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A big part of what I love about our community is our shared spirit of wanting to be a support system for one another, which becomes ever more evident in this special month. Even more so because it is Ramadhan that we can see this spirit being rejuvenated and inflamed all around us – from the aunty voluntarily passing out kurma and kueh during iftar to the uncle or the student that always helps to clean the mosque and lays the prayer mats.
It is in Ramadhan that we are constantly reminded of all the blessings that we’ve been given and we truly bask in Allah’s love and mercy. It is also in this month that we become more mindful that not everyone of us share the same fortunate circumstances. This is further highlighted by the many ongoing initiatives by our fellow peers, youth groups and other individuals, which support causes that tug at our heart strings and shine out during this particular time.
One such initiative that has caught our attention while we were looking for causes to fund for our pool of beneficiaries is the Literacy Initiative for Equity (LIFE SG). As part of our objective to give back to society, where we donate $5 from the sale of our FRIENDS card into a beneficiaries pool and disburse fixed denominations to chosen causes, we just couldn’t give LIFE SG a miss. This laudable voluntary, non-religious, non-governmental, and non-profit organisation first began as a research study. The founder conducted this study as part of a university course and it was through this study that it was uncovered that there are big patches of society – specifically local children born into poverty – that get left behind in our fast paced society. An estimated 8,000 children annually to be exact.
These children often do not get the same opportunities that we, ourselves might have taken for granted when we were young such as enrichment activities. It might seem a simple privilege but the difference can be quite staggering. Without these enrichment programmes, the children are often discovered to have lower literacy levels and an impeded social and cognitive growth as compared to other children their age.
LIFE works with underprivileged children through various programs.
