Happy 74th Anniversary to us!
To commemorate the start of our 75th anniversary, we organised a Heritage Walk for our members and staff this morning. Joining us were also volunteers from SNM Youth, Agilent Technologies (Singapore), Red Cross First Aid Volunteers, SNM Individual Volunteers, who braved the morning sun with us.
The walk trailed from the Momentary Monument, where Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew made his first public appearance after his
televised public announcement of Singapore’s separation from Malaysia on 9th August 1965. His appearance on 12 September 1965 was made at the former Sree Narayana Mission, which stood at No. 48 Soon Keat Road, where he delivered his clarion ‘Never Fear’ call to all Singaporeans. Today, this spot is marked by the Momentary Monument, which currently stands at 313 Sembawang Drive.
Joining us in the leisure walk this morning, were a cheerful group of 75 participants, who walked 7.5km to usher in our 75th year of service to the community. The walk trails from the monument to the site of SNM’s second nursing home along Yishun Ave 6 before ending at our existing nursing home at Yishun Ave 5.
“It was great seeing members and stakeholders of SNM of all ages coming together for the SNM 75th Anniversary Heritage Walk. Volunteering for this event gave me the chance to see some of the members I had not seen in a long time. Just seeing the smiles on their faces and feeling their energy made it all worthwhile.”, said Mr Sudhesh, an SNM EXCO member, who is also part of SNM’s Youth Group.
Ms Celia from Agilent Technologies Singapore said “It has been an honour to be able to participate in the SNM 75th anniversary walkathon as road marshals. The team in SNM coordinated the event very well. It is great to see all the smiling and happy faces during the walk and very fulfilling day indeed!”
Our celebrations also provided our participants the opportunity to do voluntary service, where they put their hands together to clean some of the residents’ wheelchairs.
Assoc Prof Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of National Development, also graced our event as Guest-of-Honour and shared words of appreciation for the contributions of SNM to the community over the last 74 years. The event concluded with a sweet serving of cake for all and our Resident’s Committee Chairman, Mr Eric Lim, presented a token of appreciation to Assoc Prof Dr Faishal Ibrahim.
SNM (Singapore) was amongst 25 other Indian organisations under the Federation of Singapore Indian Organisations (FSIO), formed under the auspices of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), that was invited to the SICCI-FSIO gala dinner which was held last evening at Shangri-La Singapore.
Through this partnership, we hope to collaborate with the Indian diaspora to play its part in achieving mutual socio-economic benefits for the larger community and participating institutions as well.
As SNM is expanding its programmes with an additional Nursing Home, we also look forward to providing volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunities for member organisations.
Special thanks to Jamal Mohamed College Alumni Association – Singapore Chapter for the generous donation!
Mohiadeen Abdul Kader, the President of the Association, said that they have pledged to support and coordinate their efforts with social welfare and community development organisations to establish harmony and enhance socio-cultural development in the community.
He praised SNM for our quick responses and added that our CEO, Mr S. Devendran had patiently guided them through
the donation process. Professionals in the social service sector touch the lives of the less fortunate among us, and Mr Kader hopes that other organisations would also step up and help ensure that no Singaporean is left behind.
Message of Resilience
Mr Pradeep started his career with Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore) in 2007. In 2009, he returned home to get married. After his marriage, he asked SNM for the opportunity to rejoin the organization; they agreed as his work performance had been excellent.
He is currently a healthcare supervisor and a duty officer who oversees a multi-national healthcare team.
When COVID-19 landed on our shores, he realised that this situation would be tough for the staff who can’t be with their families. Many of his healthcare staff try to be on the phone as much as possible with their families in their free time. Many of them faced the grim prospect of having to choose either their work or their family, but in the end, all of them stayed on as they must support their own families who are far away. This was also in part due to Mr Pradeep’s counsel, informing them that staying safe in Singapore was the best thing they could do for their family.
When COVID-19 landed on our shores, he realised that this situation would be tough for the staff who can’t be with their families. Many of his healthcare staff try to be on the phone as much as possible with their families in their free time. Many of them faced the grim prospect of having to choose either their work or their family, but in the end, all of them stayed on as they must support their own families who are far away. This was also in part due to Mr Pradeep’s counsel, informing them that staying safe in Singapore was the best thing they could do for their family.
Mr Pradeep says that he tries his best to reassure and look out for them and does his best to keep morale up. He works closely with Mr Sajeev, Head of Meranti Home who shares his vision.
Both Mr Pradeep and Mr Sajeev co-operate very frequently, even when Mr Sajeev is working from home, and both aren’t afraid to work hand in hand with the healthcare teams. They do their best to allay the worries that staff have.
Mr Pradeep said that staff are impressed that the organization sticks to their values, and in this time of pandemic, it is where these values truly shine. Staff are well looked after, and SNM helps them to send items back to their home country by absorbing that transportation cost to allow staff to have peace of mind, following Guru’s teachings of compassion.
Mr Pradeep said that staff are impressed that the organization sticks to their values, and in this time of pandemic, it is where these values truly shine. Staff are well looked after, and SNM helps them to send items back to their home country by absorbing that transportation cost to allow staff to have peace of mind, following Guru’s teachings of compassion.
“Morale is high,” he says with a laugh. “We want to raise Meranti home to be the best home in Singapore. Our motto is: We do good, and karma will work out for us.”