The Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda), set up in 1991, has managed to work towards the upliftment of the Indian community, with a lot of help from volunteers.
The very formation of Sinda took place through volunteerism, said the self-help group’s CEO K. Barathan, on the backs of heavyweights such as the late former president S R Nathan.
Said Mr Barathan: “Volunteerism started ever since Sinda’s inception and even today, we have distinguished persons in the community who volunteer with Sinda by sitting on our Board of Trustees to address the socio-economic issues faced by the Indian community.”
One of Sinda’s earliest initiatives is the Sinda Tutorials for Enhanced Performance (STEP), which has been running since 1992.
Over the years, it has served 70,000 students and many volunteers have, over the years, dedicated their services towards the success of this programme.
To sustain the growing numbers of students, STEP is today a two-hour, three-times-weekly commitment, and volunteers are supplemented by auxiliary staff.
Currently, 685 people volunteer in various Sinda programmes and initiatives. About half of them are expatriates and new citizens.
Nevertheless, key programmes such as the Guidance and Mentorship Programme, Literacy and Numeracy Programme (LYNN) and Project Read still need the support of a steady base of volunteers to meet the public demand.
What happens once you sign up to volunteer?
An induction programme is conducted every quarter for volunteers who first come on board. They get to know about Sinda and the work that is being done.
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This allows them to explore different volunteering options. Once they sign up for a programme, the respective divisions connect with the volunteers. For some, this marks the start of their training.
Citing Project Read as an example, Sinda’s director of community engagement and volunteer management Vinod Kumar M. elaborated on core traits that a Sinda volunteer needs to have.
“We look for volunteers with the ability to understand and communicate what we are doing.
Next, they need to be able to connect with the beneficiaries. Finally, this connection then allows them to navigate towards a certain goal that Sinda has for the project.”
These skills are especially critical for volunteers who work with children in their homes.
Sinda’s chief operating officer Ravindran N. shared that one of Sinda’s long-term volunteer operations, the legal clinic, has been running for over 20 years by a group of dedicated lawyers who see clients on a monthly basis.
Said Mr Ravindran: “Clients are referred to them by Sinda’s Family Service Centre (FSC), the only self-help group that has its own FSC. Two lawyers have been with us for 20 years.”
tabla! met some of Sinda’s volunteers to understand more about what they do.
Son inspires mother
In 2002, Singapore permanent resident Chandrakala Kalyanasundaram (above, right) accompanied her son Aravindhan, who was then in Primary 5, when he began volunteering at Sinda’s Reading Programme at Jurong Green Community Club.
This was shortly after she and her family of four had moved here from Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
Aravindhan would volunteer as a Buddy Reader to Primary 1 students while his mother, a chemistry graduate from Chennai’s Anna University, would wait for him.
One day she decided to get involved and that was the start of her involvement with Sinda.
“Being new residents then, this helped us bond with the community, understand what was going on, understand the culture and mingle through community activities. You could say it was the son who brought the mother there,” smiled Mrs Kalyanasundaram.
Eventually, her younger son Ragavendra also volunteered for a period while Aravindhan continued volunteering through his junior college days.
While volunteering, a close friendship with a fellow volunteer inspired her even further.
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Said Mrs Kalyanasundaram: “Ms Razeeda Buhari is a teacher and dedicated volunteer attached to the Sinda Centre Jurong Green Community Club.
“We met in 2002 and the good rapport between us resulted in a friendship cherished until today. She gives me the drive to do more. It has been a learning journey for me.”
Mrs Kalyanasundaram has been a passionate and dedicated volunteer for 14 years.
“I want her to do well.”
Mrs Sangeeta Bareja (below, right), 49, who heard of Sinda’s community work last year, now volunteers in two of its programmes – Project Read, and Literacy and Numeracy Programme (LYNN).
The science graduate from Punjab University has done some relief teaching in Singapore during her 23 years of living here.
Sinda matched her to a five-year old pre-schooler who required assistance in reading. Although the child was in K2, she could not recognise letters of the alphabet. Mrs Bareja began reading to her and slowly, the girl started reading back to her.
The child’s mother is the full-time caregiver for her bedridden mother-in-law while her father works as a driver to make ends meet.
In addition to Project Read, Mrs Bareja began volunteering at a nearby LYNN centre for two hours every Saturday this year.
She and another volunteer assist a teacher in a classroom setting for K1 and K2 students, helping out in Mathematics and English.
She contributes a total of three hours a week towards both programmes.
“It’s good because I get to meet other community members so you don’t feel like you are alone. Everyone can take a little time out to help the community and make a difference in someone’s life. I can see a difference in the girl as it’s been more than a year, and feel I have derived more satisfaction from it than she has. I want her to do well.”
Community ripple effect
Sinda Term Trustee Girija Pande, 66, who runs a business consultancy, believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to give back to society in any way they can and wanted to do so after conducting a very satisfying business run across Asia.
He has volunteered for over seven years and helped create an association of recently arrived senior Indian business leaders.
Explained Mr Pande: “The association, which is part of Sinda, is called Indian Business-leaders’ Roundtable (IBR). IBR has raised over half a million dollars for many projects, funded Sinda’s e-learning drive, assisted in career counseling of over 400 school children in various sectors of industry and is now looking to create internships for Singapore Indian youth in ITE and polytechnics.
This is part of the Skills Future project of IBR.
“IBR has assisted Sinda’s Step scheme children in maths by bringing in a well-known organisation Hey Math to assist them with their learning.”
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To give is to receive
Civil servant Logapreyan Renganathan, 44, tells his daughters that it is not the compliments of volunteering that should matter, but the “gift” of the unexplainable connection that is shared with a stranger in need, that moment in time where both hearts are filled with love, gratitude and togetherness.
Highlighting an encounter which left an indelible impression on him, he said: “When I first started volunteering seriously some 10 over years ago as part of my weekly-fortnightly routine, I met a man in a one-room flat who had difficulty opening his door as he had had a severe stroke.
There I was feeling good about myself for making a difference. But when he opened the door after some time, he smiled at me even though his mouth was crooked and said ‘I was once like you too, giving my time and money to the needy’.
“We chatted in his cluttered home, which was filled with items from his previous home, an executive maisonette. He lost everything – his business, luxurious lifestyle and the ability to care for himself. When I left his home that day, my notion and purpose in life changed. To give is to receive and it’s a lesson that has stuck with me and I keep reminding people whom I work and volunteer with, and my daughters too.”
Even before starting to volunteer, full-time national serviceman Santhiran Ezhavarasan, 23, explained that the thought of helping others began unconsciously when he saw his late grandfather helping people who were in need.
Said Mr Ezhavarasan: “Though he had very little to give, he never turned down anyone who came to him for help. He would do everything he could within his means to help people around him, to make their lives happier and better.”
Mr Ezhavarasan’s volunteering journey at Sinda began in June 2013 when he participated in the annual Sinda Youth Leaders Seminar (SYLS), which led to a four-year involvement.
After SYLS 2012, he said: “That spark propelled me to start conversations with leaders and youths around me who were volunteering at Sinda, and they shared with me many opportunities where I could give back to society.
“The good souls from Sinda were the ones who made me realise my inner aspirations to want to help others – the aspiration seeded by my late grandfather.
“They made me realise that I could do more beyond participating in community service; Sinda Youth Club empowered me to go one step further to design and lead service learning projects for my peers to serve alongside me.”
A duty, a calling
Advocate and solicitor B. Uthayachandran, 61, a Sinda volunteer for 22 years at the legal clinic at the Sinda Family Service Centre, contributes as he feels that professional legal advice is sometimes not easily available or not easily accessible to the needy.
When asked about the difference he makes, Mr Uthayachandran humbly said: “I don’t make a difference. I merely provide the information, advice and offer practical solutions to the issues at hand. This gives them confidence and self-respect. They make the difference for themselves by taking the appropriate courses of action. I would love to think that I teach them to fish rather than fish for them.”
He adds that there is a sense of satisfaction when doing things for others, especially the needy and unfortunate.
“The world is moving at great speed, and people claim that they do not even have time for their own, let alone for others. We have to pause and think of those who are not as fortunate as us. We do what we do because it brings a smile, happiness to others. It is a duty, a calling.”
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From receiving to giving Mr Mohamed Jaafar Peer Mohamed, 53, a general manager in the private sector, attended computer classes for beginners with Sinda in the early 1990s.
Now, Mr Mohamed volunteers at Sinda and since 2013, he has been involved in Sinda’s Festive Gift Pack Distribution, which helps distribute vouchers during Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas celebrations.
Mr Mohamed says: “In addition to giving back to society, it’s to carry on the good work our forefathers had done. Volunteering gives us a sense of responsibility, plus it keeps us socially connected.”
Reaching out to young ones For 15 years, Ms Jayamani Overithi, 68, a cleaning supervisor, has been a volunteer and she chooses to help children from low-income families be successful in life. She motivates them to aim higher and succeed with hard work.
Ms Overithi started with home-based tuition for kindergarten students for a few years, after which she was attached with homes to help the children.
Then she became a coordinator between Sinda and Yew Tee Community Club for a Reading Programme for children between the age of 4 and 7.
Said Ms Overithi: “Volunteering is important as some families need help, but they face difficulties in finding a way to solve their problems. Singapore needs many volunteers as there are many families that need assistance for the children in their homes.” She adds that she feels a sense of satisfaction helping these children grow up to be responsible, improve themselves and become high achievers.
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