PARENTS LEND HELPING HAND TO CHILDREN’S CLASSMATES
Parents often want to give the world to their children, showering them with love, support and guidance. One parent, however, decided she could give something far more impactful and lasting: she rallied the parents of her son’s schoolmates at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, to set up a bursary for financially needy students.
“A few lives are made easier by not having to worry about taking the MRT before the cut-off timing for free rides to save money, the same few lives will make a bigger impact in other lives when they graduate than I ever could on my own,” said Madam Tan, mother of a student from the Class of 2020. Motivated to help change a few lives, her first step towards fundraising has already raised awareness amongst many parents of the plight of the less privileged medical students in the class. In the process of rallying volunteers and donors, more and more parents not only contributed to the fund, but also joined her in the fundraising efforts.
“I knew just a handful of the other mums of my son schoolmates, but felt that as long as two or three of us got started, this could snowball. So the first mum introduced the second mum, and we
got to work. I felt that once we were able to raise the minimum for a fund to be established, it would be easier to approach the wider group of 2020 parents later on. But someone needed to kickstart the fund, and why not me,” said Madam Tan.
Another Class of 2020 parent also known as Madam Tan, was glad for the opportunity to work alongside the University to help needy students.
“I became involved after I was personally approached by a couple of fellow parents of the Class of 2020. Since then, I have become more aware of the students’ needs,” she explained.
Every year, about 200 students apply for financial assistance, a number that surpasses what the School can disburse. It is estimated that one in four medical students will face financial difficulties that will jeopardise their studies.
Both mothers are two homemakers who hope to demonstrate love by example to their children. Their efforts however, will leave a far greater impact on the Class of 2020, and inspire many other parents to do the same.
Story reproduced with permission of the NUS Development Office.