Having been in the education industry for over 10 years in various teaching and training roles, I have noticed the correlation between urban poverty and educational gaps. These gaps between the different social classes are often made worse by policies and the structure of the system. To understand better the issue of urban poverty, educational gaps and low-income households, I started looking at the data gathered from my research study, current literature, and statistics from the Singapore government.
I then formulated a plan for a project to help underprivileged children. This led me to start a social volunteer initiative called Literacy Initiative For Equity (LIFE) in March 2015, which was initially called the Iqra Movement.
I knew that I needed a team consisting of individuals who have different strengths in various areas to help me and thus, networked to market the idea. I took into consideration feedback that I felt was valuable for this upcoming project and made the necessary revisions. I did extensive research in this area to avoid duplication with other existing projects. I promoted the restructured idea again and then formed the pioneer team.
The core volunteers spent time with three families residing in rental flats, observing the children and learning more about their families. With the data acquired, I decided to brand the project as an initiative to reach out to pockets of societyt hat established organisations may have missed. The focus was on underprivileged children of preschool and lower primary school levels. Realising the needs of the families, I came up with the outline of the programme, and the extras that we should provide such as transportation from home to school.
CHALLENGES FACED
Starting a project from scratch, with no funds and with limited experience in social initiatives, is a difficult task. Sometimes plans fail due to unexpected circumstances. One of the most pertinent issues we faced was the recruitment of volunteers. Initially, we thought that personal networking was sufficient, but it was not so. The number of volunteers we had was inadequate to run the project. We persevered and continued trying several methods such as using social networking sites as a platform and then leveraging on public schools. Unfortunately, those efforts, for various reasons, flopped miserably or received lacklustre responses. It got worse when many of the core volunteers from the initial team fell out due to differences in opinion. The commitment required to start and sustain a project was too much for most, and it did not meet their objectives.
This was when I realised how important passion was. Many of the core volunteers who left were graduates and professionals and/or experts in their areas. Most of those who stayed were non-graduates, but passionate about the cause. The takeaway from this is that while qualifications are necessary, whoever one recruits has to have their goals and beliefs aligned with that of the group or organisation and, more importantly, the commitment and ability to work against all odds – an attribute imperative for start-ups.
There was also the issue of funds or lack of it. With no capital, and being a non-registered group with no idea about funds and grants, we relied solely on soliciting donations from the public. For 10 months, we managed to survive on these donations. Again, social networking platforms played a huge part in this. These donations also made us work harder.
As the project gained recognition, many groups and organisations started coming forward to help and collaborate with LIFE. We received more attention after our presentation for Sensing 2065, SG50KitaX. Thanks to Khairu Rejal from Majulah Community and Ibnur Rashad from Ground-up Initiative, we managed to come up with proper business plans and financial projections. Through them, we also learned about seeking funds and grants, and more importantly, the issue of registration.
I was happy for us to remain as a volunteer group but it was impossible to get enough funds to sustain the project with no official registration. We needed to register and this means that it would no longer be just a “project”. We also realised then that “The Iqra Movement”, as it was initially named, would cause us problems.
In this day and age, anything remotely Islamic would be subjected to the authorities’ scrutiny. To address the problem and be clear on what we do, we came up with Literacy Initiative For Equity (LIFE). We wanted people to ask, “Why equity and not equality?” The difference is that, while Singapore does make an effort to ensure there is equality, we are far from equity. What we love most about the acronym LIFE is that it encompasses everything that we stand for.
REGISTERING LIFE
We were advised that it was best to register with ACRA as a company limited by guarantee as it meant “no one would be held responsible if the organisation runs into trouble with the law”. I wondered what the real implications were and, for the next 6 months, there was constant research, evaluation and pivoting. Each and every hurdle we faced taught us ways to overcome it. It was education in its best form.
We decided to register LIFE as a society because of the credibility and accountability it offered as a social initiative. Our sole aim was to help the underprivileged and we needed to raise money to ensure the sustainability of our programmes. Due to the nature of our organisation, with donations collected and funding received, it was essential to have a constitution in place to ensure accountability of the money collected. We came up with our constitution and registered with the Registry of Societies (ROS).
Problems nevertheless persisted. We realised registration of a society required a proper “place of business” that was not someone’s home (or Starbucks). We had no funding and relied solely on donations. We were faced with the challenge of raising the required amount for rental of a space. We were thinking of ways to pay the rent when we were introduced to Common Space by Young AMP (YAMP). During the presentation for Sensing 2065, SG50KitaX, we met the president of YAMP, Shamir Rahim, who happened to be one of the judges. Common Space is an initiative by YAMP to support start-ups, be it non-profit, for-purpose organisations such as LIFE, or for-profit organisations. The initiative gave us an office space, thus enabling us to finally register with ROS.
FUTURE PLANS FOR LIFE
My long-term aspiration is for LIFE to expand. With rapid globalisation and urban migration, the world will be facing problems such as child and urban poverty, which may then impede the life of the future generations. People experiencing urban poverty are also known as the “invisible poor” due to the lack of awareness in this area. Urban poverty is often masked by the supposed success of the urban world in cities such as Singapore, New York, London, Sydney and Auckland.
Until recently, most of the discussions focused on rural poverty in developing countries such as Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia. While this is still a valid issue, in the near future, once these countries have developed their economies, they will face similar problems as the developed countries. There are many organisations such as UNICEF and World Vision that focus on improving the daily lives of children and adults suffering from rural poverty. However, it is imperative to have a contingency plan to address issues surrounding urban poverty before it takes root.
What sets LIFE apart from established organisations is our passion to not only “see change” but to “BE THE CHANGE!”. The parents and the children are treated as significant.
Our programme flourished from love and is provided through love, with love. We have a strong desire to transform – not only the lives of the children and the parents, but also the mindset of society towards poverty and those experiencing it. Every day, we strive to reach our goal of “GETTING BEYOND BETTER”. ⬛
Nur Farhanah Saemon is the Founding President of Literacy Initiative For Equity (LIFE) SG, which aims to support and empower underprivileged children by equipping them with tools for a fair opportunity at achieving success. Researching on issues surrounding educational policies, she is midway through her doctorate at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). Engagements with people from all walks of lives have spurred her advocacy efforts for educational equity and inspired her research study which gave birth to LIFE.
