Welfare Services

invites you to be a friend to someone in need 2021

Every year, The Giving Methodist, spearheaded by The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) and Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), provides a platform to galvanise all Methodists for acts of love. Against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s theme encourages every Methodist to “Persevere in Doing Good”.

As part of the Methodist family, we have the opportunity to do good by giving generously especially during the current circumstances. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9).

Let us answer the call to do good by rallying our family and friends to reach deep into our hearts and extend warmth and friendship to someone in need during these tough times.

We invite you to join MWS’s Persevere in Doing Good campaign by befriending those who are disadvantaged and distressed for a period of six to 12 months.

MWS will connect you with distressed families and individuals, socially isolated seniors, and disadvantaged children in need of meaningful, longerterm friendship, advice and emotional support in their lives. Go to https://thegivingmethodist.sg/ or scan the QR code to sign up as a befriender or find out more about The Giving Methodist.

JOIN THE GIVING METHODIST CAMPAIGN IN THESE THREE WAYS:

GIVE TIME

Volunteer your time to be a befriender and walk alongside our beneficiaries who need help. You can offer some companionship to someone in need. Journey with a befriendee from a participating MWS centre or Methodist church ministry today!

GIVE A DONATION

Uplift those whose circumstances remain dire with a regular giving of $40 a month, or a one-time donation. Your giving could potentially impact the lives of more than 8,000 we serve through our MWS centres and programmes.

GIVE VOICE

Lend your voice to the disadvantaged and distressed by spreading the word about The Giving Methodist on your social media channels or group chats. Do get others involved too! For further enquiries on The Giving Methodist, please email tgm@mws.sg.

A friend in need is a friend indeed

About 18 years ago, Mr Yong Teck Kin was involved in a car accident, which left him with a debilitating neck injury. As he could not afford the high cost of proper medical treatment back then, Mr Yong suffers from pain in his back and hands today, and is unable to stand for too long.

After the accident, he opened a hawker stall, but the long hours and weak demand soon forced him to give up the business.

Since then, Mr Yong, a loving father of three school-going children, has been unable to hold a full-time job, often relying on part-time odd jobs that pay a meagre $150 per month to feed his family. Although his wife works as a sales assistant, the couple’s combined household income was hardly enough for the family of five to make ends meet.

Home is a one-room flat crammed with the family’s belongings, with barely enough space to move about. Making matters worse is the fact that Mr Yong’s eldest son is not Singaporean, and the school fees cost $1,000 every month.

With school fees and utilities bills mounting, and Mr Yong soon found himself in debt. Left with no choice, he borrowed $7,000 from his personal line of credit to pay off the items. When he could not make the repayments, he spiralled deeper into debt and despair.

A call from God to help the needy

Mr Jimmy Chua, the Outreach and Social Concerns (OSC) Chairperson of Hakka Methodist Church, is familiar with the MWS Family Development Programme (FDP), a debt clearance and savings matching initiative by Methodist Welfare Services (MWS). Under the scheme, MWS matches $2 for every $1 cleared by families on their own, so as to help them get out of debt more quickly.

So when he befriended Mr Yong in 2018, the church volunteer’s first priority was to help the former hawker clear his debts through MWS FDP. Through monthly visits, Jimmy, a financial consultant by trade, imparted financial literacy skills to Mr Yong and helped to process administrative matters related to the scheme. Jimmy’s perseverance paid off, and Mr Yong was able to settle all his outstanding payments within 18 months.

“He was very diligent in submitting his bills and was always very apologetic whenever he misplaced one. His determination to get out of debt made me want to journey with this family.

“Mr Yong’s struggles remind me of those I experienced when I was younger. This is why I persevere in walking with him even during this pandemic to see that the family is well taken care of,”shared Jimmy, who also managed to provide the family with dry rations and NTUC Fairprice vouchers to meet their daily needs.

Today, Mr Yong has begun saving. His eldest son was recently accepted into a course at the Institute of Technical Education. With Jimmy’s help, Mr Yong was able to tap on his savings to pay for the school fees.

Jimmy also stepped in when he realised that Mr Yong’s two younger children were struggling in school. Today, the children are provided free tuition that helps them to do better in school.

As a faithful Methodist, Jimmy gives thanks to God for being able to serve as a volunteer to the vulnerable in the community.

“When I was given this job, I wanted to do it well and do it right. I hope that more Methodists are able to rise up and reach out to the needy. As God calls us to care for one another in the Scriptures, I feel that giving our time, our voice and our money to those in need is our act of worship unto God,” he shared.

Jimmy Chua (right) has been journeying with Mr Yong Teck Kin to help him stay debt-free and build savings