Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Outstanding Social Worker Award Presentation Ceremony 2021

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join you today for the Outstanding Social Worker Award Presentation Ceremony.

I would first like to congratulate the Singapore Association of Social Workers on your 50^th anniversary. Over the past five decades, you have made significant contributions to Singapore’s social work sector. You have worked alongside the Ministry of Social and Family Development and other partners to grow the social work profession and to nurture generations of social workers. May you continue to advance the profession to greater heights for many more years to come.

During the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated various social issues and challenges in our community. Breadwinners lost their jobs, impacting families. Seniors were at greater risk of social isolation. Mental health issues were on the rise. In many aspects, the vulnerable were more acutely impacted.

Nevertheless, despite the many challenges, our social workers valiantly held the fort at the frontlines for our community. They journeyed alongside those in need, with great compassion and empathy, and helped them on their paths towards resilience. I thank all social workers for your dedication and selfless contributions, as well as your loved ones for their support.

Social work transcends just doing good. It involves critical thinking, identifying and addressing the unique needs of clients, advocating for them, and working with partners and systems to meet those needs. I am proud to have witnessed the strong professionalism and courage exemplified by our social workers, especially during the pandemic.

Let  me  share an example of how Michelle, who is one of our Promising Social Worker Awardees today, has displayed this. During the pandemic, Michelle was concerned that our seniors, especially those living alone, were at greater risk of social isolation. If left unaddressed, this may in turn impact their mental wellbeing.

To address this, Michelle co-led a neighourhood buddy system in Gek Poh Estate. Under this initiative, volunteers were paired with elderly neighbours in need, allowing them to provide timely social support and practical assistance. This includes helping elderly neighbours get meals and accompanying them to medical appointments. The volunteers were also trained in preventive work, such as identifying signs of dementia or depression. The initiative has now become part of a larger social and community support ecosystem. Through this example, we can see how social workers play a significant role in uplifting the lives of the vulnerable – by identifying needs in our society, working across systems and stakeholders, and uniting the community to care for those in need.

Today, I am happy to congratulate the winners of the Outstanding and Promising Social Worker Awards – Katijah, Gilbert, Michelle and Rafidah – for your exceptional contributions and dedication towards supporting and protecting those in need. For many years, Katijah has been a dedicated advocate in supporting clients affected by family violence and championing early intervention initiatives to protect the vulnerable. Gilbert has spent over two decades deepening the sector’s capabilities in psychosocial oncology, grief and bereavement support for patients and caregivers. Michelle leverages her social work experience to forge strong community bonds through care programmes, buddy systems and supporting caregivers. Rafidah’s drive to help ex-offenders re-integrate into society and to enhance criminal justice social work has spurred her to develop programmes to meet these needs.

Your leadership and excellence are an inspiration to the social work fraternity, as well as to our wider society. I am confident that your contributions will inspire many more to step forward to contribute to society in significant ways, creating ripples of positive change in the lives of the vulnerable and those in need.

Lastly, I would like to raise the importance of self-care. As social service professionals, you work hard to serve those in need, shouldering their burdens. It is important that you also remember to take care of yourselves. To this end, I was glad to hear about the Joy @ Social Services movement that was started last year, which seeks to strengthen support for social service professionals within their organisations. I hope that more will join the movement, and that we will actively look out for our fellow practitioners who may need more support.

Thank you.