Transforming lives, one student at a time

Jane (not her real name) was boiling over with rage. The teen had been insulted - for the umpteenth time that week - and she wasn't going to take it lying down. She pointed a knife at her schoolmate menacingly and dared him to repeat his words. He backed down.

That incident occurred in 2006 when the then-15-year-old Normal (Academic) student was at an emotional all-time low. She was being bullied in school and her father had walked out on the family, which left her mother struggling to make ends meet on her own.

"That wasn't the only incident. I would also chase and throw things at other students, but this was probably the most serious offence," Jane, now a cheerful and outgoing first-year undergraduate, recalls candidly.

"My mother had to work to raise my sister and me by herself after my father disappeared, but it meant that I saw very little of her. I felt distant from her, and we argued a lot. When I told her that I was being bullied, she just told me to 'deal with it'," says Jane. That made her feel even more aggravated and helpless. "I felt so frustrated with everything, and matters just came to a head".

However, Jane found a lifeline of sorts, in the form of a drop-in programme set up by Students Care Service (SCS) in her school.

"SCS gave me a place to vent my frustrations. It was a place where I felt I could speak up without fearing that I would be judged, as all students were treated equally, regardless of their academic performance," she explains.

SCS is a registered charity established in 1975. In 2013, it conducted services and programmes for over 5,000 students. These programmes and services include casework and counselling, guidance programmes to help rehabilitate juvenile offenders, specialised interventions for children with learning difficulties and others.

A platform to improve her confidence

In Jane's school, SCS operated a 'drop-in centre' where students could interact with SCS staff and volunteers, as well as each other, in an informal environment. Students were also given the freedom to operate and decorate the drop-in centre by themselves, which helped them to develop a strong sense of ownership and belonging. It became a sanctuary of sorts within the school for students who were troubled, or who simply needed a place to chill out.

Thanks to the informal setting, Jane never felt as if she was a 'client' or a 'problem kid' who needed help. "I always felt that I was simply part of the team as I was given the responsibility of being in charge of the drop-in centre very early on," she says, adding that she would probably have been annoyed or resentful if she had been sent for formal counselling sessions instead.

Jane was further helped by the free tuition she received through SCS. She had always felt that she was an academic loser, having been unable to qualify for the Express stream after PSLE.

However, the tuition she received from volunteers at the SCS centre helped her to realise her academic potential. "I would not be where I am today, pursuing a degree in university, without the academic help I received," she says.

Being a part of the SCS drop-in centre also gave Jane the opportunity for greater personal development. "We were given more responsibilities to learn and be independent through SCS, through opportunities which most students would not have," she says.

She discovered that she had planning and leadership skills through activities such as running a weekly guitar club and planning camping trips. "This really helped improve my self-esteem and confidence," she says. "I never would have thought I was capable of doing these things."

Going the extra mile to help students in need

Being involved with SCS was also an important factor in helping Jane's fellow schoolmate, Charles (not his real name), turn his life around.

He had begun playing truant in Secondary One after his mother passed away from cancer. The youngest of four siblings, Charles had been closest to his mother. He was distant from his father, who often worked late, while there was a 10-year age gap between him and his next youngest sibling.

"At the time, I found it difficult to turn to my family for help or emotional support with the problems I felt I was facing. Instead, I just wanted to avoid them," he confesses.

Charles' truancy hit a point where he was spending more time at the video arcade than in school, which then referred him to SCS for help. He was hesitant about going to the school's drop-in centre at first, but soon began to warm up to the informal sessions and relaxed setting.

Charles explains that there would be about 10-15 students in each session, where they would just talk, chill out or play board games. Although it seems trivial now, he feels those sessions actually helped him interact with his peers and SCS volunteers in a way he could not with his own family.

"I am quite shy and introverted, so being involved [in SCS] helped me overcome my shyness and become more comfortable when communicating and interacting with others, and also helped to break down the walls that had built up between my family and me. That was a big breakthrough for me," he reflects.

Despite having to repeat Secondary 3 because he was unable to pass his examinations - due to missing too many classes - Charles managed to catch up and, with some tuition support from other SCS volunteers, passed his examinations.

He believes that he may not have been able to finish his secondary school education if not for the help and encouragement he received at SCS, and is now pursuing a diploma course in Information Technology at Nanyang Polytechnic, after finishing a course at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

Charles also credits SCS' counselling with helping him to slowly repair his relationship with his family through a few joint counselling sessions with his father. "Slowly, I started to realise that my dad was also suffering from my mother's death, and understood it was not easy for him to keep working to support the family."

While Charles' truancy did not stop overnight, his gradual progress was given a boost by an incident that he remembers till this day.

He recalls being in Secondary 2 or 3 at the time. SCS social workers would occasionally reach out to students by taking them on outings, and on that day, one of the social workers took him out for a meal.

"She also bought me a pair of school shoes that day," he says. "She had no obligation to buy me anything - yet she bought the shoes for me from out of her own pocket. At that point I started to realise how much the people at SCS cared for me, how they were willing to go beyond what they were expected to do to motivate, encourage and help me."

Charles was deeply touched by that gesture, and he stopped playing truant. "I started to see the importance of getting a good education. In a way, the pair of shoes motivated me to start taking school seriously again," he relates thoughtfully.

Giving back

Both Charles and Jane credit SCS with helping them to transform their lives. Given the instrumental role the social work organisation has played in their lives, it is not surprising that both of them have continued their association with SCS as volunteers.

Charles explains, "We are mostly called in to help out when there are events. We help with logistics and event management and interact with the kids and their families. We also sometimes give tuition to kids who may be struggling academically."

Volunteering can be extremely challenging. Charles admits that when he first began volunteering with SCS, he would often felt empty and drained after each session or event.

"But I never gave up or stopped going, partly because of the influence of the social workers who had previously helped me." As a former beneficiary of the organisation's programmes, he also came to realise that his own efforts have the potential to help other students. "After some time, I could see how my efforts helped other people, thanks to the debriefings we had after every session. That gave me the encouragement and strength I needed to carry on."

Jane too, has had her own share of frustrating experiences as an SCS volunteer. She relates one incident where she was tutoring some "naughty primary school boys" who were extremely uncooperative, to the point of flinging their worksheets and papers out of the house window multiple times each session.

Like Charles, her own experience helped her. "Of course it made me frustrated. But... I'd personally benefited from getting free tuition from SCS volunteers, and I knew that these kids were from low-income backgrounds like me and needed the help. That spurred me to finish what I had started."

The most rewarding thing about volunteering, she says, is seeing the smiles on the kids' faces at the end of the day.

"We once organised an outing to the zoo for the kids, and of course it was physically and mentally exhausting. But at the end of the event, seeing the smiles of the kids, and hearing them say 'thank you' to you for taking care of them and knowing that you have brought some joy into their lives makes it all worthwhile," she says with a smile.

Helping society's less fortunate

Jane and Charles' long involvement with SCS, first as clients and now as volunteers, have given them a unique perspective about the organisation and its value to Singapore society.

They both see SCS as a service that gives a leg-up to students from lower-income families by helping them with their emotional, personal and academic development during their crucial years as students.

"In secondary school, students are exposed to many things, both good and bad, and many will need the support to make sure they remain on the right track. SCS provides this important service," Charles says.

"When I was going through emotional difficulties, SCS gave me an avenue to relate my problems to an "outsider", someone who was not directly involved, who would not judge you and whom you do not have to worry about offending."

While Jane also received emotional support from SCS, it is the practical benefit that she is most grateful for.

"SCS helps to level the playing field, and ensures that less fortunate kids are not left behind or forgotten, whether it is for academic help through tuition, or to grow as people and leaders through opportunities to organise and participate in events," she says, adding that interacting with other SCS clients also helped her realise that her own problems were not the end of the world.

Both Charles and Jane say that they would volunteer at SCS as long as they are able to.

"It helped us. Now we want to help others."

seanyap@sph.com.sg

AsiaOne is the official media partner for Students Care Service (SCS).

Your support for SCS' work will help them to continue providing programmes and services for the children and youth under their care to maximise their potential. To find out more, visit their website at http://www.students.org.sg