It was an extremely tough and uncertain period for us to get through, but New Life really helped us get through that critical season of difficulty.

When my son was Primary 1, I got to know Dancia at church. She cares for my family very much. It was she who introduced us to New Life and KCC, and recommended that I enrol my son Qi Yong into the programme.

My ex-husband had violent tendencies. He has a gambling habit and owes a lot of money, so every day when he gets home he would start to beat us up. For my children’s safety as well as my own, I wanted to move out. Thereafter because I divorced him, we moved out around the second half of the year when Qi Yong was in Primary 2. That year, we moved house ten times. That gave my two children a lot of stress and unhappiness. Dancia found out about our situation and spoke to one of the New Life teachers, who helped us apply for Project Love’s financial assistance. They eventually helped us move into a temporary sheltered home.

Last year, during the COVID-19 period, the first thing the New Life teachers did was to raise fund among themselves for my family. They also helped me apply to Project Love again for my daughter’s polytechnic school fees. Project Love sponsored about eight months of her tuition fees, as well as assistance with living expenses – I’m truly very happy and grateful. I’m grateful to New Life to have so many people helping and caring for us along the way.

Not long after school started last year, Qi Yong became very aggressive. When he gets angry, he thinks he can resolve the problem by throwing things, shouting, swearing or throwing a temper tantrum. Because he has witnessed his father’s violent outbursts from a young age, it has negatively affected him. Qi Yong actually has a good heart, just that when he loses his temper he can’t help himself. He is very enthusiastic and helpful whenever he sees that his teachers need help.

Since coming to KCC his teachers have seen improvement – although he still has trouble regulating his emotions, he no longer has violent outbursts. After attending KCC for half a year he adapted to the environment, and has learned to accept the teachers’ suggestions and reminders. Recently he told me, “Mama, let’s try this. I am trying to be a good boy. Let me see if I can go one week without losing my temper or getting angry.” I was pleasantly surprised by how far he has come.

New Life’s teachers have been paying attention to my son, they are very meticulous. Last year in mid-June, they conducted a family visit via Zoom to tell me about Qi Yong’s progress and how he has been in KCC. They also gave suggestions on how to communicate with him. I feel that this communication between parents and teachers is very helpful.

I want to say a big thank you to all the staff of New Life. The gratitude in my heart cannot be expressed in words. It is a deep gratitude that comes straight from the heart. Because of New Life, we have such a blessed and warm home today.

Mdm Chang Jing
Mother of Qi Yong
Kids Champ Club and Project Love Beneficiaries

Our family moved to Singapore from Malaysia in 2016. My daughter, Yuki started Primary one last year. As a foreigner without having English as the first language, she found it difficult to catch up in school. This affected her self-confidence and she felt intimidated when speaking out. She also had low self-esteem. Since she is enrolled with Steady Readers and Kids Champ Club Programmes, I observed that she became more confident in expressing herself. She can now communicate well with her peers without feeling shy or intimidated. I hope to see her grow up to be more resilient in facing challenges. I am very thankful for the patience of New Life mentors for always guiding her. They never give up on her even when she’s not doing well at first. I really appreciate these programmes for helping her improve. Thank you!

Karen Tea Pei Khem
Mother of Yuki Lee (8 years old)
Steady Readers & Kids Champ Club Beneficiary

Playing computer games at home all day long can be very boring. But ever since I came to New Life Youth Hub, I made new friends and we always have fun together. The staff have been extremely willing to support me with several issues I face. Whenever I share to them that I am unsure of what I should do, they willingly provide me with guidance and advice. I am one of the older youths in the hub. Therefore, I’ve learnt to be more mature by assisting the staff by taking care of other members, teaching them how to use game consoles and ensuring that the hub is treated with care. I am thankful to learn about leadership with new responsibilities. These experiences have allowed me to have extra patience with people and helped manage my anger. Thank you to all New Life staff for trusting in me and mentoring me to become a better person.”

Jackie Ang
17 years old
New Life Youth Beneficiary

I’m a divorcee with three children. The youngest one is enrolled in New Life childcare. All of them are currently under my custody, care and control. I heard about the New Life financial assistance called Project Love from a staff. My ex-husband contributes only about $200 per child and all of them are in school. This is insufficient as we have a lot of expenditure such as enrichment classes, tuition, personal insurance, medication, school fees and grocery. Project Love helped me to pay half of the school fees and that’s a great help as a single mother. I really appreciate every donor’s kind-heartedness. Without this programme, I have to struggle very hard. Thank you, New Life. Without your support, I don’t know what to do.

Ms Priya*
Project Love Beneficiary

Hidayat was a beneficiary of Steady Reader’s Programme and later referred to Kids Champ Club (KCC). Since young, he lacked self-confidence and was not willing to express his feelings openly. New Life’s dedicated and exemplary volunteers were very patient with him and took the extra effort to genuinely understand and not judge him. Under New Life’s guidance, my son grew to be more understanding and is now more willing to speak up. He has not missed any single lesson and is always looking forward to it. I am glad to see him grow and learn a lot in the programme. Thank you, New Life, for the wonderful job. I will not hesitate to recommend your programmes to my friends.

Cody Ng
Father of Hidayat (Pri 4)
Steady Readers & Kids Champ Club Beneficiary

My friend who is currently a member of the Youth Hub at Fajar invited me to go with her in the hub. I got curious so I went. The place looks really cool and the staff are very friendly, so I signed up too. And the fee is only $4 a year!

Then I also started hanging out here at Junction 10 and I really like the place because I can chill after school and make new friends. My life before I became a member was out of my control. Everything was very hard for me. I didn’t know how to handle my personal problems in my family and I just wanted to give up. I felt that there’s no more hope and could not fix anything at all. Even worse, I thought that I should just end my life. But when I spent more time with the New Life staff, my hopeless perspective to all my problems changed. They helped me to handle my struggles very well and gave me solutions like referring me where I should seek help. I am thankful I can open up and trust them. I really appreciate the time that the staff spent talking to me, making me realise my worth and reminding me that everything is still going to be alright. After all those talks and encouragements, my life started to change. I became a better person and I learnt how to cope with my problems in a better perspective. I am really grateful for New Life for bringing hope to my life.

Atasha
13 years old
New Life Youth Beneficiary

Last year, after school, I was bummed out because of my Mathematics exam results. I told the staff that I had failed my exams and they gave me a lot of encouragement by sharing about their own challenges they faced in school. I am thankful that they shared with me and encouraged me as it really motivated me to focus and study better for my examinations.

I’ve learnt a lot from the mentors here. One of those lessons is learning to accept someone for who they really are. It really helped me accept myself for who I really am and make me interact more with people. When I was younger, I was really shy and had very little friends. I had very little confidence and would stammer a lot when I am presenting in front of the class. I also learnt teamwork from some of the monthly special programmes, contributing to society and working with people of different personalities and backgrounds. I enjoy the activities like playing board games and card games such as Munchkin and Fluxx, playing the PS4, and cooking through the culinary programme. The Youth Hub has changed me a lot. I have become a better person and would always volunteer whenever I am free. When I volunteer, it really makes me feel satisfied with myself as I have helped as best as I can. Thank you, New Life, for mentoring me, listening to me, allowing me to share my problems, and letting me experience new things with all of you.

Intan
13 years old
New Life Youth Beneficiary

I joined a gang when I was 18. Life became meaningless when my then-girlfriend broke up with me during a time of financial difficulty in my family. I got addicted to online gaming, inflicted self-harm and became suicidal. I also missed school for two years. I was then referred to a New Life social worker for counselling. He encouraged me and brought me out of my hopelessness. Today I’m pursuing my studies in Community Care & Social Services at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).  I now aspire to help youths who were like me before.

Kai Wei
21 years old
New Life Youth Beneficiary

Since I enrolled my children in New Life Childcare, I observed that they are progressing very well and have picked up the necessary skills to prepare them for primary school. They always tell me they like their K2 teachers a lot for they are caring and loving. The facilities in the centre are well maintained, clean and safe. I’m glad I’m able to focus on my work knowing that my children are in safe and nurturing hands of New Life.

Mr Koh Beng Chuan
Father of Chen Xi & Chen Xu
from New Life Childcare

My son Sharul used to lack confidence, throwing tantrums and was doing poorly in school. After six months of supervision from caring mentors in New Life Children & Student Care, he’s now happier, more confident and he even improved in his exams!

Zarina Binte Mohamed
Mother of Sharul
from New Life Children & Student Care