Page 6 - MENDAKI Annual Report 2019

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE and capability of the mentors. These include developing a mentoring curriculum, managing the recruitment, training and deployment of mentors, as well as assessing the effectiveness of M3’s mentoring initiatives. A comprehensive training schedule will be rolled out in the second half of 2020 to equip mentors with the necessary skills before deploying them for various mentoring initiatives. Leveraging on the M3 professional networks, MENDAKI held seven engagement sessions for students to forge networks with professionals from various fields. These sessions were crucial in our mentorship efforts for Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students, providing them with the motivation and support to complete their education and be future-ready. My appreciation to all who have signed up to be part of this mentoring initiative. MENDAKI has also expanded its programmes for families impacted by incarceration of their loved ones. The Family Excellence Circles initiative aims to strengthen and build the family’s resilience as they overcome their challenges and obstacles ahead. Through this programme, we are also able to connect the families and their children to our other programmes. PROGRESSING AS A COMMUNITY, CELEBRATING KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER MENDAKI launched its inaugural Raikan Ilmu in October 2019 with the official opening of the MENDAKI and Malay/Muslim Heritage Gallery. Launched as part of the Bicentennial celebrations, the Heritage Gallery featured our community’s educational heritage and achievements, showcasing the evolution of the Malay institution of learning. It chronicled how our spirit of togetherness has enabled our community to continue our pursuit of knowledge, even during challenging times. Our Raikan Ilmu campaign paid homage to our community’s spirit of togetherness, a value instilled by the earlier generations. During this campaign, we called on the community to be part of MENDAKI’s efforts to instil the values of lifelong learning in our community. Many responded to this call. We saw professionals and individuals coming forward to organise ground-up initiatives to inspire the community to continue to seek knowledge regardless of where they are in life. We saw groups of engineers, healthcare professionals and educators coming forward to be part of the Raikan Ilmu Learning Festival. Others shared their expertise at seminars and workshops organised throughout the month. These ground-up initiatives complemented existing programmes by Malay/Muslim organisations, enabling us to extend our reach to a wider segment of the community. In all, Raikan Ilmu saw close to 100 partners and supporters coming together to drive home the message on the importance of seeking knowledge and lifelong learning. I applaud these individuals and professional networks, as well as Malay/Muslim organisations, for stepping up to work together to further strengthen our position as a Community of Success. As part of Raikan Ilmu, we recognised students who have done well in their studies as well as those who have shown outstanding capabilities in non-academic areas at the annual Anugerah MENDAKI. The increasing number of Anugerah MENDAKI recipients is testament that our students are excelling in school. This year, Anugerah MENDAKI also gave recognition to those who excel in areas, such as design, videography, sports as well as those who display good citizenry. Every success is celebrated. The community has remained steadfast in our pursuit of knowledge. We continue to place an importance on education. Our efforts have borne fruits as we see our younger generation excelling in various fields, such as education, the arts and sports. This was made possible through our community’s caring spirit of ensuring that no one is left behind. ENHANCING THE COMMUNITY’S COMPETENCY The journey ahead will be challenging. COVID-19 has affected the lives of many, including our Malay/Muslim community. However, the community rallied together, adjusted our way of life to adopt new religious and social norms. I am proud that our community has shown resilience and compassion, exemplifying Character, Competence and Citizenry in responding and adapting to the challenges posed by COVID-19. As we continue to build our future together as a Community of Success, we need to be better prepared to tackle disruptions and plan ahead. The key to our community’s well-being and resilience is in its readiness to embrace the future. The SGTeguhBersatu Taskforce, of which MENDAKI is a part of, will continue to help those affected by COVID-19. This include reaching out to our Malay/Muslim workers to ensure they stay employed and employable in the immediate and long term. MENDAKI SENSE, together with partners such as NTUC and Workforce Singapore, will provide end-to end employment support for Malay/Muslim workers and strengthen outreach to prepare our community for the future economy. This will be our focus in 2020. TRIBUTE TO MDM RAHAYU BUANG I would like to express my appreciation to Mdm Rahayu Buang, who served as the Chief Executive Officer of MENDAKI from January 2017 to March 2020. To ensure MENDAKI’s programmes remain relevant and impactful, Ms Rahayu oversaw reviews on several flagship programmes such as the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme, Anugerah MENDAKI, MENDAKI Study Loan Scheme and the Education Trust Fund subsidy scheme. She also introduced new awards such as MENDAKI Study Award and the Anugerah Gemilang MENDAKI to honour those who achieved academic and non-academic excellence as well as display good citizenry. Under her stewardship, MENDAKI has also widened its outreach to the community with the establishment of two new satellite centres at Choa Chu Kang and Jurong as well as the new M3@WGS office at Wisma Geylang Serai. These centres have enabled us to improve our accessibility to better provide last mile service delivery to the community. Beyond introducing innovative programmes and services, she was also instrumental in enhancing the capabilities of the Malay/ Muslim volunteer sector in the areas of governance and leadership management. We wish her all the best in her future endeavour. 1Figure updated as of Feb 2020 MENDAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2019 04