back to School Festival and STEP programme provided much-needed financial and educational assistance for me to do better in my studies. After finding out about SINDA’s diverse range of youth programmes, I joined the SINDA Football Club, where I not only improved my football abilities but also developed essential life and leadership skills.
My journey with SINDA has inspired me to positively impact others. Today, I am paying it forward as a Peer Leader with the SINDA Youth Club.
Armed with the firm belief that books are a vital gateway to broadening horizons and imparting worldly knowledge, Preethi is on a quest to cultivate a reading habit in young children. Every week for the last five years, she has been setting aside time from her busy schedule to conduct reading sessions in English and Tamil under SINDA’s Book Wizards programme. Through weekly sessions at the library as well as house visits, she gently nurtures a love for reading in children and helps them enhance their reading abilities. Her dedication and care have not gone unnoticed, and she is now a Volunteer Leader for Book Wizards.
Preethi also volunteers at other SINDA events including BTSF to help secure the financial well-being of students. For her efforts, she was awarded a Five-Year Appreciation Certificate at the SINDA Appreciation Ceremony 2023.
Mr Pandiyan Vellasami, 55, has served as president of the Tamil Representative Council (TRC) since September 2016. Having had a wealth of experience working with SINDA, he said that sharing resources and data with SINDA has helped the council to better identify those in need and assist them accordingly. “Through such combined efforts, we have been able to recognise students who have performed well academically as well as to increase our assistance to families in need.”
The TRC has partnered with SINDA to organise workshops, forums and bursary awards for students, such as the Indian Community Bursary Awards and the Academic Achievement Awards for Indian students who had excelled in the PSLE, GCE ‘N’, ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations with distinctions in Tamil Language. By working together, the organisations have created better awareness amongst the community, and have seen an increase in the number of families applying for these awards.
“We are happy to have created better awareness and impact among the Indian community and I look forward to more collaborations with SINDA in the future, with a focused aim – to uplift the community,” said Mr Pandiyan.
Volunteering at SINDA has become an integral part of Jeremy Aruldoss’s life. He first volunteered with SINDA through the SINDA Youth Club (SYC) in 2013. Over the years, he has volunteered for initiatives such as the SINDA Youth Leaders Seminar and the SINDA Young Leaders Programme. In 2014, Jeremy initiated the SINDA Sports Initiative (SPIN), a six-month fitness programme that encourages youths to lead healthy lifestyles and cultivates their mental, social and physical well-being through customised fitness sessions.
“With SPIN, we hope to build bonds and foster friendship and mutual understanding among the youths through their involvement,” said Jeremy.
For his dedication and commitment to uplifting Indian youth, Jeremy was commended at the SINDA Appreciation Ceremony 2018, an event that honoured community partners, schools and volunteers for their selfless contributions to the Indian community.
Currently a member of the SINDA Volunteer Management Resource Panel, Jeremy helped implement SINDA’s Literacy and Numeracy Programme (LYNN) at Bukit Merah Community Club, where now, more than 35 pre-schoolers are attending weekly sessions for English, Maths and Tamil.
On how he has benefited from volunteering, Jeremy shared: “There’s value for both the volunteers and beneficiaries, and it enriches our lives by allowing us to understand and learn from each other’s perspectives. Volunteering provided me with opportunities to contribute and hone various skill sets, such as facilitating events and approaching people with empathy – skill sets that I passed onto other youth to empower them.”
“Before being introduced to SINDA, I had no inkling that they offered so many programmes and services – these actually turned out to be opportunities to help us improve ourselves,” says homemaker Mrs Nangai.
Mrs Nangai, whose husband is the sole breadwinner in her family, says she and her family were fortunate to have been able to tap onto SINDA’s various assistance schemes. “Over the past three years, my children have been receiving the ‘Back To School’ vouchers and school kits, together with the SINDA Bursary. These have been of great help to us, ensuring that my children have the necessary school supplies and their expenses are covered.”
Beyond receiving financial assistance, Mrs Nangai’s children participated in SINDA’s academic programmes, while she and her husband attended counselling sessions and parenting workshops to enhance their parenting abilities. “I can see a difference in my family now; we are able to communicate better and express ourselves freely to one another. We are a much happier family these days, thanks to SINDA’s programmes that have helped us in many ways!”
Prishalini Rajasakaran is a testament to how being proactive is key to making progress with one’s studies. “In the beginning, I struggled with understanding Chemistry, so I had issues with passing Combined Science. I knew I had to get help if I wanted to do better, so I joined SINDA’s STEP tuition.”
According to Prishalini, her STEP tutor was responsible for thoroughly explaining Chemistry concepts and ensuring that she understood them. “My STEP tutor took the time to identify my learning gaps and clear my doubts.” Additionally, the 19-year-old was able to share what she had learned with peer from different schools whom she met during the programme.
Prishalini’s self-confidence grew when she began improving her Combined Science grades. To top it off, she was awarded SINDA’s Best Overall Student for ‘O’ Levels at the 2017 Joint Tuition Awards. Receiving SINDA’s recognition for her hard work meant a lot to her as it inspired her to do better. On the benefits of the programme, Prishalini shared, “Mentally, I was able to get to a better place. Also, the fact that STEP tuition took place in the evening helped me effectively manage my time after school.”
SINDA’s parenting workshops are designed to help parents improve their parenting skills by understanding their children better and communicating with them effectively. Through those workshops, parents are exposed to seeing issues and situations from their children’s perspective which allows them to have better knowledge about the challenges they may face.
Shamala Devi d/o Tamaraiselvan, 32, was pleased with how much she had benefited from the workshops. “The workshops were an eye-opener for both my husband and I as we learnt a lot about the different roles there are in a family – be it of parents or grandparents. These sessions presented themselves as opportunities to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skill sets to handle different situations that kids go through. We also understood the range of parenting techniques and how to choose suitable techniques to use.”
During the workshops, Shamela Devi learnt an important skill - managing her children’s time to include both study and enrichment activities. “I learnt how to plan and set aside time for the children. Their life shouldn’t just be about education - there should be an equal amount of attention paid to developing their social skills. As parents, it is our responsibility to perform well in our roles and raise well-rounded children.”