Mr Koh Choon Hui, Chairman of Singapore Children’s Society

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to join you at the annual talent show of Sunbeam Place @ Children’s Society today.

This talent show commemorates Singapore Children’s Society’s 70th anniversary, which falls tomorrow.  It is especially meaningful and symbolic to host the event at Sunbeam Place, given that Children’s Society first started serving children here.

Formerly known as the Convalescent Home, Sunbeam Place was founded to provide basic shelter, comfort, and relief to children during the post war years of Singapore. The intent was to have a safe place where malnourished children could receive adequate care until they were strong enough to go home.

Thanks to the decades of Singapore’s growth and development, our children today have access to much better educational opportunities from pre-school to post-secondary. But there will always be a segment of families with children in need of greater support. This is where community-based efforts will be needed to complement government policies, through our many-helping hands approach.

I am glad that through the years, the Society’s services have adapted to meet the changing needs of children. Today, Sunbeam Place has evolved from being a place of care and recovery for sick children to a residential home and a gazetted place of safety for abused or neglected children from as young as five years old. The team also assists the Ministry of Social and Family Development to reunify children who have been removed from their homes with their parents, through the Safe and Strong Families – Reunification programme.

Residents of Sunbeam Place are cared for by a team of professional and dedicated staff, and nurtured through enriching activities which help to develop their strengths. Staff and volunteers work together to design and implement a variety of programmes for residents’ personal and educational development. The programmes include academic tuition, programmes which cover the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as the performing arts.

This morning’s talent show is Sunbeam Place’s annual event for residents to showcase what they have learnt to their families as well as staff, volunteers, and donors. Residents learn and practise core values such as respect, responsibility, and resilience in their daily routines. Today, they will be showcasing these values through the event. The efforts of the residents, coupled with the support from the donors and volunteers, have made this event possible, and I thank each of you for your tireless contributions. Beyond this event, the support from donors and volunteers is also especially important to enable Sunbeam Place to continue shaping young minds and changing lives.

The fruit of Sunbeam Place’s labour is evident in the lives of their beneficiaries. One of the performers this morning, Danial, managed to overcome his stage fright with the encouragement from his fellow residents, volunteers, and staff. He put up a wonderful performance just now, showcasing his guitar and singing skills learnt from volunteers at Sunbeam Place. When asked why he wants to perform despite having stage-fright, the 11-year-old said that he wants to step out of his comfort zone to perform for all who have supported him since he first came to Sunbeam Place in August 2020. Even for residents who have already left Sunbeam Place, they continue to benefit from the positive impact of the Home on their lives. 

Battling the pandemic over the last two years was certainly not easy for everyone. Face-to-face interactions were severely limited, and many opportunities for interaction with friends were reduced. I understand that some of Children’s Society’s centres were temporarily closed during the Circuit Breaker period, while centres like Sunbeam Place had to ensure that its operations were not disrupted. Staff and volunteers quickly adapted and channelled their resources to support fellow colleagues and beneficiaries from Sunbeam Place and found creative ways to engage their beneficiaries. Through this challenging period, I am glad to know that Children’s Society, like many of our Social Service Agencies, demonstrated resilience and responsiveness by stepping up to devote even more time and energy to meet the immediate needs of its beneficiaries.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Children’s Society for this significant milestone of serving our community for 70 years. I am heartened that your work has touched so many lives and I am confident that you will continue this good work for many more decades to come, to bring hope and smiles to those in need.

I wish everyone a pleasant day ahead. Thank you.