Singapore, 21 January 2017 – In the midst of spreading festive cheers to the low-income families under the three-week campaign (7 January – 27 January) of WeCare @ North West – Service Weeks, City Developments Limited (CDL) stepped forward to set up the “Learning Space @ Limbang” to empower children and youths. With the support from North West Community Development Council (CDC), National Library Board (NLB) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the property developer created and designed the Learning Space @ Limbang - a conducive learning space and library for some 200 children and youths residing at Limbang to enjoy quality time after school over the next two years.
The “Learning Space @ Limbang” was launched at Limbang Park Residents’ Committee (RC) Centre during the WeCare @ North West – Service Weeks (Limbang) on Saturday, 21 January 2017. The vibrantly coloured space that was filled with inspiring messages was unveiled by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development & Second Minister for Finance and Adviser to Limbang GROs.
Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District says, “Youths are the future of tomorrow, hence it is important for North West CDC to connect together more corporate and community partners to pool resources to support the students from low-income families, so that they would not be disadvantaged due to their financial background. For that, I would like to thank CDL for initiating this Learning Space @ Limbang, with support from Limbang GROs, NTU and NLB to inspire the youths, building up their capabilities. I hope that this giving-back spirit will continue to grow within the North West District.”
Over the next two years, CDL’s staff from its employee volunteer programme City Sunshine Club (CSC), will conduct fortnightly character building courses at “Learning Space @ Limbang”. In line with CDL’s long standing commitment to foster a new generation of leaders, this initiative strives to educate primary school children aged seven to 12 on ways to understand, care about and act upon core ethical issues.
Aimed at pooling more resources to provide holistic programme for the students from low-income families, CDL has also galvanized the support of like-minded partners such as NLB, which contributed a collection of books for the designated kids’ corner, and NTU, whose students would provide tuition to youths in this programme.
Mr Kwek Eik Sheng, CDL Chief Strategy Officer and Advisor of CSC says, “CDL has been a corporate partner of NWCDC’s outreach initiatives since 2012 and our staff volunteers have been befriending the residents of Limbang since 2015. This first-of-its-kind collaboration was made possible with the support of North West CDC and Limbang Park RC, who have helped us to better understand the needs in this community. We hope that with our collaborative spirit and combined resources, we can work together to empower our children and make our society a better place.”
Under the WeCare @ North West – Service Weeks (Limbang), 150 students from Greenridge Secondary School and 40 volunteers from CDL were involved in packing and distributing the WeCare festive pack, containing healthier food choices to low-income families residing at Limbang Rental Blocks. Besides that, CDL also provided home improvement services/essentials to seven needy households. One such beneficiary was 58-year-old Mr Teo Cher Kim, who was diagnosed with Polymyositis.
