Reach Out ¢ According to a 2017/18 survey by the Department of Statistics, Singaporeans spend $1.4 billion a year on tuition for their children. However, private tuition is an expense item that many households struggle to afford. Two churches—Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Mission and Living Hope Methodist Church—found that they were placed in neighbourhoods where many households needed affordable educational support for children and youth. They decided to start a tuition ministry and an English coaching programme for children. Read on to see how far they’ve come.
PAYA LEBAR CHINESE METHODIST MISSION (PLCMM)
A tuition ministry of more than 20 years continues to bear fruit Kate Lim worships at Aldersgate Methodist Church and serves in the Bethany Nursing Home Befrienders Ministry. / Photos courtesy of Jessica Lee
Loving our neighbours The PLCMM tuition ministry for children and youths was started by its members in 1999. They had a mission to reach out to and serve the residents of the nearby Lorong Ah Soo neighbourhood, which comprised mostly young, lower-income families. This ministry provides nearly-free tuition to the children and youth in the neighbourhood—only a nominal fee is charged. As part of the programme, the students attend the children’s church and youth fellowship after tuition. According to Philip Chong, the person-in-charge for the
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Jessica Lee now serves as a Sunday school teacher in MPK
essica Lee is a Sunday School teacher at Mighty
PLCMM tuition ministry, there were up to 55 tuition students and 15 teachers in 2012 at its peak. Presently, there are six students (aged between 8-11 years) receiving tuition in English and Math, and five volunteer teachers serving in the ministry.
Power Kids (MPK), Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Mission (PLCMM). She first joined PLCMM when she
Meeting the children’s needs beyond academics
was six years old, after church volunteers came knocking
Many of the children receiving tuition from PLCMM come
on her door, inviting her mother to send her for tuition
from families where the parents are busy at work and
at PLCMM, and thereafter to attend Sunday School.
unable to attend to their children.
Jessica’s mother had a good impression of PLCMM and felt that it was a safe place for her to go to.
Philip shares that serving in this ministry goes beyond helping the children in their studies. “It involves meeting
“Right after tuition, we had Sunday School and there
their real needs and sharing the love that (we) have
would be a lot of fun and activities for us. That was
received from God.”
how I learned about God, from the tutors who patiently shared God’s love with me and guided me,” Jessica told
Each child has his or her unique abilities and needs, and
Methodist Message.
Philip describes how the volunteer tutors go beyond METHODIST MESSAGE May 2022
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