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PPIS Newsletter November ’21

They say time flies when you’re having fun. 

 

In the blink of an eye, the PPIS 25th Board of Governance is now midway through our first term. Thank you for your unwavering belief and support. 

 

At our first fully virtual AGM in September, I had the good fortune to connect with our members and I was inspired by the tenacity of our digitally savvy stalwarts without whom PPIS will not be who she is today.

 

When I last wrote to you, PM Lee had just made the announcement that female Muslim nurses can choose to wear the tudung with their uniforms come November – a move we celebrate as a community. 

 

Since then the Fatwa Committee issued a fatwa on headscarf for women in uniformed services, and 1 November marked the dawn of a new era for our sisters in healthcare. 

 

PPIS is heartened the fatwa recognises the important role women play in contributing to the society and that it called on Muslims to deepen relations between different communities so our faiths unite and not divide us. 

 

As the fatwa is not prescriptive but instead contains guiding principles, it is important to highlight the intent of the fatwa so it is not misunderstood. 

 

Community engagements should continue in a civil and respectful manner, consistent with the adab of our religion. Click here to read PPIS’ statement in full.

 

October was indeed quite an eventful and meaningful month.

 

We started off by hosting a webinar in partnership with Berita Harian, titled ‘Be Kind to Your Mind’ – a timely reminder as we commemorated World Mental Health Day on 1o October.
 

 The webinar was an important step in forming safe spaces for crucial conversations about mental health, its stigma, and what we can do as a community. 

 

We also launched #RecovHER 2.0, a fundraising campaign to support women who are seeking mental health help. As the demand for psycho-social support in these challenging times rises, PPIS is playing our part to ensure no woman gets left behind. We seek your generous contributions and hope that you spread the word that help is available. Take a photo of yourself doing the butterfly hug and use the hashtag #SayangMyMind!

 

Also in October, all of PPIS early childhood education centres and student care centres will get a new lease of life and will officially be known as 7oaks Preschool and 7oaks Student Care. InsyaAllah, our centres will continue to ensure good quality and holistic early childhood education is accessible to everyone. 

 

Another milestone in September was the recommendations made by the Taskforce on Family Violence to break the silence as well as the cycle of violence. As a community, we each have a part to play in mitigating domestic violence and building stronger families. It begins with forming safe spaces to tackle and not run away from the issue, and I joined Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development, Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim and Madam Zaharah Ariff from Casa Raudha at this Berita Harian forum for an open and honest discussion.

 

At the core of it all, earnest conversations create safer spaces so more among us feel assured that help is available and seeking help is ok!

 

When we are better versions of ourselves, we are better for our families, and for our community.

 

Let’s begin by being a little kinder to ourselves and the people around us. Together, we can become a more compassionate #OnePPIS. 

 

– President Hazlina Abdul Halim

What do students and teachers have in common? Besides teaching and learning, our teachers and students have fun everyday. While most of us would assume that teachers teach and students learn, it could be the other way around. Students and teachers at our 7oaks Preschool and 7oaks Student Care learn from one another, contributing to an ecosystem that build networks and collaborate for change.

 

Last September, we celebrated the 140 teachers at our preschools and student care centres. They have played a key role in nurturing our young preschoolers as well as those in primary schools. Over the years, we saw what defines a teacher in our centres – it would be their ability to be role models and a positive influence on the children.

 

We also celebrated the students in October. Children’s Day which was on 8 October coincided with PPIS’ annual event, Bulan Bahasa or Malay Language Month. This year, students took to the stage virtually in three segments – presenting, dance drama and skits. They won the judges’ hearts not only with their fine acting but excellent command of the Malay language.

 

Bulan Bahasa not only provided opportunities for our students to enhance their spoken and written Malay. It was also an opportunity for our teachers to work together with the other departments within PPIS, in this case, the Corporate Communications team, to ensure a smooth running of the event.

 

Over the last 10 months, the various departments within PPIS work together seamlessly to provide an ecosystem of support for the people we serve. A person walking through one door will be served, and based on the needs, be led to the door of our other services within the organisation.

 

An email that came through our infobox, will be forwarded to the relevant departments and within hours, acted upon if it concerned vulnerable individuals who needed a fast response.

 

We could do this because we believe that collaboration is about compassion, love, support, kindness and the power that we gain when we share with each other and lean on each other. For we stand by the adage that individually, we are one drop, but together, we are an ocean.

 

– Mdm Tuminah Sapawi, CEO

We have rebranded our children services! With effect from 1 August 2021, all PPIS Child Development Centres and Student Care Centres will be renamed 7oaks Preschool and 7oaks Student Care respectively. The new brand reflects a fresh and differentiated identity leveraging on the corporate entity of 7oaks Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of PPIS which has been managing our children services since 2016.

 

This rebranding exercise serves to reinforce PPIS’ commitment to be the go-to early childhood educator for our community by staying agile and responsive to evolving market trends and needs of the clients we serve. Though our educational philosophy, curriculum, and enrichment programmes remain the same, forming an education subsidiary to oversee the entire operations and growth ensures that our children services are well-equipped to cater to the changing demographics and expectations of the new generation of parents.

 

Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

 

 

In 1983, we opened our very first kindergarten with a simple goal in mind – to provide quality education. Today, with more than 30 years of experience, we now operate seven preschools island-wide, with a total of 800 children!

 

Similarly, our student care centres started off as a Before and After School Care (BASC) service in 1989 as part of the PPIS Single Parent Family Service Centre at Ubi. Driven by the need to address the number of latchkey children in the Malay/Muslim community, our student care centres have since grown to become a safe, second home to every child that walks through our doors, offering busy parents a peace of mind knowing that their children are in safe hands.

 

 

As one of the pioneering early childhood centres, PPIS has quickly grown over the years to become the go-to brand for many parents – a feat that would not have been possible without the support of everyone who believed in us.

 

In continuing to empower women and shape forward-looking families, we strive to cultivate resilience from a young age by providing a holistic programme and a safe and conducive environment for our children to acquire life skills and develop as well-rounded individuals.

 

Read our official media release here.

Language is but the foundation of human connection.

 

On 8 October, our preschools commemorated Bulan Bahasa (‘Malay Language Month’), an annual celebration organised by the Malay Language Council, Singapore (MBMS), focusing on encouraging the community to embrace the use of the Malay language in their daily lives.

 

All seven preschools came together virtually for a fun-filled celebration, graced by Assoc Prof Dr Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of National Development. The event began with an inspiring speech by PPIS President, Mdm Hazlina Abdul Halim, followed by Guest-of-Honour (GOH) Dr Faishal, who emphasised on the function of language as a driver of progress for the Malay community.

 

Staff, parents, and guests were then treated to a slew of energetic and animated performances from our 7oaks pre-schoolers. The nursery children made creative videos with their parents, showcasing their use of the Malay language and their understanding of the Malay culture and traditions. The K1 students performed a musical based on Malay warriors, while the K2 students performed a skit based on animal fables.

 

 

It was heart-warming to witness the involvement of parents in the activities! Not only did it encourage meaningful interactions within families, it also extended children’s learning beyond classrooms – a key ingredient in their growth and development.

 

As part of the programme line-up as well, a riveting poetry slam arose between Dr Faishal, Mdm Hazlina and PPIS CEO, Mdm Tuminah Sapawi, turning the audience into eager spectators as they anticipated who would be the last one standing.

 

Just as Rome was not built in a day, language learning is certainly not a passing affair. To inculcate a genuine love and appreciation for language, it must start early and it must be consistent.

 

From August to October, PPIS preschools had the opportunity to experience a range of activities in which our teachers also had the chance to partake! This year’s line-up of Malay language activities, which culminated in the event finale on 8 October, included professional mentorship – for teachers – by Malay language educator Asnida Daud and actress cum theatre enthusiast, Aidli Mosbit, as well as a virtual Malay dance workshop conducted by ATTRIANS Singapore – Anak Tari Singapura.

 

Without language, there can be no culture. Though Bulan Bahasa has come to an end, our preschools continue to carry out regular Malay language lessons and activities.

 

Moving forward, we will also strive to continue working with other community partners and stakeholders to encourage the involvement of parents and families in building a sense of love and pride for the Malay language and culture.

If there is one thing the pandemic has shed light on, it is the prevalence of mental health issues in Singapore. COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges faced by many in the community, especially our women, who juggle multiple roles at once such as that of primary caregivers and working professionals. In caring for others, women often overlook their own needs and well-being, which can negatively impact their mental health.

 

In line with National Sisters’ Day on 1 August 2021, PPIS ran a #WomenforWomen campaign to celebrate the unique bond of sisterhood – blood or not – and to highlight the importance of an ecosystem of support for women’s development. Leveraging on different digital media platforms including PPIS’ social media as well as non-traditional media outlets, the campaign ran for the whole of August and featured stories of PPIS staff as they drive our mission of inspiring women and strengthening families.

 

 

We partnered with RICE Media to produce an article about the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of Malay/Muslim women across different generations in Singapore. The article explores why the Malay/Muslim community needs to shift its mindset on gender roles and shared domestic responsibilities. Read it here.

 

 

We also collaborated with A Mom Us The Podcast for an episode about the challenges of contemporary working women juggling multiple roles and the ecosystem of services that PPIS offers for women and families​. Listen to the podcast episode here!

 

Through engagements with alternative media platforms like RICE Media and A Mom Us, we hope to reach a wider audience and greater awareness for the work that they do.

In keeping with our efforts to continuously shape an ecosystem of support for women and families, we welcomed the month of October by joining hands with Berita Harian to hold a webinar about mental health – ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

 

Aptly titled ‘Be Kind to Your Mind,’ the webinar on 2 October is part of PPIS’ efforts to raise awareness of mental health and promote greater social inclusion towards a better society for all. With a diverse panel line-up featuring our principal social worker from PPIS Family Service Centre (West), Ms Nasriah Nasir, the webinar discussed the impact of Covid-19 on mental well-being, and explored the struggles of families, single parents, youths, and women who juggle multiple roles at once.

 

 

In her speech, distinguished Guest-of-Honour (GOH) President Halimah Yacob touched on the need to acknowledge the social stigma surrounding mental health.

 

“It does not help individuals with mental health conditions if they feel that their situation arose from a lack of strength in character, faith, or willpower. Instead of viewing a mental health condition as a sign of failure or incompetency, we must recognise that these individuals can seek treatment, and encourage them to do so early,” she shared.

 

Mdm Hazlina similarly noted that community as a whole should collaborate to wipe out the stigma surrounding mental health.

 

“Unfortunately, more often than not, people battling mental illnesses tend to keep to themselves out of fear. The fear of being labelled weak, alienated or even penalised can be paralysing. A mental health issue is a health issue like any other. We should not, do not, and must not discriminate against the ill,” said Mdm Hazlina in her opening remarks.

 

The webinar, which had a robust Q&A segment, opened up important conversations not only about the struggles of many in the community, but also about seeking help – an act that is still far from normalised in Singapore. Though it was a single effort at raising greater awareness of mental health, together with the efforts of other like-minded organisations and institutions, we now start to see more and more news articles about the prevalence of mental health issues. This goes to show that no effort is too small in trying to elicit real, positive change!

RecovHER

As part of our ongoing efforts to shift the needle on mental health, PPIS launched a fundraising campaign this month to increase awareness of the importance of women’s mental well-being.

 

Running for the second consecutive year, #RecovHER 2.0 calls on the community to join hands in celebrating the strength and resilience of women in their efforts to #RecovHER. This year, the hashtag for the campaign is #SayangMyMind – an appeal for us to take charge of our mental wellness and practise self-love.

 

 

From now to 14 November, you can help us via the following ways:

  • Share a photo of yourself doing a butterfly hug on Instagram. Remember to #SayangMyMind and tag @ppissg.
  • Try out our Self-Affirmation AR filter on Instagram! It’s a fun way to spread some positivity.
  • Help us reach our goal of $60,000 by making a donation.

 

Let’s stand together as #OnePPIS in breaking the stigma and learning to love and celebrate ourselves.

In this series, we share stories of PPIS staff who are driving positive impact in our community as we strive in our mission to inspire women and strengthen families. This edition of the newsletter features six individuals who, in small, little ways every day, leave a positive impact on the lives of others. Read about them below!

Meet Faizah Mohd Salihin, a social worker at PPIS Family Service Centre (West)! Faizah journeys alongside the community, including women and families, to ensure their well-being and to look into ways to improve their situation.

 

She conducts SUPPORT@H.O.M.E, a groupwork programme for women from low-income families that aims to impart skills that will cultivate emotional resilience in them.

 

“I hope that the women in our Groupwork Programme will work towards their aspirations, set aside time to do the things they love and reach out for help when needed.”

 

– Faizah Mohd Salihin

Meet Mumtaz Saidah Kamarudin, Senior Social Worker at PPIS As-Salaam, a Divorce Support Specialist Agency. For Mumtaz, she never thought she would become a social worker. However, her experience at a family service centre has led to a fulfilling career for her in this sector.

 

She is in charge of M.A.W.A.R, a support group dedicated to divorced women with kids below the age of 21. She plans and evaluates support programmes so that As-Salaam is able to journey alongside its clients, through different phases of their lives.

 

“My hopes are not only for the women who underwent the programme but also for the families that As-Salaam has journeyed and are currently journeying with. Never allow the terms and narratives associated with a single-parent family to dictate who you are as an individual, parent, daughter/son, sibling and other roles you play. You are YOU and unique in your own ways. Continue to be inspired and inspire others.”

 

– Mumtaz Saidah Kamarudin

Next, we have Senior Director of PPIS Social Services, Azita Abdul Aziz! At present, Ms Azita heads the Social Services Division and also looks into our Corporate and Capability Building and Training services. However, her journey with PPIS began some 30 years ago when she took a leap of faith and joined the organisation as a social worker.

 

With her leadership and unwavering dedication to women and families in the community, PPIS Social Services has grown today to include Family Service Centres, a Centre for Minor/Young Marriages, a Centre for Remarriages and Stepfamilies, a Divorce Support Specialist Agency, and a Fostering Agency!

 

When asked about the importance of an ecosystem of support for women, Ms Azita said, “Support can come from different sources – one’s social network, such as family and friends, but it can also come from others in the same boat. Help can also come from professionals trained to be part of the women’s recovery journey. Finding what fits and works for them is essential as each woman is different.”

 

– Azita Abdul Aziz

Next up, we have Nurhudah Hamzah, Senior Curriculum Executive at 7oaks Preschool! Joining in 2014, Nurhudah has spent seven years helping to shape 7oaks Preschool’s exciting curriculum. She spends her days reviewing the curriculum, training teachers, and setting up conducive learning environments.

 

Her biggest hope for the children benefitting from her work? For them develop zest and grit, and to be prepared for life, whatever may come!

 

“It is rewarding when I see the teachers and children enjoy teaching and learning. Their focus, energy, smiles and laughter are indicators to me that the curriculum implemented is both meaningful and impactful.”

 

– Nurhudah Hamzah

Meet Hamidah Suratman, Senior Programme Assistant at 7oaks Student Care Centre (Jurong)! On a day-to-day basis, Hamidah takes care of school-going children, overseeing their homework and planning exciting lessons to be included in their daily activities.

 

Her care, concern, and dedication towards the children is truly inspiring, and seeing her ex-students returning to volunteer and give back is testament to her impact as a professional!

 

“My hopes for these children are for them to be resilient, to use creativity to enhance and help them in their learning process, and of course, to see them succeed in whichever field they choose in the future.”

 

– Hamidah Suratman

Last but certainly not the least, we have Zulkifli Hafiz, affectionately known as Uncle Zul!

 

A cook cum cleaner, Uncle Zul lovingly prepares healthy and nutritious food for the children at 7oaks Preschool (Bedok Reservoir). He not only helps to ensure that the school is well-kept, tidy and comfortable for the children, he also goes above and beyond to help teachers create tools for learning and play!

 

“I hope through these initiatives, the children are inspired to think out of the box in any challenges that they come across.”

 

– Zulkifli Hafiz

Mr Kadir Maideen as new Chief Executive of MUIS

PPIS congratulates Mr Kadir Maideen who will take over as the Chief Executive of the Singapore Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) starting 1 November. In its media statement, PPIS expressed its appreciation to the current Chief Executive of MUIS, Mr Esa Masood, for leading the religious authority especially in the midst of the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Read about it here.

Caregiving and employment, family violence, and sexual harassment

President Hazlina was interviewed by Detik MediaCorp about caregiving and employment, family violence, and sexual harassment. She shared about PPIS’ efforts to tackle family violence and the holistic support offered for women as they go through different phases of their lives. Watch the interview on meWATCH.

Malay Language programmes in preschools

PPIS was mentioned in this article about how there is a fierce competition among Malay parents to enrol their children in full-time preschool centres offering Malay language programmes – so much so that some had to be put on a waiting list a year earlier. Read about it on Berita Harian.

PPIS x Berita Harian webinar on mental health

PPIS and Berita Harian organised a mental health webinar on 2 October, in conjunction with World Mental Health Day. Titled ‘Be Kind To Your Mind’, the webinar discussed how families and parents can deal with challenges better in the new norm. Read the coverage on The Straits Times, Berita Harian, and BERITA MediaCorp.

PPIS celebrates Bulan Bahasa

In conjunction with Children’s Day, PPIS celebrated Bulan Bahasa with its seven preschools virtually. More than 100 attendees, including parents, PPIS staff and guests were treated to a slew of energetic and animated performances from our preschool students. Read more on Berita Harian!

PPIS As-Salaam celebrates Children’s Day

In conjunction with Children’s Day on 8 October 2021, PPIS distributed over 800 gift sets to students from its seven preschools and two student care centres. For the first time this year, the gift distribution included graduating students from three Iyad Perdaus centres, as well as kindergarten students from Al-Ansar Mosque. Read more on BERITA MediaCorp!

Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA)

President Hazlina was interviewed by DETIK MediaCorp regarding the role that Malay/Muslim organisations like PPIS can play in contributing to the Government’s draft of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA). Watch it on meWATCH.

Berita Harian forum about tackling family violence

The issue of domestic violence has gained attention in recent times with such cases increasing with the spread of COVID-19. Berita Minggu held a forum discussion to explore the issue of domestic violence and the steps needed to address it. Read about it on Berita Harian here.