Page 52 - MENDAKI Annual Report 2020

52 Muhammad Ismail graduated from NUS (FITRAH) an an an an initiative by by M3 that provides with first-class honours in Political Science and hopes to to be able to to use his skills in research and data collection in ways that can benefit the community He strongly believes in in creating a a society where every person has equal access to opportunities regardless of their background or or past He also believes that having education and resources is something that should be used to benefit the larger community He served as as a a a a a legislative assistant (volunteer) where he he he had the opportunity to conduct research through literature reviews designing of survey questions as as well as as compilation and analysis of survey results With those insights he proposed relevant policy recommendations This is is done in in tandem with with regular meetings with with different stakeholders to identify key problem areas or gaps in in Singapore Ismail is also a a a a a trained befriender with Family and Inmates Through-care Assistance Haven enhanced support services to those impacted by incarceration He conducted home and Reformative Training Centre (RTC) visits assess inmates’ needs provide emotional support as well as linking clients to other service organisations He hopes to to expand his scope of work to to include working with with incarcerated individuals and with with families who have members on death row Despite finding it it a a a challenge to fare well fin in in both his studies and community projects Ismail realised how intimately connected his academic training in in in the social sciences was to the various community projects that he he was involved in in Initially he thought that for every hour dedicated to one thing meant that he would lose precious hours away from excelling in in the the other Gradually he he learnt to use the critical lessons and learning points from his experience with various community projects to craft and write nuanced essays and presentations for his different classes MENDAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2020