Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Boys' Town Family Fiesta 2023

Mr Bruno Lopez, Chairman of Boys’ Town

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. It is my pleasure to be with you today to celebrate a significant milestone. Let me start by congratulating Boys’ Town on 75 remarkable years of serving children and youth in need, alongside their families. I last attended the Boys’ Town Family Fiesta in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I am happy to be back to commemorate this significant milestone together with the clients, families and staff that make up the Boys’ Town community. I commend Boys’ Town for sustaining its efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

From a residential home started by the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel to help war-torn children in 1948, Boys’ Town has evolved to provide a continuum of services for children and youth in need. These include out-of-home care, mental health interventions for children and youth, as well as youth outreach services and respite care for families in need. Today, Boys’ Town serves, on average, more than 1,000 children and youth per year through its services and programmes. In 2022, with the easing of safe distancing measures, Boys’ Town served more than 2,500 children and youth.

I am heartened that Boys’ Town has continued to support the children and families it works with to ensure that each child or youth has a healthy relationship with their families and the larger community. Its efforts help to foster a safe environment for clients and their families. Families are the bedrock of society and strong families ensure stability for our children and youth. A family that nurtures and inculcates positive values in their children will help them grow to become responsible adults.

Let me highlight Mdm Jahnavi as an example of a provider of strong family support. Mdm Jahnavi has been caring for her foster child, Thrina (not her real name) since March 2016. Beyond aiding Thrina’s cognitive development through books and enrichment activities, Mdm Jahnavi has been supporting the development of Thrina’s self-identity. When Thrina started asking about her natural family, Mdm Jahnavi shared with her the story of the Hindu god, Krishna, who was similarly placed in the care of foster parents following his birth. Through this story, Mdm Jahnavi showed Thrina that she is not alone and assured her that she is loved by both her natural and foster families. I would like to congratulate Mdm Jahnavi on receiving the Award today. Foster parents like Mdm Jahnavi, as well as their families, help to bring hope and joy to the lives of children in out-of-home care, and their love and generosity is priceless.

The transformative impact of Boys’ Town’s work inspires others, including former clients, to serve the community too. Daren, who is here with us today, was facing financial challenges and physical strain from living on his own as a teenager. Thankfully, a Boys’ Town YouthReach social worker connected with Daren when he fell into hard times. Boys’ Town runs YouthReach as an outreach programme that conducts early intervention work to help at-risk boys and girls. The youth workers patrol the ground and visit youth hangouts regularly, reaching out to over 300 at-risk youths. Through regular contact with YouthReach, Daren gained a sense of belonging and purpose from the community he found. Daren is now giving back in turn. He is pursuing his social work qualification and a career in social services to advocate for others in need, just as his social workers once did for him.

These stories are testament to the good work that Boys’ Town has done over the years, as well as the importance and strength of community support. It is our collective responsibility, as a caring society, to support children and youth in need. We must strengthen this sense of shared identity and mutual responsibility towards one another, not just for ourselves but for future generations of Singaporeans.

In closing, I wish Boys’ Town many more good years in serving the community. I look forward to even greater milestones and achievements as you continue to provide services to support children and youth in need. Once again, congratulations to the management, staff and clients of Boys’ Town on your 75th Anniversary!

Thank you.