Uplifiting Children of Incarcerated Parents: Speech By President Tharman Shanmugaratnam At Neugen Charity Gala Dinner 2024

Mr Lucien Wong, Patron of NeuGen Fund,

Mr Phillip Tan, Chairman of ISCOS Board of Trustees,

Mr Joshua Tay, Chairman of NeuGen Fund Management Board,

Ladies and gentlemen.      

Good evening.

1.  Thank you for inviting me and my wife to this gathering for an important cause.
   

2.  We know that when a person goes to prison, the family and children are affected, and in both seen and unseen ways.

   •  They face a loss of income.

   •  A void created by the absence of a parent.  

   •  An additional burden on the remaining parent or a relative, or often on an elder child.

   •  And sometimes, unfortunately too, an element of social stigma.

3.  So it is not just the inmate who needs our support. Their families and children need very active support.

4.  For the children in particular, the impact of a parent incarcerated repeatedly or over a long period can be profound. It also means that we have to provide them with all-encompassing and continuous support. 

   •  To help them develop emotional strength and the confidence to make the most of their growing years.

   •  To keep up with their school work.

   •  To be part of a regular circle of friends, engaged in activities they enjoy, and aspiring to do well together.

5.  NeuGen fund supports about 600 children of incarcerated parents each year.

   •  Offering assistance such as bursary awards and sponsored tuition.

   •  Helping the children in after-school activities to cultivate talents in sports, arts, music and others.

   •  Building resilience through your Youth Engagement Platform and Mothers’ Support Group.

   •  By engaging the families in festive and birthday celebrations that strengthen family ties and community bonds.

   •  And with support of volunteers, organising home repairs to create a conducive environment for families.

6.  This comprehensive support system – what you call the NeuGen Empowerment Model – has impacted close to 1,000 unique beneficiaries, including both children and their family members, in 2023 alone.  

7.  In the coming years, I understand NeuGen plans to empower 1,000 children each year – almost double the number they are serving today.  I’m sure your support will help them get there.

   •  Through the resources you provide.

   •  The time you could spend as a volunteer.

   •  And your helping raises awareness of this important cause among your colleagues, friends and families.

8.  So let’s do our part to help Neugen and other initiatives that help every child who gets knocks early in life to overcome them and to develop themselves. And make us the more caring and responsible society we aspire to be.

9.  We have to appreciate how difficult it is to grow up with a parent in prison. Grappling with feelings of abandonment. Sometimes having to step up and be a caregiver for younger siblings while the remaining parent goes out to work. The impact can reverberate in their lives for years.

10.  All the more that we do our part as a village to support them in every way we can, and help them uplift themselves.

11.  And all the more that we gain confidence just as they do, when they defy the odds and find their own success.

12.  We all gain that confidence - that everyone has that grit in them, everyone can be uplifted when we walk their journey with them.

13.  And our spirits are all uplifted when we know that no one need to remain broken. When like in the Kintsugi art pieces that will be auctioned today, the fragments of a broken pot are put back together with care, and new beauty is created out of the cracks of the past, the beauty of regeneration.