“You cannot change your FUTURE, You can change your HABITS. And surely your HABITS will change your FUTURE” – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Aligned to the quote saying, a habit of giving to society, changes the future of the society. The growth of our society now is the result of a strong foundation commanded by our Senior Generations.

With the ongoing pandemic that has disrupted lives, it becomes imperative to support the more vulnerable members of our society in particular those members of the Pioneer and Merdeka generations. In addition to current schemes by the Government, Ground up initiatives from NGOs will certainly provide much needed supplementary assistance particularly during this festive season of Chinese New Year.

Towards this end, I am pleased to report that Mr. Koon San, Mr. K. Kesavapany, Mr. SH Lim and Mr. Dick Kwek have come together to work on a project called “Project Jalan Kukoh” to provide compassion packages each comprising raw food items, box of disposable masks, instant mee, biscuits, drinks and Mandarin oranges to those senior citizens who are living in one room apartments. Project Jalan Kukoh targets 3 such blocks in Jalan Kukoh residency that includes 850 households.

The project commenced on 21 Feb 2021. Volunteers from different groups including Abdul Kalam Vision Society (AKVS) distributed the care packages starting from as early as 9am and going door to door until noon. The grateful recipients expressed their heartfelt appreciation to the volunteers for the support given.

The team of volunteers from AKVS was formed at the behest of Amb Kesavapany and led by Dr. Syed Nizar. They comprise Mr. Krishnan, Mr. Venkat Bala, Mr. Balaji Sreedharan and Mr. Ganapathy Ramanathan.

We would like to place on record our grateful thanks to NTUC who helped us to pack the items and dispatch the care packages to the collection point.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who played a role in ensuring the success of Project Jalan Kukoh. We shall look forward to organising more such worthwhile and meaningful projects in future for the benefit of the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society.

Photos and Information:  AKVS, Singapore