Parents and Children
January 2009
Banner photo: © Frans Lemmens/Getty Images
Peace and Community Activities in Singapore
The SSA Soka Chorus
[© SSA]
On October 20, the Singapore Soka Association (SSA) hosted the fifth stakeholders' meeting of the nongovernmental humanitarian organization Mercy Relief (MR). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who launched the organization in September 2003, attended. Among the 300 guests were MR adviser and Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi, ambassadors from Cambodia and Myanmar, religious leaders from the Singapore Inter Religious Organization, grassroots leaders, volunteers and partners.
MR Chairman T. K. Udairam paid tribute to SSA's ongoing support and its involvement in youth expeditions to help communities in Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia. The SSA Soka Chorus also performed at the event.
At the SSEAYP event
[© SSA]
On October 11, SSA hosted a pre-departure concert for the 35th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP), an annual program which brings together about 300 youths from ASEAN countries and Japan, providing them with the opportunity to interact on board the ship Nippon Maru and at different port cities.
In support of the Silver Ribbon (Singapore) campaign promoting awareness of mental health, SSA co-organized the World Mental Health Day 2008 on October 4 at Hougang Mall, attended by Minister for Defense Teo Chee Hean.
Soka Volunteer Group representatives also participated in World Hospice Day 2008, attending a talk on hospice care at Dover Park Hospice on October 11, followed by the sharing of their experience as volunteers in this area.
Promoting mental health
[© SSA]
Some 40 SSA youth representatives were among 500 youth attending the Youth Mentors Summit 2008 held on October 4 at the NTUC Conference Auditorium. The summit was organized by the National Youth Council and the Halogen Foundation Singapore and attended by Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. Panelists spoke on the significance of youth mentoring and challenges in mentoring work.
SSA student members at Singapore Management University took part in an International Day of Peace Visual Arts exhibition organized by the university to celebrate September 21, the UN International Day of Peace (IDP). The SSA members used plaster and foam to build a large artwork of the first Chinese character in the word "peace." Their artwork was one of six selected for display based on this year's theme of the IDP, "Peace and Freedom."
