2009/2010 - MINDS

CONTENTS 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 CONTENTS 

2 

Principal Officials 

3 

Management Team 

4 

Organisation Chart 

5 

President’s Review 

7 

School Management Committee 

11 

18 

Service Development Committee 

• Employment Development Centres 

• Training & Development Centres 

• Residential Services - MINDSville@Napiri 

Allied Health Professionals Hub 

20 

Finance and Investment Committee 

22 

Audit Committee 

23 

Human Resource Committee 

25 

IT Committee 

26 

Volunteer and Donor Management Committee 

29 

Building & Facilities Committee 

31 

Public Relations, Education & Communications Committee 

33 

MINDS CSG 

35 

MINDS MYG 

38 

Financial Statements 

88 

Past Years’ Office Bearers 

1

PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

PRINCIPAL 

OFFICIALS 

Patron 

Vice-Patron 

Advisors 

Dr Cheong Choong Kong 

Dr Aline Wong 

Dr S Vasoo 

Prof Tan Ser Kiat 

Mrs Jaya Mohideen 

Mr Conrad Campos 

Executive Committee 

President 

Mr Goh Siang Khin 


Vice President 

Mr Gabriel Lim 


Vice President 

Mr Jeffrey Tan 


Honorary Secretary 

Mrs Mimi Tan 


Honorary Assistant 

Secretary 

Mr Ong Wee Gee 


Honorary Treasurer 

Mr Boo Chong Han 


Honorary Assistant 

Treasurer 

Capt Roger Loh 


Member 

Mr Kenneth Chua 


Member 

Mr Chng Ho Kiat 


Co-opted Member 

Mr Daniel Tan 


Member 

Mr Wilson Tan 


Member 

Mr Lim Jun Han 


Honorary Internal 

Auditor 

Mr Lee Ju Song 


Honorary Internal 

Auditor 

Mr Lim Yeow Khee 



Mr Manojit Sen 



Ms Doreen Yap 



Mr Augustin Lee 



Mr Gerald Ng 



2 

Ms Jamie Lau (not in picture)

PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS 

Representatives on the following organisations: 

National Council of Social Service 


Children’s Charities Association 

Mr Jeffrey Tan, Mr Kenneth Chua 

Singapore Disability Sports Council 


Singapore Special Olympics 

Capt Roger Loh 

Asian Federation on Intellectual Disabilities (AFID) Mr Jeffrey Tan 

MANAGEMENT TEAM 

Headquarters 

Chief Executive Officer 

Mr Keh Eng Song 

Director, Allied Health Professionals Hub Dr Mary Cherian (till March 2010) 

Ms Koh Gee May (from April 2010) 

Director, Finance 

Ms Lai Aun Leng 

Director, Human Resources & Admin 

Mrs Jeannie Ho 

Manager, Human Resources & Admin 

Ms Yuen Lye Yong 

Manager, Volunteer & Donor Management 

Mrs Rosaline Chee 

Manager, Facilities Management & Procurement 

Mr Terence Wong 

Accountant (Association) 

Mr David Chan 

Accountant (Schools) 

Ms Sia Siew Lan 

Internal Auditor 

Mr Christopher Jap 

Special Schools 

Director, Schools & Head – Curriculum Development Unit Ms Chia Poh Hong 

Principal, Fernvale Gardens School 

Mr Anthony Tan 

Principal, Lee Kong Chian Gardens School 

Ms Jenny Alexander 

Principal, Towner Gardens School Ms Salha Soo (till June 2010) 

Mrs Josephine Ng (from July 2010) 

Principal, Woodlands Gardens School 

Ms Suzana Soo 

Employment Development Centres (EDCs) 

Director, Operations and Social Enterprises Mr Chew Bong Koon (till June 2010) 

Senior Manager, SIA-MINDS EDC 

Ms Prema Thevarajah 

Manager, Idea EDC Mr Stephen Shi (from July 2010) 

Manager, Woodlands EDC 

Mr Ng Mun Wai 

Manager, Social Enterprises 

Mr Leroy Lee 

Residential, Training & Development Services 

Director, Residential, Training & Development Services 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri - Children’s Wing 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri - Hostel/Group Homes 

Head, Ang Mo Kio TDC 

Head, Clementi TDC 

Head, Napiri TDC 

Ms Koh Gee May 

Ms Rose Kwek 

Mr Ling Chong Beng 

Ms Rosalyn Peng 

Ms Shafiyah Sarwan 

Mr Mike Koh 

3

ORGANISATION CHART 

Conrad Campos, Chairman & 

Supervisor 

-School Mgt Committee 

Gabriel Lim, Chairman 

Service Development Committee 

Kenneth Chua, Chairman 

Finance and Investment Committee 

Manojit Sen, Chairman 

Human Resource Committee 

Ong Wee Gee, Chairman 

IT Committee 

Lim Yeow Khee, Chairman 

Building & Facilities 

Chng Ho Kiat, Chairman 

Volunteer & Donor Mgt Committee 

Boo Chong Han, Chairman 

Public Relations, Education & 

Communications Committee 

Gerald Ng, Chairman 


Mimi Tan, Chairman 


Lim Jun Han, Chairman 

Audit Committee 

MINDS ORGANISATION CHART 


President – Executive Committee 

Keh Eng Song 


SPECIAL EDUCATION 

SCHOOLS 

EMPLOYMENT 

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 

RESIDENTIAL, TRAINING 

& DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 

Chia Poh Hong, 

Director, Schools & 

Head, Curriculum 

Development Unit 

Principals: 

- Anthony Tan, 

Fernvale Gardens 

- Jenny Alexander, 

Lee Kong Chian 

Gardens 

- Josephine Ng, 

Towner Gardens 

- Suzana Soo, 

Woodlands Gardens 

Senior Manager 

- Prema Thevarajah, 

SIA-MINDS EDC 

Managers: 

- Stephen Shi, 

Idea EDC 

- Ng Mun Wai, 

Woodlands EDC 

- Leroy Lee, 

Social Enterprise 

Koh Gee May 

Director, Residential 

Training & Development Services 

MINDSville@Napiri 

Heads: 

- Koh Gee May, 

Home 

- Rose Kwek, 

Children’s Wing 

- Ling Chong Beng, 

Hostel/Group Home 

Training & Development Centres 

Heads: 

- Rosalyn Peng, 

Ang Mo Kio TDC 

- Shafiyah Sarwan, 

Clementi TDC 

- Mike Koh, 

Napiri TDC 

CORPORATE SERVICES 

Finance: 

- Lai Aun Leng, Director 

- David Chan, Accountant 

- Sia Siew Lan, Accountant 

HR & Admin: 

- Jeannie Ho, Director 

- Yuan Lye Yong, Manager 

Facilities/Procurement 

- Terence Wong, Manager 

IT 

- Chia Siew Tong, Administrator 

Volunteer & Donor Management 

- Rosalind Chee, Manager 

Corporate Communications 

- Desiree Lim, Executive 

Christopher Jap 

Internal Auditor 

Allied Health Services 

Koh Gee May, Ag Director 

4

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

PRESIDENT’S REVIEW 

PRESIDENT’S 

REVIEW 

When the 2009/11 Executive Committee started its 

term in September 2009, we reviewed and set out 

the following strategic directions for MINDS over 

the next two to three years. 

• Increasing the capacity of our Training & Development 

Centres (TDCs), including finding alternative solutions 

for an increasing demand by families of persons with 

severe intellectual disability for value-added day activity 

centres. Our three TDCs are currently running at full 

capacity and we are expecting another 42 students who 

will need TDC services to graduate from the schools at 

the end of 2010. There is an urgent need to create 

additional capacity or find alternative services for these 

students soon. We continue to provide feedback to and 

work with the Ministry of Community Development 

Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the National Council of 

Social Service (NCSS) towards this end. 

• Setting up sustainable and scalable Social Enterprises 

so as to create more job opportunities for our adult 

clients. With the mean of the age profile of our 

clients moving beyond 18 years of age, there are more 

clients than jobs suited for those who need to work 

in a sheltered environment. More than 100 students 

graduate from our four schools each year, and the 

main social enterprise where we recycle SIA or SATS 

headsets cannot provide sufficient job placements. 

There is also the threat of technology change that will 

make this enterprise a twilight one. 

We thus need to build new social enterprises and build 

upon our existing ones. We need to manage social 

enterprises more like businesses than as training 

centres, with Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) 

and trainers functioning more as support units. We 

should hire managers with business experience and 

across disabilities, including the aged retired. This 

is a paradigm shift that requires changes in mindsets 

and processes and will take time. There is however no 

doubt that we will need to make this change. 

• Building management, developing talent, nurturing 

passion. With more than 70% of MINDS’ budget spent 

on manpower, it is very important that we manage our 

human resource effectively by building upon the depth 

and strength of our management and leadership, 

putting in place a succession plan for all critical 

functions, improving productivity through training and 

better processes and tools, attracting, identifying and 

developing talent, and nurturing the culture of passion, 

dedication, energy and drive across the organisation. 

• Building professional knowledge and expertise to 

raise the quality of services. This will have to start with 

building the depth, seniority and leadership of our 

AHPs and reviewing the internal structure and delivery 

of AHP services to our clients. We want to enhance the 

knowledge and expertise of our AHPs and teachers so 

that we become a centre of excellence for intellectual 

disability. This will also complement the need to prepare 

for the impending Bill on AHPs that will establish a new 

regulatory framework for AHPs and Approved Centres. 

• Better engagement of all our stakeholders. We need 

to build platforms and programmes to better engage 

and communicate with members, caregivers and 

donors, and to attract, manage and retain volunteers. 

All these stakeholders are critical to meeting our Vision 

and Mission. If we do it right, we add immeasurably to 

the delivery of tangible outcomes for our clients and 

their integration into society. 

We are making incremental progress in the above areas 

and we are confident that we can achieve real tangible 

outcomes from the above strategic thrusts. 

OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

I am pleased to highlight some of the outcomes and 

achievements for FY2009/20. 

Official Opening of Woodlands EDC and WGS 

We were honoured to have Mr Khaw Boon Wan, 

Minister of Health as our Guest of Honour to grace the 

opening of Woodlands Gardens School and Woodlands 

Employment Development Centre on 9 October 2009. 

The co-location and sharing of common space between 

the school and workshop significantly maximises 

resources and reduce transition adjustments. 

MOE-NCSS Outstanding SPED Teacher 

Award 

Two of our teachers, Ms Jenny Lim, Vice Principal of Lee 

Kong Chian Gardens School, and Ms Ernie Noorhaidah 

Ahmad, Teacher of Woodlands Gardens School came 

out tops among the many nominations across all SPED 

schools in Singapore to win the MOE-NCSS Outstanding 

SPED Teacher Awards in November 2009. 

MINDSville@Napiri Thriftshop 

In November 2009, caregivers Ms Linda Poh and Ms 

Carolina Chan set up a new thriftshop at MINDSville. 

This is the first cross-sector collaboration where 

caregivers, EDC, TDC and the Residential Home come 

together to contribute their resources to benefit the 

5

6 

PRESIDENT’S REVIEW 

clients. The caregivers provided their expertise and 

networks; the EDC provided the structure; the TDC 

used this as a training ground for the clients, and 

MINDSville provided the space. 

‘Start a Social Enterprise Contest’ with 

Ngee Ann Polytechnic 

In November 2009, we jointly organised a ‘Start a 

Social Enterprise Contest’ with Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s 

School of Humanities. Through the contest, MINDS 

tapped on the talents of the second year Business and 

Social Enterprise students to create new ideas for social 

enterprises as well as create awareness of MINDS and 

the employability of our clients. 10 teams participated 

with very creative ideas. Through the kind donation of 

the family of Dr Lee Kum Tatt, prizes were given to the 

top three teams. 

People Developer Award 

MINDS successfully met all the new criteria for the 

People Developer Award and achieved a Commendable 

Performance in People Excellence conferred by Spring 

Singapore in December 2009. The assessors noted 

MINDS commitment to the mission, vision and values 

of the organisation through the management of its 

human resource. For example, they noted that there 

was a planning process addressing the organisation’s 

strategic directions, platforms for employee 

involvement, a structured training and development 

framework, a rewards and compensation system 

linked to performance, a structured information 

management system, regular sharing sessions such as 

in-house seminars on intellectual disability for staff 

and stakeholders, and talent development. 

Job Placement and Job Support Programme 

From January 2010, MINDS was appointed the service 

provider for a 3-year pilot Job Placement & Job Support 

(JPJS) Programme by NCSS. In collaboration with 

SNEF, who will source for jobs, MINDS will facilitate 

the placement of clients with intellectual disability 

in open employment, as well as provide continuing 

support to these clients as they adjust and adapt to the 

challenges of open employment. 

Community Group Home 

In March 2010, with the help of NCSS, MINDS 

successfully secured two HDB 4-room flats in Bedok 

for the setting up of a Community Group Home. After 

many years of preparation, three male and three female 

residents from our residential home made the move 

to independently living into the Community Group 

Home on 10 May 2010. All six residents are engaged 

in open employment. The residents will continue to 

receive support and supervision from MINDS as they 

live independently within the community. Adaptive 

resources such as smart home technologies and assistive 

technology devices are being used to ensure that 

the residents’ security is not compromised with the 

increased independence. The safety and welfare of our 

Community Group Home residents will be monitored 

closely. 

MINDS MYG Coffee Table Book – Simply 

Serve 

In March 2010, MINDS MYG launched its first coffee 

table book Simply Serve documenting and celebrating 

the contributions of 50 dedicated volunteers, 27 

caregivers and three persons with intellectual disability. 

The book is a tribute to the spirit of giving, and of 

caregivers and volunteers who made a difference in 

the lives of persons with intellectual disability. It also 

commemorates MINDS MYG’s journey through the 

passage of 35 years. Publication of the book was 

made possible by the donation from the family of Dr 

Lee Kum Tatt. 

APPRECIATION 

MINDS is what it is today because of the significant 

contributions of preceding generations of stakeholders 

who made a difference. 

On behalf of MINDS, I would like to thank our former 

Exco members, namely, our immediate Past President, 

Mrs Jaya Mohideen and Mr Lee Chak Meng, Mr Goh 

Siang Khin, Mdm Goh Siam Imm, Mr John Lee, Mr 

William Teo, Mr Chng Jong Ling and Ms Jamie Lau 

for their selfless giving of themselves and their time. 

Their decision to step down was part of the process 

of renewal that is a necessary part of good corporate 

governance, a major initiative of Mrs Mohideen. 

Under the leadership of Mrs Jaya Mohideen, there were 

many important outcomes and achievements, and I 

am unable to do justice to them in this short message. 

These achievements can be found in the annual 

reports from the years 2003 to 2009. Nevertheless, I 

think Mrs Mohideen’s most significant contribution 

was entrenching sound corporate governance within 

MINDS, even before the spotlight was put on Charities 

in recent years. Many MINDS clients, volunteers and 

employees have benefited from the contributions of 

Mrs Mohideen and her team, and many more will 

benefit in the future. For this, we would like to say a 

big “Thank You”. 

CONCLUSION 

2009/10 has been another fruitful year for MINDS. 

Together with volunteers and caregivers, the staff of 

MINDS has worked tirelessly towards enhancing 

MINDS’ standard of service delivery. 

We extend our deep appreciation to the many donors 

and volunteers who believe in and support our cause, 

the Community Chest for raising funds needed for our 

programmes, and the Ministry of Education, MCYS 

and NCSS for their funding, guidance and support. 


President

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Supervisor & Chairman 

Treasurer 

MOE Representative 

Members 

SCHOOL 

MANAGEMENT 

COMMITTEE 


Mr Justin Lim 

Mdm Toh Leng Leng 




Dr Bhavani Sriram 

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 

MINDS Chief Executive Officer 


Director, Human Resource & Administration Ms Jeannie Ho 



Director, Schools Services & Head 

Ms Chia Poh Hong 

Curriculum Development Unit 

Principal, Fernvale Gardens 

Mr Anthony Tan 

Principal, Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

Mrs Jenny Alexander 

Principal, Towner Gardens Mdm Salha Soo ( till 14 Jun 2010) 

Mrs Josephine Ng ( from 15 Jun 2010) 

Principal, Woodlands Gardens 

Ms Suzana Soo 

Secretary of SMC 2010 

Observers 

Parent, Fernvale Gardens 

Parent, Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

Parent, Towner Gardens 

Parent, Woodlands Gardens 

Mr Teo Hok Bin 

Mrs Lorraine Lee 

Mdm TaiYing 

Mr S. Krishnan 

Seated from left to right: Mdm Toh Leng Leng, Dr Bhavani Sriram, Mr Conrad Campos, 

Mr Boo Chong Han, Mr Kenneth Chua 

Standing from left to right: Mrs Jenny Alexander, Mrs Josephine Ng, Ms Chia Poh Hong, 

Ms Suzana Soo, Mr Anthony Tan, Mr Keh Eng Song 

7


ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

A key initiative for 2009/2010 was the formulation of 

a common School Vision and Mission Statement and a 

set of core values for the four schools. This is aimed at 

setting a common direction towards excellence in the 

education and development of our students. 

School Vision: To Be A School Of Excellence Where 

Every Individual Matters 

School Mission: To Provide A Vibrant Learning 

Environment That Inspires Students Towards 

Independence And Integration Into Society. 

Core Values: 

Strength of Character 

Mutual Respect and Understanding 

Integrity 

Lifelong Learning 

Excellence 

School Programmes 

Our schools provide four levels of education: 

• Pre-school - 4 years to 6 years of age 

• Junior - 7 years to 12 years of age 

• Senior - 13 years to 18 years of age 

• Special - 5 years to 18 years of age who have 

high behaviour support needs 

Curriculum content includes: 

• Competency Domain: 

Academics – numeracy and literacy skills 

Social development skills – independent living skills 

Health Education 

Home Economics 

• Citizenship Domain: 

Social Studies 

• Forte Domain : 

Physical Education 

Aesthetics – art and craft, music and dance 

Pre-vocational skills 

Science and Technology 

# Co-curricular and Pupil Enrichment Activities 

Pupil Enrollment as at 31 March 2010 

Pre-school Junior Senior Special 

Total 

Schools 

FGS 

LGS 

TGS 

WGS 

Total 

Non ASD ASD 

0 0 

0 0 

12 1 

14 1 

26 2 

Non ASD ASD 

79 3 

102 7 

70 5 

105 4 

356 19 

Non ASD ASD 

105 11 

94 17 

152 24 

106 7 

457 59 

Non ASD ASD 

22 25 

23 17 

26 8 

22 14 

93 64 

Non ASD ASD Total 

206 39 245 

219 41 260 

260 38 298 

247 26 273 

932 144 1076 

ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder 

Staff Strength as at 31 March 2010 

FGS LGS TGS WGS Total 

Principal 

Vice Principal 

Teachers 

Teacher Assistants 

Social Worker 

Psychologists 

Physiotherapists 

Occupational Therapists 

Speech Therapists 

Clerical/Account Staff 

SW Assist cum Clerical 

General Workers 

Total 

1 

1 

41 

7 

2 

1 

1 

1 

0 

3 

1 

5 

64 

1 

1 

42 

8 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

3 

1 

3 

66 

1 

1 

53 

6 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

4 

73 

1 

1 

42 

8 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

3 

1 

5 

68 

4 

4 

178 

29 

8 

7 

4 

4 

2 

10 

4 

17 

271 

Curriculum Developers 

Shared by all schools 

4 

8


MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

Official Opening of Woodlands Gardens 

School and Woodlands Employment 

Development Centre 

On 9 October 2009, MINDS premise, housing the 

fourth purpose-built school and second purpose-built 

employment development centre, was officially opened 

by Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health and MP 

for Sembawang GRC. It was an important milestone in 

MINDS service provision, as the new premise enabled 

MINDS to expand the admission of students and adults. 

This indeed alleviated parents concerns for education 

and training placements for their children and adults 

with intellectual disability. 

Staff Awards 

Two of our teachers, Ms Ernie Noorhaidah Ahmad of 

Woodlands Gardens School (WGS) and Ms Jenny Lim 

Geok Hong of Lee Kong Chian Gardens School (LGS) 

made MINDS proud when they won the MOE/NCSS 

Outstanding SPED Teachers Award 2009. 

MINDS internal Outstanding Staff Awards were 

presented in May 2010. Ms Salina Ismail of LGS won 

the Outstanding Teacher Award while the Teacher 

Merit awards were presented to Ms Gina Romeo of 

Fernvale Gardens School (FGS), Ms Wong Wai Yoke 

of Towner Gardens School (TGS), and Mr Muhammad 

Naharendie (WGS). 

Professional Initiatives 

With the support of MOE, a Reading Mastery literacy 

programme was introduced into the four schools for 

junior level students. Although the programme is still 

in its infancy, much progress in reading skills had been 

noticed. The programme complements MINDS literacy 

curriculum as well as existing reading programmes. 

In addition, the Paths programme on developing 

emotional-social competency of students was piloted in 

TGS through MOE. The value of this programme will be 

evaluated for future implementation plans. 

Across the four schools, the transition programme 

for graduating students was further enhanced. Many 

students were placed out for work experiences in actual 

workplaces. FGS secured the support of neighbourhood 

shops to provide attachment placements for some of 

their senior students, while Shangri-La Hotel accepted 

students from TGS for work attachments in their 

housekeeping department. 

Senior students from LGS were attached to the Ulu 

Pandan Senior Citizens’ Corner for cleaning work 

experience. 

Student Achievements 

A total of 250 athletes across all levels participated in 

the MINDS 27th Sports Meet on 24 April 2010. This 

combined MINDS event brought together over 1,500 

people including parents, athletes, staff and guests as 

active participants. 

In the area of art, Shawn Goh and Oh Wei Ling of WGS 

and Hiew Yong Ping, Woo Yin Mun and Lee Siang Hui, 

of LGS, won merit awards for their art pieces at the Very 

Special Arts (VSA) annual art competition 2009. 

The WGS Extension Scout Group won the Frank Cooper 

Sands Award in July 2010. 

Parental Involvement 

• Teacher/Parents conferences were conducted at least 

twice a year to discuss the students’ progress and to 

develop the individualised educational plans. Allied 

Health Professionals (AHPs) were also involved where 

needed. 

9


• The AHPs conducted a series of seven workshops 

for parents from April to July on topics that included 

transition issues and sensory integration. Individual 

schools also conducted in-house workshops for 

parents on a variety of topics, to enhance their skills in 

working with their children at home. 

• Parents also volunteered in school activities and 

projects like activity days and excursions. 

• School’s staff continued to build strong rapport 

with parents through phone calls, home visits, faceto-face 

discussions in schools and individual school’s 

newsletters. 

• Each of the four schools had set up a MINDS CSG 

chapter in the school. 

Staff Development 

Building staff capabilities is a key feature of MINDS 

people developer policy, thus all schools are 

encouraged to send staff for appropriate training. 

Hence 15 staff from the four schools embarked on a 

learning journey to Adelaide in June 2010 while Ms 

Ernie Ahmad of WGS went on a two-week attachment 

to Sydney to learn new initiatives on the transition into 

work and adult life programme. 

Senior staff was encouraged to organise learning 

journeys for their colleagues as part of their leadership 

training while schools initiated peer classroom 

observations to enhance teachers’ instructional skills. 

To enhance communication skills and expressiveness 

of all students, Ms Eva Loh, speech therapist of LGS, 

also conducted a training on the use of a common 

Basic Word Signs for a core group of staff. 

Change of Principalship 

In June 2010, Mdm Salha Soo retired as Principal of 

TGS and Mrs Josephine Ng was appointed as the new 

principal. Mrs Ng is an officer on secondment from the 

Ministry of Education. 

We thank Mdm Salha for her years of contribution 

to TGS and MINDS, and wish her well in her future 

endeavours. 

Community Involvement Programme (CIP) 

Throughout the year, schools actively partnered 

mainstream schools and corporate organisations in 

numerous projects and activities. These community 

involvement strengthened our community relations, 

promoted better understanding of persons with special 

needs and their acceptance into the society, as well 

as enhanced open employment opportunities for the 

graduating cohort of students. 

Students from WGS participated in a Family Day 

Carnival organised by the Woodlands RC Zone 9 

during the Lunar New Year. TGS established connection 

with ITE College East by volunteering their students as 

‘clients’ for the ITE hairdressing and manicure training 

sessions. 

FGS collaborated with Fernvale Primary School and 

Pei Hwa Secondary School to raise funds for Special 

Olympics Singapore Flag Day while LGS was involved 

with MAS staff in the fund raising project “Hand in 

Hand, Let Love Grow Donation Drive” for charities. 

FY 2010/2011 WORKPLAN 

• Complete the standardised assessment checklist of 

desired outcomes for all levels – Pre-school / Junior / 

Senior and to implement them by end 2010. 

• Roll out the refined and master copy of the MINDS 

schools curriculum by end 2010. 

• Review and extend the Transition Programme – 3 

tracks- open employment & social entreprise/ sheltered 

employment(EDC) / day care & home 

• Employment of Administrative /Operation Manager 

for each school 

• Ensure that every student is involved in CCA or 

enrichment activity and every student achieve more 

than 60% of their IEP goals set 

• Assist HR in developing and implementing the Dual 

Career Track for teachers- Leadership Track and 

Teaching Track. 

• Hold a Symposium on “Curriculum - In Partnership 

with Stakeholders on 9 October 2010. 

• Conduct a survey to obtain parents’ feedback on 

school services in July. 

• Strengthen platforms for communication with parents 

and the sharing of learning resources. 

10

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

SERVICE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 

SERVICE 

DEVELOPMENT 

COMMITTEE 

Chairman Capt Roger Loh (till July 2010) 

Mr Gabriel Lim (from August 2010) 

Members 

Mr Lee Chak Meng 

Mr Wilson Tan 



Director, Operations and Social Enterprise Mr Chew Bong Koon (till June 2010) 

Director, Residential, TDC Services 

Ms Koh Gee May 

Director, Human Resources & Admin 


Director, Schools & Head-CDU 

Ms Chia Poh Hong 



Manager, Social Enterprises 

Mr Leroy Lee 

EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT 

CENTRES (EDCs) 

Clients Muster and Staff Strength as at 

31 March 2010 

Centre Clients Staff 

SMEDC 380 46 

IEDC 334 42 

WEDC 268 35 

Total 982 123 


Job Placement / Job Support Programme 

Understanding the difficulties faced by VWOs to place 

clients in open employment, NCSS piloted a new Job 

Placement/Job Support Programme in collaboration 

with the Singapore National Employer’s Federation 

(SNEF) to improve the employability of People with 

Intellectual Disability (PWIDs) through a systematic 

framework of assessment, training, job placement and 

support. MINDS bid and was awarded the project and 

began implementation from 1 March 2010. To-date, six 

of MINDS clients had been placed in open employment 

through this programme. 

Client Profile Assessment 

In November 2009, the EDCs embarked on a ‘Client 

Profile Assessment’ project to systematically analyse 

each client’s unique needs, strengths and weaknesses. 

The Assessment would measure clients’ productivity, 

abilities, vocational skills and interests, so that we could 

efficiently engage them in different areas of work, and 

place more clients in open employment, develop the 

right types of Social Enterprise (SE) projects and better 

manage our resources for the contract works. 

‘Start a Social Enterprise Contest’ 

In November 2009, MINDS co-organised a ‘Start a 

Social Enterprise Contest’ with Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s 

School of Humanities for the year two Diploma in 

Business & Social Enterprise students in an effort 

to draw out innovative and enterprising business 

proposals to develop new products and services, and 

identify potential markets to create more employment 

opportunities for our clients. The prizes were donated 

by the family of the late Dr Lee Kum Tatt. 

10 teams competed. Mrs Lee Kum Tatt gave away the 

prizes to the following top three winning teams: 

1st Prize ($3,000/-) – Cafes in Secondary Schools 

2nd Prize ($1,500/-) – Fusion Mantous 

3rd Prize ($500/-) – Environmentally-friendly Mobile 

Car Wash 

Two interns from the course were recruited to assist in 

studying the feasibility of setting up social enterprises 

from the list of proposals. 

11


ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Abdul Rashid Bin Kassim Shafi 

Rashid was deregistered from the EDC after being 

successfully placed in OE. He was invited to present 

his story at the AFID conference held in Singapore in 

November 2009 which he did with great confidence and 

courage. His presentation attracted a good conference 

attendance. Rashid even joined the panel discussion on 

stage, and advocated for himself independently, which 

landed him with another invitation from a participating 

organisation to speak at their event. 

NSRS Certification 

Three Training Officers attended the NSRS certification 

in “Cleaning Sanitary Fixtures, Fittings & Toilet Floors” 

and worked with the external training provider to 

redesign the training materials and conducted inhouse 

intensive training to potential trainees for the 

certification. 

12 clients were assessed, trained and successfully 

attained their WDA-accredited NSRS Certificates 

in Cleaning. Six of the 12 certified trainees formed 

a Service Crew at Lee Kong Chian Gardens School. 

The staff were impressed with the crew’s professional 

service. The other six certified trainees advanced to the 

next level of cleaning-related vocational skills training 

in industries such as Laundry, Compound, Building 

& Estate Cleaning, and Computer Cleaning, Viral- 

Disinfecting and Sanitising Services. 

Open Employment 

Out of a total of 982 clients, 38 clients were placed in 

OE as at end March 2010. This accounts for about 4% 

of the total client population in EDCs. The following are 

two of the success stories: 

Hung Wen Lin 

When the job opportunity as a cleaner at the food court 

in Ngee Ann Polytechnic came by in October 2008, 

Wen Lin rejected the offer initially. She fear to leave 

her friends in the center and was afraid that her sweaty 

palm might cause her embarrassment. After much 

persuasion, she finally agreed to try out for a period 

of time. Wen Lin has been doing well since then and 

she was commended by her supervisor as a fast and 

diligent worker. 

New Contract Works at SMEDC and 

WEDC: 

• Packaging of fun pass boxes and sorting & insertion 

of pamphlets for corporate customers. 

12


• Letter shopping & sticking of woods sample on a 

flooring catalogue. 

• Sticking different sizes, types & colours of furniture 

materials sample on a furniture catalogue. 

• Packaging of scented bookmarks. 

• Labeling for package food products. 

• Manufacturing of plastic stationeries. 

• Packing of plastic stationeries. 

• Packing of goody bags. 

• Assisting in packaging and sorting of carton boxes for 

bottling companies. 

WEDC also succeeded in securing one long-term 

contract to provide headset cycling services. 


1) Restructuring of EDCs to improve productivity and to 

increase the range of work that the EDCs can do: 

• To restructure and standadise the setup of EDC 

• To review and streamline the setup of existing Social 

Enterprise projects 

• To review Social Enterprises SOPs 

• To review the costing of Social Enterprises projects 

• To review Client profile assessment 

• To carry out Caregivers survey 

• To roll out Job Placement/Job Support programme 

2) Looking into the development of sustainable social 

enterprises especially in the area where we have been 

successful, eg. thrift shop, car wash 

• To look into the setting up new independent Social 

Enterprises 

• To look into the expansion of current Social Enterprise 

projects 

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT 

CENTRES (TDCs) 



Centre Clients Staff 

Ang Mo Kio TDC (ATDC) 54 19 

Clementi TDC (CTDC) 57 18 

Napiri TDC (NTDC) 52 15 

Total 163 52 


Outcome Management Results 

The effectiveness of the Adaptive Daily Living (ADL) 

and Community Living Skills (CLS) programmes were 

tracked and reported half yearly to NCSS. The clients 

successfully achieved the targets set in the areas of ADL 

and CLS training. 

Health & Wellness/ Medicare Services 

The TDC clients participated in the Eye Screening 

exercise by Singapore National Eye Centre, Dental 

Screening and Dental Treatment by NUS School of 

Dentistry and other health and wellness programmes, 

such as weight management, water activity and aerobic 

training conducted. Selected clients participated in 

the jogging programme to encourage differential 

reinforcement as well as promote healthy and 

appropriate social recreational lifestyle. 

Six NTDC clients were selected for the Pet Assisted 

Therapy (PAT) programme conducted once a month 

using suitable pets to assist and help the clients to 

improve their mobility, physical, sensory, cognitive, 

communication and socialisation. 

Attachment and Placement into the 

Employment Development Centres (EDCs) 

and Social Enterprise 

15 clients from the three TDCs were trained in headset 

recycling processes and later placed in the EDCs for 

work attachments. One CTDC client successfully 

transferred to SMEDC in October 2009, one ATDC 

client to WEDC, and one NTDC client to IEDC in 

November 2009. 

Four NTDC clients were attached to the newly-opened 

MINDS Shop at Napiri for training in packing and 

sorting, and successfully proved that TDC clients could 

participate in Social Enterprise activities where they 

receive allowances. 

Dental Care 

Dr Somu, a volunteer dentist, provided dental 

screening for all clients at three TDCs to identify dental 

health issues and recommend appropriate followup 

to caregivers. The results also formed part of the 

Occupational Therapists’ and Psychologists’ research, 

6 

13


ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

and the team presented a paper on “Factors Influencing 

Dental Health in Persons with Intellectual Disability” 

at the AFID Conference in November 2009. 

Case Management System 

Training Officers, Centre Heads and Allied Health 

Professionals (AHPs) meet monthly to review and 

evaluate the needs, intervention plans and progress of 

all the clients to continuously improve service delivery. 

guests participated in the ‘Clients Year-End Party’. 

Centres’ staff and clients put up performances, and 

dedicated volunteers were presented tokens of 

appreciation for their significant contributions. 

Eight TDC clients took part at the MINDS 23rd Sports 

Meet in April 2010. 17 clients from ATDC and CTDC 

also participated in the 7th Special Olympics National 

Games held in June 2009 and bagged two silver and 

seven bronze in athletics, bowling and bocce. 

For the third year running, CTDC organised an Art Fair & 

Exhibition with the theme ‘Nature at its Finest Moments’. 

The Guest-Of-Honour Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of South 

West District and Senior Parliamentary Secretary, 

Ministry of Environment Water and resources graced the 

ceremony. 115 paintings were submitted by the three 

TDCs. Professional judges were invited to select the 

winners. Proceeds for the sale of paintings amounted 

to about $900 on that day. 

Staff Development 

Staff attended training in areas identified as key training 

needs in line with the sectors’ goals for the year and 

their own developmental needs. Some combined 

training include: 

Programmes with Families 

The annual Parents’ Dialogue and Home Visits provide 

a channel for families and centre staff to discuss clients’ 

training plans and progress. During these sessions, 

effective methods of handling the clients were discussed 

so that training efforts could be devised accordingly. 

• ‘Unity Is Strength’ team building session 

• ‘Positive Behaviour Support’ Induction course by the 

TDC Psychologists 

• ‘Introductory Applied Drama’ by Ms Chang Mei Yee, 

from Singapore Polytechnic 

• ‘Epilepsy Management’ and ‘Prevention & Control 

of Infectious Diseases’ by MINDS’ Physiotherapist 

and Medicare Consultant 

As all three TDCs are operating at full capacity, a 

balloting exercise was held in January 2010 to admit 

clients to the limited vacancies. Students on the TDCs 

waiting list were referred to the Centre for Enabled 

Living (CEL) for placement in other VWOs’ day activity 

centres. 

Internal and Community Integration 

15 clients participated in the two-day ‘TDC Independent 

Live-In Camp’ held in October 2009 at a Pasir Ris chalet 

resort. They learned to generalise their adaptive living 

and community living skills in an external environment 

together with their peers from the other TDCs. 

230 clients, staff, caregivers, volunteers and invited 


• To assist TDC CSG chapter to recruit more caregivers 

and plan activities. 

• To survey and evaluate extending the centre’s operating 

hours to enable caregivers to have more opportunities 

for employment. 

14


• To conduct family life education talks to strengthen 

family relationships. 

• To broaden the spectrum of training programmes 

and activities for the aged, the high support need and 

clients with challenging behaviours 

• To explore team teaching and capitalise upon individual 

skills/interests of the staff and volunteers to assist in 

training. 

• To have a committed resource personnel to look into 

training resources and programmes. 

• To continue enhancement of staff professional expertise 

through relevant training related to adults with special 

needs. 

RESIDENTIAL SERVICES – 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI 



Services Clients Staff 

Home 103 65 

Hostel / Group Home 52 14 

Children’s Wing 22 20 

Total 177 99 


Outcome Management Results 

The effectiveness of the Adaptive Daily Living (ADL) 

Skills and Community Living Skills (CLS) programmes 

implemented in the Home were tracked, residents’ 

progress and achievements closely monitored and 

the results reported to NCSS half yearly. The Hostel/ 

Group Home tracked the effectiveness of Community 

Living Skills (CLS) while the Children’s Wing tracked 

the children’s functional independence and ability to 

access and use different types of community facilities. 

support needs, hence training programmes and 

individualised therapies are designed to enhance or 

maintain the residents’ gross and fine motor skills, hand 

functions, visual perception, balance, co-ordination, 

mobility, sensory awareness, and ADL such as feeding, 

grooming, dressing and oral hygiene. 

Three aged clients with high support need qualified 

to participate in the Special Olympics in June 2009 

after six months of dedicated training by five volunteer 

coaches from Raffles Institution. The efforts paid off 

when they won two gold and one bronze medal. A 

few wheelchair-bound residents, despite their physical 

disabilities, also participated in MINDS 23rd Sports 

Meet with the assistance of the staff. 

Multi-sensory programmes were implemented for 

selected residents especially those with ASD to improve 

their sensory awareness and self regulation. Another 

intervention, Pet Assisted Therapy (PAT), benefited 

both the ambulant and wheelchair-bound residents. 

As they interacted with the trained dogs, the residents’ 

sensory, cognitive, communication and socialisation 

skills improved. Based on their needs, residents were 

scheduled for individual therapies for positioning, 

splinting and training aimed at developing the repertoire 

of activity skills, and increase their independence or 

at least minimise supervision/prompting for day to 

day tasks. Group therapy sessions were organised for 

selected residents which involved exploring different 

gross and fine motor activities. The residents also learnt 

to develop their interaction and socialisation skills in 

these sessions. 

NCSS On-site Assurance Assessment of MINDSville’s 

residential services final report for FY 08/09 confirmed 

that the outcome management submissions from April 

2008 to March 2009 were verified as accurate and that 

we had complied with 100% of the Service Standard 

Requirements; had clear and organised Standard 

Operating Procedures (SOP) which staff were familiar 

with; had a team of cohesive and dedicated staff 

that helped each other. Residents’ family members 

interviewed were satisfied that staff were approachable 

and their needs were attended to promptly. 

Programme Development 

a) MINDSville - Home 

Majority of the Home residents are ageing with high 

15


ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Annual psychological and adaptive behaviour 

assessments were carried out to objectively review 

progress and ensure that programmes are drawn up 

based on the residents’ interests, strengths and needs. 

A programme checklist was developed to more 

effectively profile residents according to their level of 

support needs and to match them with the types 

of training needed to enhance functioning in daily 

and community activities. The Psychologist also 

worked closely with direct care staff and other Allied 

Health Professionals (AHPs) to support residents with 

challenging behaviours and their families. 

b) MINDSville - Hostel/Group Home 

The Hostel supported eight residents (16% of the total 

muster) working in McDonalds Hougang Point and 

Compass Point. 

preparation in the transitional group home at 

MINDSville, six elated residents finally moved into 

the two CGH units in Bedok on 10 May 2010. The 

CGH project aimed at enhancing residents’ quality of 

life through social inclusion, making choices; and 

greater independence. Community resources and 

volunteers were engaged, smart home technologies, 

physical accessibility modifications and assistive 

technology devices were installed to provide them with 

the necessary support. 

Two residents presented a Special Paper on “Hope 

for the Future – Towards a Better Life” during the 19th 

AFID Conference on 23 November 2009. They shared 

their hope for a better life with more choices. Their 

presentation touched the audience, and many gave the 

residents their encouragement. Another six residents 

would be identified for training in the transitional group 

home with the goal of placing them into Community 

Group Homes eventually. The residents’ perception of 

‘Quality of Life’ and other indicators would be collected 

to track the success of the project for future planning. 

To cultivate a spirit of volunteering, four or five 

residents with two staff started twice-monthly voluntary 

community service at Tembusu Home in April 2009. 

An athletic team coached by one of the Hostel 

Community Facilitators was formed in February 2009. 

The residents trained on every Tuesday evenings at 

Hougang Stadium to prepare for the Special Olympics 

held in June 2009. Seven residents participated in 14 

events and brought home three Gold, four Sliver and 

four Bronze medals. 

c) Community Group Home (CGH) 

With the help of NCSS, MINDS successfully secured 

two 4-room flats to set-up the CGHs. After years of 

d) MINDSville - Children’s Wing 

The activities and programmes were designed to 

promote and prepare the children (aged six to 18 

years old) for re-integration back to their families. The 

equipping is two-prong – for the children and for their 

families. Family work is an integral part of the case 

management as families learned strategies to meet 

each family member’s needs and work towards reintegration. 

Every quarter, family events were organised 

to strengthen family ties and provide a platform for 

parents to meet and support each other. Families are 

also encouraged to join the children for outings and 

special events organised by MINDS CSG. 

Different strategies ranging from counselling to 

behaviour modification programmes are used to 

support the children in acquiring socially appropriate 

means of expressing their emotions. Activities within 

the structured programme enable the children to learn 

about themselves, their families, school, 

16


neighbourhood and community hence providing 

the children a sense of certainty, a predictable and 

safe environment as well as created a stimulating 

and meaningful learning environment. Some of the 

activities include art and craft, outdoor activities, music 

and movement, housecraft, home management skills 

training, story telling and dramatisation, travelling 

lessons, learning time, computer time and circle time. 

“Speedy programme” was initiated for children with 

high support needs, where staff focused on developing 

their motor and social skills. Therapists were engaged 

to provide occupational therapy and social skills 

training. Two months upon admission, each child 

would be assessed using Psychological Adaptive 

Behaviour instruments to draw up individualised care 

plans (ICPs) in consultation with the child’s significant 

persons and professionals. The ICPs are reviewed 

every three months with the families to ensure that the 

intervention programme focused on targeted outcomes. 

Three children had re-integrated into their families. 

Two children were transferred to the Hostel for more 

independent living arrangement. 

Case Management & Family Involvement 

Social Workers, Nurses, Psychologists, Occupational 

Therapists and Physiotherapists worked closely 

together to plan and organise training, activities and 

case discussions with the families to encourage them to 

participate in developing goals for the residents as well 

updating them on the residents’ progress and concerns. 

Through this regular contact, rapport was built and 

confidence instilled in the families for the residents’ 

transition back into their own homes. Families were 

also strongly encouraged to participate in family events 

such as parties, outings and family sessions. 

The adoption of Active and Positive Behaviour Support 

in our mode of intervention had helped to uplift the 

residents’ quality of life. For FY10/11, the residential 

services planned to collaborate with CDS in University 

of Sydney to enhance staff’s skills in implementing 

active support. 

Community Partnership 

Volunteers and members of the public continued 

to provide creative and stimulating activities and 

programmes. Resources and social support were 

expended as we tap into the community and 

neighbourhoods for assistance. MINDS MYG 

continued in their dedicated weekly activities. Other 

regular volunteers include Standard Chartered Bank 

and United World College of South-East Asia. 


Medical/Nursing Care 

The quality of nursing care is constantly evaluated for 

improvement. Nurses assist in programmes conducted 

by the AHPs, managing residents’ health issues and 

chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes 

mellitus, epilepsy etc, wound care management, 

implementing effective weight gain interventions for 

weaker residents as well as applying intensive infection 

control measures to prevent and minimise disease 

outbreaks in communal setting. 

• To conduct at least two caregivers’ events in the year, 

with the aim to provide support for caregivers and to 

enhance family relationships. 

• To conduct family life education talks with objective 

to strengthen family relationships (i.e. improving 

marital relationship and parenting skills). 

• To monitor and provide prompt intervention to residents 

with signs of dementia and whom will need more 

intensive nursing care. 

• To maintain residents’ capabilities in activities of 

daily living through quality nursing care management, 

skills training and with use of adaptive devices where 

appropriate. More interesting activities will be developed 

that may spur motivation from both residents and 

staff, particularly looking into providing more choicemaking 

opportunities when it comes to selection of 

activities. 

• To work closely with Medicare on interventions and 

screenings to benefit the aged residents. 

• To prepare and sustain residents in open employment 

through assessments, regular feedback with employing 

agencies and regular dialogue sessions. 

• To assess and identify potential Hostel residents to 

receive training at the transitional Group Home. 

17

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS HUB 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

ALLIED HEALTH 

PROFESSIONALS 

HUB 

The AHP team comprises the following: 

Social 

Workers 

Physiotherapists 

Psychologists 

Occupational 

Therapists 

Speech & 

Language 

therapists 

Matron & Health 

Care consultant 

Schools 

8 

8 

4 

4 

4 

- 

Employment 

Development 

Centres 

5 

3 

3 

- 

- 

- 

Residential 

& TDCs 

6 

3 

2 

2 

- 

2 

Total: 

19 

14 

9 

6 

4 

2 


Programme Development 

Four multi-disciplinary study teams were formed in 

2009 to augment the planning and development of 

new services and programmes at MINDS. The teams 

worked on: 

(i) Ageing issues related to PWIDs (to propose service 

development in management of ageing PWIDs). The 

team co-researcher is Dr Koh Choon Huat (Assistant 

Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Public 

Health from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine); 

(ii) MINDS-wide Common Signing System was studied 

by a multidisciplinary team led by the Speech and 

Language Therapists and including non-AHPs. The 

team co-researcher is Dr Radika Vasudeva (Director & 

Consultant Speech-Language Therapist from Integrated 

Speech & Swallow Work Pte Ltd); 

(iii) Full-day programming for PWIDs (to develop a 

concept paper covering the school, adult and residential 

sectors); 

(iv) PWIDs’ sexuality education and management (to 

construct practitioner guidelines). 

AHP Monthly Meetings 

Since its inception in 2008, monthly multidisciplinary 

meetings were conducted for all AHPs. These halfday 

sessions served as a platform for discussions 

on professional concerns, consensus seeking for 

enhancing ways of working, identification of gaps in 

service provision and idea generation for programme 

development. The support provided at the meetings 

had strengthened teamwork, enhanced communication 

and created an opportunities for peer affirmation. 

Career Coaching 

Individual career coaching sessions were initiated 

to build AHPs’ capabilities as a specialised 

multidisciplinary team. The individual career coaching 

and mentoring sessions with the AHP Director focused 

on personal career aspirations, with consensus on 

follow-up to be reviewed the following year. 

Engagement of External Consultants 

In order to grow AHP capabilities, several external 

consultancy services were engaged. Dr Hoili Lim 

(Senior Consultant Psychologist, Adam Road Medical 

Centre) continued to provide clinical supervision 

for all the Psychologists. Students Care Service’s 

Principal Social Workers, Mrs Chuah Yin May and 

Mrs Wong Cher Meng, also started individual and 

group case consultation sessions for all the Social 

Workers. Participating AHPs found these consultations 

beneficial. Nonetheless, one of Hub priorities is also to 

consciously expand and strengthen in-house capacity 

for case consultation and clinical supervision. 

18

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS HUB 

In-service Workshops 

AHPs conducted several workshops for caregivers, 

volunteers, Training Officers and Teachers. Postworkshop 

feedback indicated that the delivery and 

content of these workshops were very useful and 

helpful. The AHPs would continue to roll out more 

workshops in FY 10/11. 

For the third year running, the MAS MoneySENSE 

programme was conducted on 23 May 2009 for 

families from TDCs, EDCs and Schools. Social workers 

taught the caregivers on how to manage their cash flow 

and budgeting. They also organised a workshop and 

focus group discussion for caregivers on “Managing 

Sibling Relations when there is a Child with Disability”. 

Research & Publications 

To grow the practitioner research culture at 

MINDS, AHPs were guided on the development of 

multidisciplinary proposals for research, conference 

presentations and paper publications. Where needed, 

invitations to participate and seek co-authorship with 

relevant external specialists were sought. Several AHPs 

presented at two major conferences namely the IASSID 

2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Congress and the 19th Asian 

Federation on Intellectual Disabilities Conference 

(AFID) held in June 2009 and November 2009 in 

Singapore. 

Cross-sector AHP Team Building 

To sustain individual and group morale and to strengthen 

internal relations, a retreat was held in September 2009 

with our 2009 theme of rejuvenation. Another retreat 

has been planned for to be held in September 2010. 


• To build AHPs’ capabilities as a specialised 

multidisciplinary team through clinical supervision 

& case consultation, career coaching, mentoring and 

team building. 

• To contribute AHP expertise for programme and 

service development through the AHP Hub study 

teams. 

• To provide specialised AHP services for secondary 

clients of AHPs which include staff, volunteers and 

caregivers. 

• To grow the practitioner research culture in MINDS 

through the development of multidisciplinary proposals 

for conference paper and scientific journal 

publications. 

• To reorganise the AHP structure in view of the 

impending AHP Bill so as to improve the AHPs’ level 

of professionalism and to enhance their career path. 

19

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

FINANCE AND 

INVESTMENT 

COMMITTEE 

Chairman: 

Members: 


Finance Director : 



Mr Justin Lim 


Mr Cheo Hock Chin 



Seated from left to right: Ms Lai Aun Leng, Mr Kenneth Chua, Mr Boo Chong Han 

Standing from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Ong Wee Gee, Mr Cheo Hock Chin, Mr Justin Lim 

The Finance and Investment Committee (FIC) approves 

strategic investments, reviews investment policies and 

manages the Group’s assets and liabilities in accordance with 

the policies and directives of the Board. 

Composition 

The FIC comprises five members with competencies in 

finance, financial services, and education. The diversity 

of their knowledge, skills and experience allows for useful 

exchange of ideas and views. The Committee typically meets 

every two months. 

20

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE 


Annual Budget 

Budgeting is done annually to ensure that the projected 

expenditures are prudent and within our means. The budget 

is reviewed and approved by the Honorary Treasurers, the 

subcommittees SMC, SDC, FIC and ultimately by the EXCO. 

Reviews are scheduled regularly to monitor expenditure. 

Specific government initiatives such as the phasing out 

of Job Credits and other supplementary funding, the 

increase in employers’ CPF contribution rates and the 

rise in foreign workers’ levy in FY2011 will impact on the 

new budget. These impacts would be taken into account 

in the budgeting process. 

MINDS will continue to build on the fundamentals, and 

exercise financial discipline to ensure that the Group’s 

financial position remains strong. 

Capital Management 

MINDS’ capital management policy is to maintain 

a strong capital position, to support business growth 

(such as new social enterprise initiatives), strategic 

investments, and uphold donor confidence. 

We maintain high standards of financial prudence 

and aim to achieve sustainable returns on our surplus 

funds. We also perform cash flow projections regularly 

to ensure that we have sufficient funds to meet all 

contractual and financial obligations. 

Investments 

The investment policy is reviewed regularly to ensure 

that our investments are appropriate based on prevailing 

economic climate. Factors like potential yields, risk 

tolerance, asset allocation strategies, and investment 

choices are taken into account to ensure that our 

investments continue to be safe and sufficiently liquid. 

Despite the challenging times posed by the economic 

recession of the previous year, we are happy to report 

that we had not sustained losses on our investments. 

Accountability 

MINDS recognises the importance of providing all 

stakeholders accurate and relevant information on a 

timely basis. Hence the EXCO receives management 

accounts as well as financial reports during its 

monthly meetings. Such reports track the Group’s Key 

Performance Indicators, such as performance against 

budget and against the corresponding period of the 

previous year. 


E-purchase Enhancements 

The e-purchasing system will be enhanced to simplify 

the procurement processes and raise productivity 

without compromising on security. 

Electronic Cheque Payments 

The FIC aims to raise productivity by automating the 

cheque payment process, and reduce the time spent 

on preparing, signing and mailing cheques. Under the 

electronic payment platform, all transmissions to the 

bank would be encrypted to protect data integrity. The 

workflow will also be reviewed to ensure that system 

security and controls are not compromised. 

Accounting System Upgrade 

The Accpac accounting system would be upgraded 

leveraging on the latest technology to align with 

our objective to raise the standards of our financial 

accounting and fulfil our accounting, treasury, 

and corporate governance obligations. Apart from 

streamlining the financial close and reporting cycle, 

the new system is expected to improve on operational 

performance measurement and liquidity management. 

Issue of Charity Accounting Standards 

The Charities Accounting Standard (CAS) is being 

developed by the Accounting Standards Committee as 

an alternative set of accounting standards for the charity 

sector in Singapore. The adoption of CAS by MINDS 

will raise the level of transparency, comparability and 

accountability. 

Finance Manual Review 

Board members have a fiduciary duty to safeguard its 

assets through a system of checks and balances. We 

already have a robust system. We will continue to 

review our financial policies and processes to take 

into account changes in the operating environment, 

adopting best practices, and align our systems and 

processes with the Code of Governance for Charities. 

The School Management Committee also receives 

regular financial performance updates in its bi-monthly 

meetings. HODs are informed of their department’s 

cumulative expenditure to date through monthly cost 

centre reports. 

21

AUDIT COMMITTEE 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

AUDIT 

COMMITTEE 

Chairperson: 

Members: 

Staff: 

Mr Lim Jun Han 

Mr Lee Ju Song 

Mr Jason Lee 

Ms Ivy Wong 

Mr Christopher Jap 

Standing from left to right: Mr Jason Lee, Mr Lim Jun Han, Mr Lee Ju Song, Mr Christopher Jap 


The Audit Committee (AC) met five times during the 

financial year. The external auditors schedule for the 

Financial Year 09/10 audit and internal auditor’s work 

scope were reviewed. 

For FY 09/10, the internal auditor (IA), Mr Christopher 

Jap focused on: 

a) physical sightings of staff and fixed assets, muster 

reports and bank reconciliations 

b) Ad-hoc audit on cheque payments 

c) Reviewing the Finance Operating Manual. 

Apart from auditing work, the Audit Committee tasked 

the IA to conduct regular briefings for staff members 

aimed at improving internal controls and governance 

through closer adherence to correct procedures. 

A change was made in the reporting line of the IA. 

He now reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer 

(CEO) operationally and to the Audit Committee on 

audit matters. 


To review and recommend improvements on the 

systems of controls on revenue operations and to 

carry out regular audits on Payroll and Procurement/ 

Payments. 

22

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Chairman 

Members 

Staff 

Mr Manojit Sen 


Ms Doreen Yap 

Mr Mohan Dass 



HUMAN RESOURCE COMMITTEE 

HUMAN 

RESOURCE 

COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Mrs Jeannie Ho, Ms Doreen Yap, Mr Jeffrey Tan, Mr Manojit Sen, 

Mr Mohan Dass, Mr Keh Eng Song 

Human Resource Key Performance Indicators as at 31 March 2010 

Headcount as at 31 March 2010 stood at 566. 

Turnover: 

Benchmarks 

15% per annum 

MINDS’ KPIs 

>5% to

24 

HUMAN RESOURCE COMMITTEE 


Renewal of People Developer Award 

MINDS successfully met all the new criteria for the 

People Developer Award and achieved a Commendable 

Performance in People Excellence conferred by Spring 

Singapore in December 2009. In their assessment, they 

were impressed that the senior leadership is committed 

to the mission, vision and values of the organisation, 

evident by the leadership’s role-modeling of the values 

and investment of resources to develop staff. 

In the area of Human Resource Management, they noted 

that planning process addressing the organisation’s 

strategic directions is in place. Evidences of platforms 

for employee involvement, structured training and 

development framework, rewards and compensation 

system linked to performance, structured information 

management system, regular sharing sessions such as 

in-house seminars on intellectual disability for staff and 

stakeholders and talent development are also in place. 

Manpower Norms and Review of 

Manpower Structure of the Residential 

Services 

Manpower Norms across the sectors were introduced 

and endorsed by EXCO in May 2009. The exercise 

empowered HODs to decide and recommend the 

most effective staff to client ratio within their budgets 

and operational needs. It also provided HR with 

the framework and controls to support requests for 

recruitment. 

The manpower requirements of Residential services - 

Home, Hostel/Group Home and Children’s Wing were 

reviewed. Because of the 24/7 operations, unique shift 

requirements, the need for higher calibre staff to provide 

programmes for the residents, new jobs were created 

or updated to assist the residential sectors to operate at 

maximum effectiveness. Community Facilitators for the 

Hostel was introduced, and Instructors and Residential 

Assistants added to the Children’s Wing. 

Recruitment and Retention Strategies: 

We participated in recruitment fairs jointly organised 

by the CDCs with WDA, NCSS and ITE for mid-career 

workers to join the NITEC in Social Service traineeship 

programme. WDA sponsored the course fees and 

internship salary for 12 months, hence alleviating the 

tight operating budgets and at the same time, providing 

the skilled manpower for the TDCs. Nine candidates 

were selected and emplaced from April 2009. 

We also participated in WDA/NCSS’ Professional 

Conversion Programme as well as NCSS Scholarship 

programmes to recruit Social Workers. We provided 

internship and mentoring for selected candidates who 

would be bonded with MINDS for at least two years. 

Again, their salaries during internship are sponsored by 

WDA/NCSS. This strategy ensures a constant supply of 

Social Workers. Five interns were selected, and attached 

to the various schools/centres from August 2009. 

Strengthening Internal Controls 

The Payroll Administration SOP, Recruitment 

Administration SOP, Performance Management Policy 

and End of Service Policy documents were completed 

and endorsed in September 2009. 

Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) 

The bi-annual Employee Opinion Survey was conducted 

in October 2009. With the collaboration with Assistant 

Professor Sandy Lim from NUS Business School, a 

research element was incorporated to study the culture, 

climate, unique personality types of staff working in, 

and challenges faced by them in a social service organisation. 

The initial results showed an increased in 

staff satisfaction in MINDS. 


1) Orientation 

To have two (two-day) Orientation Sessions in 

the months of February and July instead of one at 

the beginning of the year, and to include a new 

component on understanding the differences between 

the commercial and social services sector to help new 

entrants adjust and integrate. 

2) Enhance staff long-term healthcare 

To facilitate staff to obtain lifetime medical insurance 

coverage beyond their services with MINDS. 

3) Review Recruitment and Retention strategies 

a. To review bi-annual outstanding staff awards and 

recognition criteria and format 

b. To review the allied health professionals’ career and 

professional development 

c. To implement structured performance based ‘merit’ 

increments/market or annual adjustments to enhance 

retention 

d. To review job scopes and identify areas to increase 

empowerment and enhance job satisfaction/retention 

4) Succession Planning Programme 

a. To introduce PAT (potential assessment template) 

tool for succession planning and promotions 

b. To implement an annual review/interview meeting 

with the high potentials to discuss their aspirations. 

5) Review Career Development Plans 

To develop matrix career development paths, and review 

manpower structures to support social enterprises. 

6) Review Competency & Learning system 

To review competence frameworks for key areas and 

associated gap analysis leading to Learning Plans. 

Tenure and competency would be differentiated, and 

an organisation-wide Training Needs Analysis will be 

implemented. 

7) HR Department Manual 

To reconstruct the manual into more detailed segments 

for easier reference.

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Chairman: 

Members: 


Mr Henry Asikin Cheung 

Mr Joshua Soh 

Mr Rusman Priyana 

Mr David Tio 

IT COMMITTEE 

Staff 


Ms Chia Siew Tong 

Mr Ng Boon Hong 

IT COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Ms Tan Soo Fang, Ms Chia Siew Tong, Mr Ng Boon Hong 

Standing from left to right: Mr Tan Yuh Woei, Mr Henry Asikin Cheung, Mr Ong Wee Gee, 

Mr Rusman Priyana, Mr Wilson Tan, Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Gerard Teotonio 

Lima Vaz, Mr Manikandan Palanivel 


IT Infrastructure 

The Committee completed the virtualisation of servers 

in MINDS headquarter to further optimise storage and 

usage. Our next step is to pilot these in Fernvale Gardens 

School before standardising across all facilities. 

An IT support officer was recruited to see to the 

increasing demands for IT support and to standardise 

the PC setup and software applications in MINDS for 

conformity and ease of maintenance. 

IT Project 

MINDS was selected by the NUS School of Computing 

to support the enhancement of our existing eClient 

system developed by them three years ago. The new 

system will incorporate feedbacks from our users 

and include additional features such as attachment 

repository and movement history. 

IT Curriculum 

MINDS CDU has developed the IT curriculum and 

is finalising the assessment criteria. The curriculum 

assessment process will now be computerised. 

EDCs piloted an IT Training Programme, which includes 

teaching independent living and social skills through 

IT, for our adult clients in Idea EDC. This programme 

yield good progress after the pilot and has now been 

introduced to the other two EDCs. 

Assistive Technology 

MINDS is collaborating with Singapore Polytechnic to 

develop a new Speech-to-Text assistive device for our 

clients. The device aims to help our less verbal clients 

to communicate at public areas. We are also exploring 

other collaboration opportunities with other tertiary 

institutions and corporate organisations. 


Implement MINDS website and Volunteer Management 

System 

• Complete e-client enhancements and additional 

modules 

• Implement back-up solution in schools and centres 

• Rollout IT curriculum in MINDS 

• Expanding usage of AT including collaboration with 

other tertiary institutions and corporate organisations 

25

VOLUNTEER AND DONOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

VOLUNTEER 

AND DONOR 

MANAGEMENT 

COMMITTEE 

Chairman: 

Members: 

Staff 


Mr Daniel Tan 

Mr How Ti Hwei 

Mr William Teo 

Ms May Tan 

Ms Li Xinyi 


Mrs Rosaline Chee 


Volunteers and donors play a significant role in 

MINDS’ services and we greatly appreciate their 

commitment and dedication. Whether it is cleaning 

the fans, taking clients out, or giving towards a cause, 

their dedication and commitment deserves recognition 

and commendation. Here are some of them: 

Motorola 

Our long-time corporate supporter Motorola has 

been actively promoting workplace volunteerism and 

has supported MINDS throughout the year with the 

following events: 

• Supported MINDS by participating as a stall holder 

for the first time at the Children’s Charities Association 

Christmas Fair 2009. All proceeds from the sales at 

their stall went towards supporting MINDS. 

• Sponsored a camp for MINDS Woodlands Employment 

Development Centre and YMCA volunteers when told 

of the need to cater food. 

MINDS’ partnership with Motorola entered its 10th 

year in 2010 and we are happy to celebrate her 35th 

Anniversary by helping to produce 2,000 pieces of 

mementos from MINDS Craft for their staff. 

• Earth Day, 22 April 2009: Set up MINDS Craft booth 

sales at Motorola selling products made from recycled 

materials. 

• Bonding Day, 10 September 2009: A family strengthening 

programme for Motorola staff where MINDS Craft 

was hired for a candle-making workshop. 

• Corporate Community Day, 3 October 2009: Collaborated 

with MINDS MYG to bring trainees out for a kite 

flying expedition at MINDSville@Napiri. Mr Daniel 

Shields, Chargé d’affaires from the US Embassy was 

Guest of Honour. 

• International Women’s Day, 8 March 2010: Organised 

a tea party for the womenfolk at MINDSville@Napiri 

- from caregivers to nursing staff. 

26


Standard Chartered Bank 

Standard Chartered Bank carried out their annual 

island-wide donation collection on 22 April 2009 and 

all contribution from staff, their families and customers 

were channelled to MINDS’ Shops. Going the extra 

mile, the Bank also supported our MINDS Social 

Enterprise through purchase of cookies from MINDS 

Food and the amount raised was used to organise 

MINDSville@Napiri Community Day. 

A group of philanthropists, through Standard Chartered 

Bank, donated 100 bags of groceries and red packets to 

selected families in MINDS on 18 July 2009. During 

times like this these acts of kindness for the needy 

families are indeed a blessing. 

Siemens 

Siemens Singapore continued their support of SIA- 

MINDS EDC for three years running. In addition to 

helping out with the headsets recycling production, they 

volunteered to help with the centre’s Friendship Day 

held on 19 March 2010, assisting as game marshals, 

ushers and also funding the Centre’s competition to 

enter the Singapore Book of Records with ‘The Longest 

Friendship Band’ record. The record was broken and 

this made the celebration even more memorable for 

everyone. 

Other Corporate Supporters 

New corporate donor Vopak Singapore and group of 

volunteers from Avanade Singapore gave towards sports 

needs, KPMG donated towards transport subsidies for 

MINDS Clementi TDC’s clients and Singapore Island 

Country Club donated towards the operational costs of 

running MINDSville@Napiri - Children’s Wing. 

MINDS TGS’ partnership with new corporate supporter 

Shangri-La Hotel Singapore continued into 2010 with 

production of Christmas cards featuring artworks 

produced by S5P’s Tan Su Leng and Kenny Sim. The 

Hotel also employed three pupils from the School’s 

graduating class as housekeepers at the Hotel’s ninestorey 

Garden Wing verandas. This partnership is very 

significant for MINDS as the Hotel has pledged a long 

term commitment of at least 10 to 15 years. A team 

of chefs also hold weekly culinary classes. The pupils 

are taught how to prepare, assemble and serve a meal. 

With the teachers’ help, the pupils learn and practise 

measuring, pouring and stirring. In December 2009, 

22 pupils were also invited to participate in the Hotel’s 

Christmas Tree Light Up ceremony. Together with the 

Hotel’s staff, the pupils decorated the Christmas Tree 

with candles and chocolate ball ornaments. 

Tanglin Trust School 

A group of little kids with big hearts from Tanglin Trust 

School, aged between five and six years old, were 

taught early in life to start giving to help others. On 25 

March 2009, aided by their teachers and parents, they 

collected new and unused toys and books from friends 

and families and presented them to MINDS LGS. 

27


Hwa Chong Institution 

Students from Hwa Chong Institution got together to 

share their passion and enthusiasm for volunteering. 

In addition to organising for MINDS to give a talk 

during their morning Assembly on 2 July 2009, 250 

students organised a Volunteers’ Fair on 13 and 14 

July 2009 and also an island-wide old newspapers 

collection on 28 March 2010. 

National University of Singapore 

On 28 March 2009, NUS BizAd Club students 

organised a carnival called “Project Carousel”, 

aimed at raising funds and MINDS was chosen as the 

beneficiary. This project also involved partnerships 

with other Voluntary Welfare Organisations such as 

Beyond Social Services, Fei Yue Community Services, 

Lakeside Family Centre, Care Corner and Chen Su 

Lan Methodist Home. Underprivileged children from 

these services were treated to a day of fun and games 

at the Zoo, followed by more excitement at the Project 

Carousel Carnival, where Mr Zaqy Mohamad, MP for 

Hong Kah GRC was Guest of Honour. Volunteers from 

ITE College Simei came to support MINDS by helping 

out with the exhibition and booth sales that day. 

ITE College East 

Between March and April 2009, ITE College East 

rolled out a series of volunteer activities from various 

departments in their college. 

Students from the Hair and Design Faculty carried 

out spring cleaning and makeover sessions at 

MINDS Clementi TDC, Children’s Wing and Hostel 

of MINDSville@Napiri, MINDS Ang Mo Kio TDC 

and MINDS Napiri TDC, while others carried out 

maintenance works on PCs, fan and aircon repair at 

MINDS Idea EDC (IEDC). At IEDC, some volunteers 

also brought their own personal Nintendo Wii Console 

Game for clients to enjoy during their recreation time. 

At Woodlands EDC, volunteers from their IT faculty 

successfully repaired some faulty headsets testers 

and also developed a manual for future repairs and 

maintenance that we may need. Lastly, student nurses 

from the College also held Health Education talks at 

MINDS TGS. 

In conclusion, our engagement with our supporters is 

based on the principle of partnership and we appreciate 

each and every one of them for the support they have 

given. We look forward to more years of partnership. 

VOLUNTEER AWARDS & RECOGNITION 

MINDS Awards 

MINDS Awards recognise excellence in volunteers and 

donors’ contribution and below are the recipients in 

2009: 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award (Platinum) 

Mrs Katie Rawlings, GoodAsNew Charity Shop 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award 

Dr Vida Chou, MINDS Ang Mo Kio Training & 

Development Centre 

Dr Low Guat Tin, Sub Committee Member, 

School Management Committee 

Ms Carolina Chan, MINDS CSG 

Ms Linda Poh, MINDS CSG 

MINDS Meritorious Service Award 

Ms Jaime Lau, Audit Committee and Volunteer and 

Donor Management Committee 

MCYS Long Service Awards 

MCYS Long Service Awards issues award certificates 

from NCSS and MCYS, to volunteers who have put in 

many years of service and have made invaluable 

contributions to VWOs. Below are the recipients 

in 2009: 

MCYS Five Years Long Service Award 

Mrs Ang Lee Heong, MINDS Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

School 

SAF Military Police Command, MINDS Lee Kong 

Chian Gardens School 

SCDF HQ 4th CD Division, MINDS Lee Kong Chian 

Gardens School 

SAF Supply & Transport Centre, MINDS Lee Kong 

Chian Gardens School 

Mr Cheo Hock Chin, MINDS Headquarters 

Ms Jaime Lau, MINDS Headquarters 

Ms Carolina Chan, MINDS CSG 

Ms Linda Poh, MINDS CSG 

Mr Mike Sim, MINDS CSG 

MCYS 10 Years Long Service Award 

Dr Low Guat Tin, MINDS Headquarters 


• Development of recognition framework for volunteers 

and donors appreciation 

• Completion of Volunteer Management System 

• MINDS Volunteers and Donors Appreciation Event 

• Increase management capacity within MINDS HQ, 

Schools and Centres 

28

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

BUILDING 

& FACILITIES 

COMMITTEE 

BUILDING & FACILITIES COMMITTEE 

Chairman: 

Member: 

Staff 

Mr Lim Yeow Khee 

Mr Howard Yap 

Mr Terence Wong 

Mr James Wong 

Seated from left to right: Mr Terence Wong, Mr Howard Yap, Mr Lim Yeow Khee, Mr James Wong 

Mr Lim Yeow Khee was appointed Chairman of the Building & 

Facilities Committee in the new financial year. Ms Goh Siam 

Imm stepped down due to her busy work commitments. We 

place on record our deep appreciation to Ms Goh for seeing 

MINDS through the development of all the new building projects 

and her dedication to set up guidelines for the maintenance of 

all the facilities all these years. 

TERMS OF REFERENCE 

• To ensure optimum utilisation of resources 

• To promote environmental excellence 

• To carry out feasibility study on projects 

• To collect , verify and update school and centre 

buildings data 

•To advice Executive Committee on land use and 

development of facilities 

29

BUILDING & FACILITIES COMMITTEE 

In order to meet MINDS Vision to be a world-class 

VWO, our facilities must be kept in good condition and 

regularly upgraded to meet new demands and operate 

with high efficiency. The role of Building & Facilities 

Committee (BFC) is to oversee MINDS facilities and to 

provide guidance in the area of facilities management 

and cyclical maintenance. 

The Committee is still actively looking for new 

members. 

BUILDING & FACILITIES 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Three new purpose-built facilities started operation in 

2008 and the warranty for these facilities ended in 

2009. FGS commenced operations on 30 June 2008 

while WGS and WEDC commenced operations on 1 

July 2008. The layout and special features of these 

purpose-built facilities were designed with inputs 

from staff and committee members to ensure high 

operational safety standard and user friendliness. 


a) Review Cyclical Maintenance and Upgrading works 

on the older facilities like MINDS HQ, SIA-MINDS 

EDC, LGS, MindsVille@Napiri and Ang Mo Kio and 

Clementi TDCs. Cyclical Maintenance is carried out 

at pre-determined intervals and intended to spruce up, 

repair and renew equipment and facilities necessitated 

from frequent breakdown, obsolescence and expiry 

of its useful life. 

b) Major renovation work will be carried out in SMEDC 

and MINDS HQ. 

c) Developing long term maintenance programmes for 

all the facilities and carry out awareness training for 

staff at all levels to build a culture of environment 

excellence in MINDS. Some of the activities would 

include : 

• ATDC – Cyclical Maintenance 

• CTDC – Cyclical Maintenance 

• SMEDC – Cyclical Maintenance 

• SMEDC and MINDS HQ – Additions & Alterations 

and Upgrading Works (carried out concurrently with 

Cyclical Maintenance) 

• MINDSville@Napiri – Additional laundry facilities 

• MINDSville@Napiri – Renewal of Fire Certificate and 

Cleaning contract 

• IEDC – Washroom facilities at level one 

• Building and hygiene inspections 

• Building maintenance inspections 

• Emergency Preparedness and Fire Safety Awareness 

for Schools, TDCs and EDCs 

30

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

PUBLIC RELATIONS, EDUCATION & COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE 

PUBLIC RELATIONS, 

EDUCATION & 

COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMITTEE 

Chairman: 

Members: 

Staff 


Ms Doreen Yap 

Mr Daniel Tan 


Ms Desiree Lim 

Standing from left to right: Mr Daniel Tan, Ms Doreen Yap, Mr Boo Chong Han, Ms Desiree Lim, 


The Public Relations, Education & Communications Committee 

(PRECC) was formed in September 2009 with the following 

Terms of Reference: 

1. To assist the Executive Committee in building a positive image 

that best represents the overall organisation. These include 

conducting appropriate reviews and researches on current 

image and situations; proposing appropriate PR, education 

and communicational strategies; and execution of proposed 

strategies. 

2. To assist the Executive Committee to promote the interest of 

people with intellectual disability through PR, public education, 

and corporate communications. These will help to promote better 

social integration and higher job opportunities for people with 

intellectual disability, rouse awareness and heighten knowledge 

of the public towards intellectual disability, and help attract the 

desired talent pool, volunteers, sponsors and donors to MINDS. 

3. To assist the Executive Committee to enhance optimal internal 

communications among all MINDS’ staff, parents, caregivers 

and volunteers. 

Composition 

The PRECC comprises members with competencies in managing 

public relations, education and corporate communications and 

meets bi-monthly. 

31

PUBLIC RELATIONS, EDUCATION & COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE 


A survey was conducted on MINDS employees and 

caregivers to understand the current communication 

channels and their reach, and the nature of MINDS’ 

target audiences and their needs in order to position 

communication strategies. As a result, MINDSpeak 

Newsletter was revamped, and a new electronic staff 

newsletter was launched. 

MINDSpeak 

MINDSpeak is circulated to staff, caregivers, members, 

donors and volunteers. The frequency of production 

was regularised, a new look adopted, and the content 

was enhanced to inform, educate and inspire our 

readers. Internal processes were also put in place to 

ensure quality content and quality production. 

MINDS eNews 

MINDS’ first electronic staff newsletter, MINDS eNews, 

was launched in June 2010 to bring timely updates, 

HR and career development information, and all workrelated 

tips and knowledge to staff. The first four issues 

of MINDS eNews were disseminated on 18 June 2010, 

8 July 2010, 30 July 2010 and 19 August 2010. 


• Updating public education resources, so as to better 

reach out to members of the public, in particular 

residents living near MINDS facilities. 

• Enhancing MINDS’ outreach to the broader public 

to raise awareness and understanding of persons with 

intellectual disability. 

• Enhancing the publicity of significant achievements 

and events of MINDS 

32

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 

Advisor 

Immediate Past Chairman 

Chairperson 

Vice-Chairpersons 

Treasurer 

Secretaries 

Coordinator 

Programme Coordinators 


Mr Goh Siang Khin 

Mrs Mimi Tan 

Ms Clara Ng 

Ms Carolina Chan 

Ms Janet Ng 

Ms Selena Chew 

Ms Jenny Low 

Mr Gary Ng 

Ms Low Poh Leng 

Mr Patrick Lai 

Ms Eileen Seng 


MINDS CSG@WGS 

MINDS CSG@WGS was officially launched on 27 

February 2010 with the help of Ms Suzana Soo, 

Principal of WGS. A total of about 50 parents attended 

the Tea Party. 

MINDS CSG Annual Party on 6 March 2010 

The Annual party held at TGS saw an overwhelming 

turnout of 600 participants from all the schools and 

centres. The programme catered to both parents and 

clients and kept them entertained throughout. 

MINDS CSG@FGS 

The “Amazing Delights of Korea” was jointly organised 

with PAYM’s Starlight Club based in Toa Payoh Central 

Community Club. More than 200 caregivers and their 

children were treated to authentic Korean culture. 

Minister of Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen, was the Guest 

of Honour while His Excellency Kim Joon Keun, Korean 

Ambassador to Singapore, was the special guest. 

MINDS CSG@FGS 

MINDS CSG@TGS 

MINDS CSG@WGS 

MINDS CSG@IEDC 

MINDS CSG@TDCs 

Mr Gary Ng 

Mr Wong Loke Kuan 

Ms Janet Ong 

Mr Howard Yap 

Ms Loh Poh Leng 

Ms Lilian Chen 

Ms Clara Ng 

Mr Patrick Lai 

Mr S Krishnan 

Mr Abdul Manaf 

Ms Ratna Mohd Zain 

Ms Kamsih Afandi 

Ms Eileen Seng 

Ms Jenny Low 

Mr Mike Sim 

Ms Janet Ng 

Ms Linda Poh 

Ms Carolina Chan 

Ms Mary Toi 



(CAREGIVERS 

SUPPORT GROUP) 

Starlight Club also organised a simulated movie night 

out at the cinema and a cookie-baking session for 

Father’s Day. Besides increasing caregivers’ bonding 

the community clubs provide persons with intellectual 

disability social and public integration, and increase 

the choice of social and recreational activities. 

Bocce was introduced every Saturday and a pool of 

volunteers helped to run the programme. 

Volunteers from the NUS’ Student Union Volunteer 

Action Committee (NVAC) continued to support 

activities such as Christmas Eve parties, Chinese New 

Year home visits, Pulau Ubin camp, visit to Singapore 

Youth Olympics Centre and various other outings. 

Starlight Club started a regular creative music and 

movement classes conducted by Mr Dolph using the 

Orff Schulwerk techniques for youths with special 

needs. The approach centered on integrating the 

fundamental unity of music including speech, singing, 

movement and instruments, and promote creativity 

entertainment and fun beside the therapeutic effects of 

enhancing sensitivity and building confidence. 

33


FGS initiated the assembly of paper bags as a social 

enterprise project to provide a possible work opportunity 

for adults with intellectual disability. 

Teacher’s Day - Hand-painted flower pots were 

meticulously made to show parents’ deep appreciation 

to our Teachers. 

MINDS CSG@TGS 

Parents played their part at the TGS Activity Day on 

24 September 2009 to teach students on recycling. 

Empty aluminum cans were collected, and filled with 

green beans, the openings sealed with masking tape 

and converted to delightful musical instruments that 

the students joyfully danced to. Some teachers and 

volunteers from the Paya Lebar Air Base joined in the 

dance to the great delight of the students. 

MINDS CSG@TDCs 

MINDS Shop@Napiri was officially opened on 15 

August 2009. The thrift shop is fully managed by 

volunteer parents for the purpose of creating new 

work-related training opportunities for adult clients 

from Napiri TDC. 

It is also a meeting place for parents and caregivers to 

come together thus promoting bonding and mutual 

support. Fellow caregivers are welcomed to volunteer 

their time at the thrift shop, or to drop by and enjoy 

great bargains or just browse and bond with fellow 

caregivers. 


• To work with Principal of LGS to setup MINDS CSG 

there 

• To recruit more parents to join MINDS CSG through 

active participation of schools’/centres’ activities 

organised for parents 

• To organise a MINDS CSG Forum in July 2010 on 

‘Everything You Need To Know About MINDS’ 

• Organise a Healthy Lifestyle activity for caregivers 

34

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2 0 0 9 / 2 0 1 0 



CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Chairperson: 

Vice-Chairperson: 

Secretary: 

Treasurer: 

Public Education Sub-Committee Chairperson: 

Publicity & Publication Sub-Committee Chairpersons: 

Service Management & Development Sub-Committee Chairpersons: 

Training Sub-Committee Chairpersons: 

Volunteer Administration Sub-Committee Chairpersons: 

Ang Mo Kio Project Chairpersons: 

Basic Knowledge Training Group Project Chairperson: 

Children’s Wing Project Chairperson: 

East Point Project Chairpersons: 

Guillemard Project Chairperson: 

Reach Out Project Chairperson: 

Terra Hope Project Chairpersons: 

West Hope Project Chairperson: 

Mr Daniel Tan Tai Leng 

Ms Goh Hui Chin 

Mr Siu Zhuo Bin 

Mr Quek Xianghui 

Mr Felix Chia 

Ms Samantha Ng 

Mr Siu Zhuo Bin, Mr Ernest Tan 

Ms Liu Pei Jun, Ms Cheong Huiqi 

Ms Thng Shu Hui, Mr Ernest Tan 

Mr Ong Chong Tiang 

Ms Ang Jian Yun 

Ms Ong Huiyi 

Ms Wang Liang Yu, Ms Chen Pey Shy 

Mr Ching Ting Soon 

Mr Colin Choo 

Ms Cheong Huiqi, Ms Samantha Ng 

Ms Megan Yao 


Review of Vision & Mission 

To stay relevant with our new name and aligned 

ourselves with MINDS Vision and Mission, MINDS 

MYG updated our Vision and Mission as follows: 

Vision 

To be a forward-looking volunteer programme that 

aspires to achieve social integration for persons with 

intellectual disability. 

Mission 

a. To enrich the lives of persons with intellectual disability 

through providing meaningful programmes and 

delivering quality services. 

b. To raise public awareness and promote public 

acceptance through engaging and educating our 

community on the interests and causes of persons 

with intellectually disability. 

c. To empower dedicated volunteers, enabling them to 

make a difference to the lives of persons with intellectual 

disability and to inspire the spirit of volunteerism 

among our community. 

Presentation of MINDS MYG Outcome 

Management at the AFID Conference 

MINDS MYG presented a paper on the “Evaluation 

of the Quality of Service Provision in a Volunteer 

Organisation” at the 19th Asian Federation on 

Intellectual Disabilities (AFID) Conference in Singapore 

in November 2009. The paper aimed to share the 

implementation and development of MINDS MYG’s 

Outcome Management System over the last two years. 

MINDS MYG Best Practices 

To ensure continuity over leadership renewal, MINDS 

MYG developed a best practices manual documenting 

the key MYG management processes. 

ACID 2009 

The ACID 2009 was postponed from June to December 

due to the H1N1. It was successfully organised, with 

the organising committee choreographing a series of 

dance moves into our first mass dance. 

Sports Day 2009 

The second annual MYG Sports Day was jointly 

organised with Raffles Institution (Junior College) 

Interact Club. The experience not only benefited the 

clients, but was a great learning opportunity for RJC’s 

student leaders. 

35


Family Day 2010 and Launch of Simply Serve 

MINDS MYG launched the first MINDS MYG coffee 

table book at the Family Day event aligning with the 

theme, ‘Celebrating Volunteerism’. The programme 

included stage performances and a carnival. Mr 

Laurence Lien, CEO of NVPC, graced the event as 

Guest of Honour. 

Simply Serve is a coffee table book that celebrates the 

personal stories and inspirations from 50 dedicated 

volunteers, 27 caregivers, and three beneficiaries in 

bringing their dreams and hopes to reality, and the 

potential of all our beneficiaries as we share in their 

journey towards the common vision. It documents 

the personal stories. It is a tribute to the indomitable 

spirit and courage of the volunteers who have strived 

to make a difference in the lives of our beneficiaries. 

The book also commemorates MINDS MYG’s journey 

through the passage of time and its devotion to “Serving 

Persons with Intellectual Disability”. This book is made 

possible with the blessings of the late Dr Lee Kum Tatt 

and his family. 

MINDS MYG Autonomous Projects 

MINDS MYG invited NTU Welfare Services Club 

(WSC) Regular Service Project for Intellectually 

Disabled (RSPID) and NUS NUSSU Volunteer Action 

Committee (NVAC) Yio Chu Kang (YCK) to join us as 

autonomous projects, so as to provide services with 

better synergy to more clients. RSPID joined as a fullfledged 

autonomous project, while YCK joined for one 

year of transition. 

Developmental Disability Registry Identity 

Card 

Developmental Disability Registry (DDR) Identity 

Cards were issued to clients who are not part of 

any existing VWO. The card is generated through 

the Developmental Disability Registry as a form of 

protecting and helping persons with disabilities in the 

event of wrongful accusations and identification when 

the cardholder is lost. 

Service Standards Requirements 

In line with the continuous focus on improving our 

service standards, MINDS MYG reviewed the Service 

Standards Requirements (SSR) so as to incorporate the 

latest service management processes adopted. 

Review of Volunteer Management Processes 

Existing processes were reviewed and improved, 

including the introduction of a revamped induction 

package for new volunteers, a new volunteer 

recruitment and project assignment process, and a new 

volunteer information form. 

Integrated Programmes 

• A group of volunteers participated in a badminton 

clinic organised by Special Olympics. 

• MINDS MYG collaborated with Very Special Arts 

to tap on their expertise to develop the artistic talents 

of the clients who were able to attend the special 

arts classes, so that they can make their own crafts 

and eventually sell them to the public. 

• HSBC continued to support MINDS MYG by sponsoring 

a three-week workshop at Little Arts Academy. MINDS 

MYG also supported the Nan Hua High School 

Community Involvement Programme with various 

classes joining the various projects for activities. 

36


Learning 

Following the successful MINDS MYG Sharing Day in 

the past two years, a third Sharing Day was organised 

for volunteers to come together to discuss various 

issues surrounding MINDS MYG. The annual MINDS 

MYG Learning Day covered topics on sexuality, music 

and drama. 

Launch of MINDS MYG Collaterals 

In line with a push to strengthen the public image 

of MYG and the recent name change, MINDS MYG 

launched a new letterhead and powerpoint template, 

incorporating the updated MINDS MYG logo. 

Revamp of MINDS MYG Website 

The MINDS MYG website was revamped. The 

concept ‘join us’ expanded beyond volunteerism to 

a movement to achieve social integration for persons 

with intellectual disability. It encourages volunteers to 

read up about intellectual disability, finding out about 

our events, etc. 

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION 

During the CCA Annual Award Presentation 2009, Mr 

Chong Wei Leng, Mr Francis Lim, Mr Gerald Ng, Mr 

Jackie Chua, Ms Jaslyn Ng, Mr Jason Lee, Ms Kuan 

Yuying and Ms Patricia Lee were awarded the MINDS 

Meritorious Service Award. 

Two volunteers received the MCYS 15-year long-service 

award, five volunteers, the MCYS 10-year award, and 

21 volunteers received the NCSS 5-year long service 

award. An appreciation evening for the volunteers 

was also held in conjunction with the Annual General 

Meeting on 27 March 2010. 

37

2009/2010 - MINDS

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