By Diana Othman

TO MAKE ends meet and provide for his 11 children, a restaurant supervisor, who wanted to be known only as Mr Shahrul, 47, stretches his $1,500 monthly income as far as he can.
He and his wife Asmah Aboobaker, 43, manage daily with simple meals and rare outings, and are careful to keep their electricity, telephone and water bills to a minimum.

Mr Shahrul and Madam Asmah have never taken their children, aged between five and 20, overseas for a family vacation.

'We never had our passports made and I've not taken my kids even to Johor,' said Mr Shahrul.

So he was thrilled when he was informed that 10 of his children, who are currently attending school, will receive the labour movement's Back to School vouchers.

They are among about 40,000 recipients of the vouchers, which can be used to stock up on school necessities such as assessment books and stationery at the labour movement's Back to School Fair located at three venues this weekend.

The beneficiaries are also able to enjoy services like eye check-ups and haircuts for free while there.

Vendors at the fair include Bata Singapore, Popular Bookstore and Spectacle Hut, and some offer discounts of up to 80 per cent for those with vouchers. Selected discounts are offered to the public as well.

The labour movement, which consists of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its various unions and social enterprises, has expanded its Back to School programme efforts this year by doubling the vouchers from $2.5 million last year to $5 million.

The voucher's value was increased by 25 per cent to $125 per child. The eligibility criterion has also been relaxed from a gross household income of $1,500 to $1,800 to reach out to more children.

The limitation of giving vouchers to just three children from each family has also been done away with - a move Mr Shahrul is grateful for considering his plight.

'I am so happy that this year, all my 10 children's school things are covered,' he said. Last year, only three of them received vouchers under the programme's previous system.

In conjunction with the fair, NTUC FairPrice will also be organising its yearly FairPrice Used Textbook Project in which financially stretched families are provided with free textbooks donated by the public.

Needy families identified by NTUC, as well as members of the public, will be able to collect free textbooks tomorrow and next Tuesday from four participating schools.

'The changes made in this programme are to show that we are aware of some of the financial challenges faced by our union members during this economic downturn. We especially want to help with something as important as our children's education,' said Mr Zainudin Nordin, director of Care and Share, NTUC's social arm.

'With the recession, parents might have fewer resources to provide for their children as pay and work hours may be affected, so we are trying to help as many people as possible,' he added.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 5, 2008.