By Rachel Hau
Sunday 23 October was SFSC Sunday, and we had staff and clients from Sembawang Family Service Centre (SFSC) join us at CCMC. SFSC’s mission is to reach out and touch lives by providing relevant services to support the needs of low income and/or vulnerable individuals and families in the community in Singapore. Our church partners and supports SFSC, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary last year in 2021.
For SFSC Sunday, SFSC staff and volunteers set up booths to raise awareness of SFSC’s programmes, share about volunteering opportunities at SFSC and sell SOWERS products.
The SOWERS products, which include pouches and bags of different styles, were well-received by members of church/attendees. In fact, the SOWERS team was recently also part of the LampPost Project, which featured meticulously sewn book bags made from upcycled lamppost banners. The initiative was featured on local news site Mothership and quickly sold out.
The SOWERS Project aims to empower SFSC clients from disadvantaged backgrounds by equipping them with skills and an avenue to earn supplementary income. Participants are taught sewing skills to create attractive products from recycled materials, which are sold to schools, corporates, organizations and communities.
This year we also had SFSC client Ms Shamala, an aspiring home-based catering business owner, sell a mouthwatering assortment of food, such as samosas, nasi lemak, roti kirai and nutella cookies. Many church members could be seen near the table where the packs of food were sold, and the food was snapped up quickly.
As part of SFSC Sunday, we also collected a second offering, which would go towards the bursaries that CCMC, together with SFSC, gives out yearly. Each year, we give out bursaries of $300 (primary school) and $400 (secondary school) to children from financially challenged households.
The bursaries recognise children who put in effort in their studies and display good conduct. The cash gifts can be used for added schooling expenses or even to go towards their families' living needs. This not only encourages the children in their academic journey, but also empowers them with the knowledge that they too can contribute to their families’ wellbeing.
To find out more about what SFSC does, do check out SFSC’s Facebook page. Thank you to those who have supported SFSC in the past, and on behalf of the team, a big thank you for continuing to support SFSC, on SFSC Sunday and other days!
All photos by April Lee and Alicia Tan.
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