Fancy a closet of beautiful shoes and accessories? Be swept off your feet with David Oh, chief executive officer of Milagros.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN LOH

David Oh, chief executive officer of Milagros, believes his company is one that is focused on delivering exquisite designs and a showcase of “meticulous handiwork” in their niche product offering of footwear, bags and accessories. This has certainly given him and his team the confidence to flex their market muscle and launch into the competitive European market since 2006.
Amidst strong market competition, Oh has managed to break into the region with a  traditionally strong shoe culture, a strategically positioned Milagros and its in-house shoe label, Foxtrot, to fit into a segment of the market where buyers are looking for value for money yet “not necessarily looking for made-in-Europe products.” This, coupled with good design and a strong branding, has been a winning combination.

Asked how Milagros first started, Oh deadpans, “When I went shopping with my wife for shoes.” After several unfruitful visits to a number of shops and department stores, an idea attuned to the moment of need was born. Oh knew there was “a market demand for comfortable, fashionable shoes that were easy on the pocket at the same time.” Besides, with a penchant for quality men’s shoes, it was natural for him to take the leap and venture into the shoe trade.

From an inexperienced entrepreneur and a rookie in the shoe trade, Oh has overcome many odds since the initial launch. He recalls the humble beginnings when he “had to make cold calls to factories and wade through unfamiliar territory and even flood waters” before finding the right business partners. Having established his business contacts, he had to learn the ropes on the art of shoe-making. Picking up useful tips in determining ladies shoe sizes, managing an inventory, “designing, pattern making, shipping, tax procedures” amongst others, were all in a day‘s work. Consulting senior shoemakers in resolving technical problems also served to improve the quality of each pair of shoes made. For Oh and his partners, such painstaking efforts simply translated to better aesthetics and overall comfort for shoe wearers.

Today, Oh has successfully marketed his label and distributed it to Europe, Japan and Singapore. Besides the repertoire of shoes that are fitted to fill glamor pages, he has also recently launched his company’s first leather bag collection to complement the shoe line. Looking at his business retrospectively, he says, “I can’t say we have overcome all of the problems we faced initially, but things are a lot more stable now that we have a system in place.” Evidently, there are new challenges with new ventures and as they make waves in Europe, every step is a learning experience.

Taking a peek into the creative minds and working process of Milagros’ in-house design team reveals that there is certainly plenty to learn about the art of shoemaking. A step into the niche shows how trendy materials and accessories inspire designs. As a complement to the design process, the team keeps tabs on upcoming colors and fashion trends and makes necessary improvisations with considerations from works of major designers to bring consumers an exclusive and desirable range of products.

Currently, the 35-year-old entrepreneur is in the midst of entering the Japanese and Korean market where he believes his products will start to develop a strong following for their sleek combination of style and design aesthetics. For starters, Milagros will be launching a collection of bags, sexy stilettoes and towering platforms as well as glamorous evening shoes in light of the upcoming festive season.  On his company’s future plans, Oh is confident to grow his business “into an international brand with a presence in global cities.”

As the legendary Marilyn Monroe once said, “I don’t know who invented high heels but all women owe him a lot.” Women, especially fans of style icon, Carrie Bradshaw, a character played by Sarah Jessica Parker in the Sex And The City franchise, could not agree more. From stilettoes, platforms, to ballet flats, Foxtrot of Milagros Private Limited is set to wow with their range of exuberantly sophisticated footwear, bags and accessories in the Spring/Summer 2011 collection.

Check out Milagros www.milagros.com.sg and for further information and stockist details, please log on to www.foxtrotshoes.com

The upcoming Wow Wild World is the culmination of much prayer, outreach and planning.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

On Oct. 1, City Harvest Children’s Church will be celebrating Children’s Day with a fun-filled extravaganza titled Wow Wild World. The anticipated highlights include performances by J-Seven and the Kids Band, as well as a magic show with comedian, Mr. Funny, and magician, Joe Yu.

Not many are aware of the countless hours, the seemingly routine groundwork and quiet submission in prayer that precede all the pomp and pageantry of a large-scale event as this. With less than a week to go, City News goes behind the scenes and traces the seeds that have been sown to bring the event from conceptualization to culmination.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

Preparation for the event went into motion not with a flurry of activity and logistics, but with much prayer and supplication at a prayer meeting on Sep. 15 at CHC’s premises in Jurong West. With the understanding that faith-filled prayer is key to every revival, the leaders and workers built up their spiritual weapons while believing God for a mighty move within the ministry, its leaders, volunteers and the program itself.

RELATIONSHIPS FIRST, EVENTS SECOND

With a preliminary program in place, weekly service schedules and pre-event activities were drawn up for the entire month as a lead-up to Wow Wild World. Just the past week, a Mid-Autumn Festival party as well as SPARK KIDS, a children leaders’ meeting, were held to encourage more children to invite their friends to the event.

The excitement has gained momentum—according to 25-year-old Goh Si Ying, a few of the children under her care have asked to tag along on her home visits. They not only brought her to their friends’ homes but also spoke boldly to the parents about the upcoming celebration and invited them for church’s services too.

But it is far from a one-off effort—for many years now, the Children’s Church has been conducting weekly visitations (involving an average of 200 teachers reaching out to 2,000 children). Since serving as a visitation leader three years ago for the Marsiling area, Goh, a secondary school teacher, has touched many lives, visiting an average of 20 to 30 children in a regular week. The visits can be very draining, especially after a day’s work, but it is a small price to pay in return for watching the children under her care grow up and undergo character development as well as spiritual growth. She shared, “My motivation comes from God’s Word.”

At each home visitation, Goh aims to deliver a lesson through a Bible story, a memory verse from the Bible and some application questions. But beyond imparting biblical knowledge, Goh hopes to relate better to the children and learn more about their lives and their families’ situation.

Just a few days earlier, she had paid a visit to one of her former care group children, who has since moved on to a cell group after graduating from primary school. Upon knowing that the child’s father had been suffering from cancer for the past five years, she plucked up her courage to lay hands and pray for him. Her strong belief in the father’s healing touched his family and they too joined in prayer and believed God for a favorable outcome at the next treatment the following week.

Pastor of CCH, Eileen Toh, together with the rest of her team, are believing God for a turnout of more than 5,000 children next weekend. Much time and effort, all invisible to the public eye, has been poured into preparations for the big day, but says Goh, “In the Bible, Jesus says, ‘Let the children come to Me.’ These are the words that run through my mind and keep me going.”

Wow Wild World services will be held on Sep. 29, Wednesday, 3 p.m., Oct. 1, Friday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 1 Jurong West St 91. Celebrations at Singapore Expo Hall 8 will be help on Oct. 2, Saturday, 11 a.m.

ALBUM COVER DESIGN: Veroy Chua

A New Sound

It’s out! After its first debut album, City Harvest Children’s Church now rolls out its sophomore album entitled God Of My Universe. Comprising a mix of catchy, upbeat rhythms and inspiring harmonies, “It’s an album that not just the young will enjoy—we hope it will strike a chord with the adults as well, given its contemporary sound,” says project coordinator and one of the songwriters, Veroy Chua.

One of the songs he wrote, “If,” is a contemplative tribute to the glory of God and heaven. “It paints a picture of what a child would experience if he were to take a peek into heaven—the angels praising the Lord Almighty, the rainbows and the deep love of God.” The title track, “God Of My Universe,” captures the overarching theme of the intimacy of God toward each of His children such that He knows each one by name, despite His universality.

This album is a meaningful yet enjoyable gift that any child would love to receive on Children’s Day.

Gospel singer-songwriter Kelvin Soh shares his SOT journey.

CN PHOTO: Gary Sim

Kelvin Soh Say Ming, who has just been awarded with his Advanced Certificate in Theology, is not one to rest on his laurels. In a phone interview with City News, the 45-year-old gospel singer-songwriter revealed that he is currently involved in an overseas mission trip.

The gospel singer-songwriter in his 30s who has had a 180-degree turnaround in life after his dramatic conversion. The ex-offender who was jailed 20 years for offences, including drug abuse, has since shared his testimony and performed his songs both locally and overseas.

Not an unfamiliar face to City Harvest Chinese Church, it was through his association with Joseph Ang, a pastor of CHCC, and Don Wong, a director and pastor at the HighPoint Halfway House that he enrolled himself in SOT.

Looking back on the past few months, Soh who only has a PSLE certificate says, “The six months invested in SOT was worth it,” and he would like to give “a big thanks to the lecturers for all the teachings.”

Apart from sharing the redeeming nature of Christ that has changed his life, Soh has been penning songs inspired by the Holy Spirit since 1998. It was after much encouragement from a fellow brother-in-Christ whom he met at Grace Methodist Church that he decided to take part in his first song-writing competition. This was the start of his fruitfulness and breakthroughs; throughout this 12-year period, he already has seven gospel albums to his name, with many more to come.

In 2003, he met Suzanne Sing whilst serving in the choir at the Grace Assembly of God church. Sing later became his wife after an 11-month courtship. At first, Soh pondered hard on marriage as he wondered if Sing would mind his past and his lack of the “5Cs” so coveted by Singaporeans. But the words of Wong made a big impression on him and boosted his confidence immensely, “If you follow Jesus faithfully, the girls will follow you.” Truly, when one’s heart is wholly after Jesus, He will lead the way.

A look at the winner of this year’s Courage award.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

At 80 years of age, Billy Lim is the oldest graduate to receive the Advanced Certificate in Theology from the School Of Theology. Besides being rewarded for his hard work, he is also the recipient of the Courage Award, an award that is given to one who has demonstrated courage and displayed tremendous resilience in the face of challenges, Uncle Billy, as he is affectionately called, is a living testimony to many of his team mates in Team 30.

Fresh off his memorable win, Lim is thankful for all the attention that has been showered on him. Sounding every bit cheerful on the telephone when City News spoke to him, he reiterated that he was but an “instrument of God to inspire His people.” Indeed, it is hardly comprehensible that a man of his age, who currently resides in a nursing home—Econ Medicare Centre, would aspire to inspire and influence those around him. Despite the passing of his wife in 2005, Uncle Billy remained positive and actively seized opportunities to testify of God’s goodness wherever he went.

For the past six months, Lim has been more than an attendee in his home church—City Harvest Church. Besides enrolling and studying in SOT since March, he also serves as an usher during worship services and in cell group settings to welcome new friends. When asked how he did it, Lim simply shared that it was “the fruit of joy” that kept him going. Even at a ripe old age, this man is a believer of learning and leading an active lifestyle. Many times after classes at SOT, he would head to the library to read, an activity he advocates as something that “broadens my mind.” Apart from his love for reading, Lim is thankful to God that his eyesight is still good over the years.

The hour-long journeys he takes to church daily has not been much of a deterrence either as he has found strength to do tai chi exercises. Commuting daily from east to west between CHC’s premises at Jurong West and his nursing home, has been made easy with the help of many such as Bobby Chaw, SOT’s dean of students, Jasmine Yen, Brioni Gotteburg—his SOT mates, among others.

Besides ensuring his safety when he goes up and down the buses, they have also bought him meals and driven him around. One of them even reminded him, “Call me, I want to know you have reached home safely.” Such dedication and love shown by his friends has touched his heart and brought tremendous blessing upon his life.

The School Of Theology graduates 640 students over a two-day convocation ceremony.

CN PHOTO: Gloria Wong

A new beginning is waiting to unfold for the 640 graduates of the 16th student intake who were dressed smartly in black graduation robes and mortarboards over the weekend of Aug. 28 to 29 at City Harvest Church’s weekend services.

Over the past six months, the students  went through rigorous training in learning how to build an effective ministry in a local church, as well as practical applications of evangelism, deliverance, healing and world missions. Within the short time frame, a compact curriculum rooted in the Great Commandment, the Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate was delivered to the international cohort.

Kelvin Soh Say Ming, a gospel singer-songwriter (read box story below) and one of the SOT graduates this year, kicked off the graduation ceremony with two Mandarin gospel songs, titled “Persevering Faith” and “Count Your Blessings.”

After the heartfelt performance, a team of 51 graduates who had participated in one of the 33 mission trips made across the region during the academic year, went on stage to testify and recount their trip to Malang, Indonesia. Among them was Samuel Lee, 21, who had only started attending CHC a year ago. Despite his inexperience as a young believer, he preached to more than 290 Indonesian youths across 15 schools during the trip. He was able to do so because through SOT, he had “learned to lean on God” and was convinced that “ordinary people like him could be used by God to do extraordinary things.” Lee and his teammates impacted over 2,000 youths and led 147 in salvation decisions. All who went on the mission trips could testify that they had experienced an increase in their faith level and have grown in their love for fellow believers in Christ in other parts of the world.

SOT proved to be more than a theological center for the equipping of God’s Word; it was an institution for the opening of minds and hearts to love and serve in the Body of Christ.

Two representatives from the cohort were selected to preach to the weekend congregation, on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Filled with fervor and conviction, Lin Hui Hui from China and Sam John Thomas from India delivered their sermons with penetrating deftness in a window of seven minutes.

As excitement and energy mounted, CHC’s founder, Kong Hee, gave the commencement address, following which, the buzzing of the vuvuzelas could be heard, signaling the move to the next part of the service for the graduating class as they prepared to receive their certificates. The ceremony was divided into two sessions, with 323 students receiving their Advanced Certificate in Theology on Saturday, while the remaining 317 students were awarded their certificates on Sunday.

Following their official graduation, winners of six categories: Best Attendance, Courage Award, Best Academic Performance, Minister of the Year, Best SOT Team and the Best Overall Student, were also announced over the two-day ceremony (see box stories of award winners).

Speaking to City News, Michael Tan June Kiat, 24, was among the 323 who graduated on Saturday. He shared that “SOT has made me a better person as I have learned to be more disciplined in my walk with God and I am better equipped to face challenges in my life ahead.”

Unknown to many, this self-driven and confident young man was also a winner of the Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award at his convocation ceremony at Nanyang Technological University last month. Apart from his excellent track record in school, he also serves as a cell group guitarist in CHC.

Chen Yan Hui Timothy, 29, teacher and a youth cell group leader, sat through the graduation service and was inspired to “enroll into Bible school in two years’ time,” confident that SOT will transform his life and equip him for ministry.

F.I.R’s second world tour saw a reinvented band that kept the fans rocking at Singapore Indoor Stadium with chart-topping hits.

“It’s just exciting and songs like ‘Lydia’ kept me hooked from the beginning till the end!” said Thomas Huang, 23, a national service man. Together with two of his friends, Stan Poh and Alan Tok, both 23, who have been ardent supporters of popular Taiwanese Mandopop band F.I.R since the launch of their debut album some six years ago, the one-night only concert on July 9 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was not to be missed.

The two-hour full-length concert featured an opening act from a popular local rock band Black Forest. Together with four of his band mates, Ernest Chua, kick off F.I.R.’s It’s My Live 2010 World Tour and entertained the 6,000-strong crowd with three of their self-penned tracks. Just when the audience was warmed up for the evening, the lights dimmed, and the series of LED display panels that lined the stage transformed the indoor arena into a modern day coliseum. Almost instantly, the fans who sat coolly in their seats were transported into a fairyland of sorts, perhaps an indication for them to loosen up and party the night away.

Incidentally, ‘Fairyland In Reality‘, is the backronym used as the title of the trio’s 2004 debut album. The trio, helmed by renowned music producer Ian Chen, is backed by two other Taiwanese artistes, Real Huang and Faye Chan. Whilst none of them are strangers to the music scene, Chen stands out amongst the rest as he is the most senior and experienced of the band members. Having penned more than 200 songs since starting out at a young age, he has gone on to produce many chart-topping hits for big names such as A-Mei, Eason Chan, Grace Zhou and even Singapore’s home-grown talent, Stefanie Sun.

Since their last concert tour back in 2007, F.I.R. was back in town to deliver yet another entertaining performance. As promised, the evening’s rundown was filled with hits of the past and present. Visually, it was a feast as the costumes worn by the celebrities were outrageous and bizarre, with influences from Lady Gaga no less. But beyond the impressive wardrobe changes throughout the concert, it was the music from the creative band that captivated all. From the solo performances showcasing Chan’s vocal prowess and Huang’s masterful finger work on his electric guitar to the tasteful piano recital featuring a virgin singing performance from Chen, the three talented individuals delivered a flamboyant and crowd-pleasing concert.

Just earlier in the week, the band debut at the Hong Kong Coliseum for this 2010 concert series. As a teaser for the fans limited concert merchandise such as T-shirts, caps and badges specially designed with the band’s logo were also made for sale before and after the concert to complete the occasion. Despite the recent bumper crop of concerts organised here, there were no signs of concert fatigue just yet. The huge following that turned up to support the band was a testament of their likeable image and style of music. Throughout their performance, the members peppered their individual segments with little nuggets of information about their musical journey, often affirming and interjecting a sense of positivity whenever possible.

CN PHOTO: Poh Yang Zheng

Midway through the concert, Singapore songstress Stefanie Sun made a guest appearance and joined Chan and Huang on stage to sing “天 黑 黑”, a song that catapulted her to international stardom in 2000. Just as the song ended, the playful duo orchestrated a surprise on their guest by singing her a birthday song. Soon, Chen appeared from the side to pass a novelty handmade soap in the shape of a birthday cake specially made by Chan to present to her good friend, Sun. Touched by their unexpected gestures of love, the local songbird thanked the trio for the early greetings as her birthday falls on the 23rd of this month. Looking feminine in a little black dress, Sun spoke keenly of their friendship forged since the days when they were recording under the same label, Warner Music. Despite taking a two year break at the peak of her singing career, the singer has clearly not lost her appeal, as she rocked the crowd with her rendition of Shocking Blue’s 1970 hit song, “Venus” and carried on to give a soulful interpretation of “我 不 难 过“ much to the delight of everyone.

Besides the familiar tunes previously performed at their first world tour back in 2008, the 35-song lineup included stand-out tracks from their latest album, titled “你 的 微 笑”and “红 潮”.Even traditional instruments like the Indian zither and tabla drums were integrated within an all-Singaporean ten-piece ensemble to enrich the night’s musical structure offering a showcase of dynamic artistic talents.

Having delivered an amazing performance, the trio looks set to rock on at their next Asian tour stop with their culturally influenced sounds and reinvented personas.

F.I.R’s latest album Let’s Smile is available at all major CD stores.

Promoting community bonding among the young and the young-at-heart through sports, music, and all things loved and enjoyed by young people.

In less than two months, Singapore will make history by hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from August 14 to 26 at numerous venues island wide. To drum up awareness, a youth centered, carnival-styled festival was organized by the Bishan and Bishan North Community Club Youth Executive Committees and held on June 6 at Bishan Active Park, Bishan Street 22. The guest of honor for the Youth Summer Fest was Mr. Zainudin Nordin, Mayor of Central Singapore District and advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency.

The inaugural Youth Summer Fest is targeted at youths aged 12 to 35, with the objective of promoting sports and healthy living. Organizing chairperson of YSF, Alex Wee, believes in engaging youth and giving them a platform to express themselves. Wee, who is a commercial airline pilot, says his passion to reach out to young people is what has fuelled his drive for the past eight years. Together with his team of youth volunteers, he delivered a full day event packed with a program which included 3-on-3 basketball matches, beach volleyball tournaments, Frisbee and free-play archery held in collaboration with the Telok Blangah Archery club. The series of youth oriented games were sufficient to pull in a crowd from the surrounding estate.

The YSF featured three out of 26 sports that will be competed in during the upcoming YOG. With the selected sports, namely, archery, basketball and volleyball, the YECs “aim for athletes to embrace, embody and express Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.” Additionally, the committee members hope to inspire the youth to imbibe the “Olympic spirit to unite diverse cultures and people” through innovative initiatives such as the promotion of youth entrepreneurship at the summer flea market. Blog shop owners were invited to hawk their wares at the nearby amphitheatre. Bands such as Bricks To The Sky, Band 8 and Pervy Boy rocked the stage with their original compositions and alternative renditions of current hit songs.

Nordin, who was in his walk-about session, was particularly “excited when the YEC first approached (us) with this series of dynamic ideas.” He was supportive of “connecting the community through sports” and in turn incorporating sports with music to become a trendy and relevant tool to reach out to the younger generation. The mayor also hoped that with the use of such “creative platform to engage youths,” young people can begin “to feel for Singapore and be empowered to grow and develop for the future ahead.” This, he hopes, will ignite and unite the next generation, upon whom the future of the nation depends.

 CN PHOTOS: Jere Chong

The evening hit a high when Nordin put the finishing touches to a graffiti artwork spray painted by Killer Gerbil, a Singaporean graffiti artist. The novel use of street art proved to be an instant hit with the crowd. Another highlight for the evening was a series of short films and visual-jockeying presentation by students from the LaSalle College of the Arts.

Daphne Chua and Ng Hwee Leng, both 18 and students at the Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Communications, Arts and Social Sciences, were among the student volunteers present. They echoed that through “community involvement and participation in the games and activities,” a greater sense of awareness can be raised toward the social value of sports and healthy living amongst the young.

Physical, communication and spiritual attraction are the essential ingredients for a long-lasting relationship.

It was one elective with an overflowing crowd at the Church Growth International and Asia Conference 2010—hundreds of young adults gathered to hear Wu Yuzhuang and Audrey Ng, a married couple, share tips about finding one’s life partner.

“How do you know if a person can be your lifelong partner?” asked Wu. Beginning with the understanding that God gives each person a marriage partner to help and bless his/her walk with Him, the couple touched on three specific areas in determining compatibility—physical attraction, communication attraction and finally, spiritual attraction.

When it came to physical attraction, Wu placed a strong emphasis on being fit and healthy, and at the same time putting effort into one’s appearance in anticipation of a chance encounter with Mr or Miss Right.

Understandably, in a relationship, fatal flaws such as dating a person who is, say, addicted to alcohol, will also work against the couple in the form of internal obstacles, while compatibility time bombs such as diverse life callings that form the external obstacles will pose problems as well. Wu and Ng also highlighted other considerations such as the importance of communication. Dispelling the myth that romantic love is all that is needed to sustain a marriage, the willingness to express one’s feelings through words and gestures was underscored.

Delving deeper into matters of the heart, the couple who has been married for over 10 years shared three critical ingredients in sustaining spiritual attraction. Firstly, sharing similar beliefs is an option that cannot be compromised, as upholding Christian values forms the basis of a successful marriage in the 21st century. Secondly, the prospective partner’s commitment to the Lord in areas such as the Word, worship, finances and ministry are not to be overlooked.

Lastly, possessing a compatible calling would free the couple from future dilemmas in their individual commitments to their ordained ministries. While many women place a significant emphasis on the romantic spark of chemistry in a relationship, the absence of any one of these three ingredients would be enough to cause disintegration in a promising relationship. Succinctly, both speakers illustrated the points with their own love story that began some fifteen years ago.

Before opening up to the floor for a session of Q&A, Wu recommended the book His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr. to the receptive crowd as an additional resource to guide them in their search for the elusive one.

Said Rocel Sales, 27, a student studying in a seminary in Manila, “The topics shared were very helpful to me and the speakers were a joy to listen to.”

CityCare was created in 2007 to serve local and international communities through active volunteerism. It has changed lives in the process.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYCARE

CityCare’s loudest calling card may be the bright orange polo T-shirt that its workers and volunteers wear. But just as striking is the fact that in three short years, this non-profit organization has received recognition for its humanitarian efforts in Sichuan, following the 2008 earthquake, and Haiti, in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck its capital, Port-au-Prince in January this year. Started as a social enterprise in 2007, CityCare was given seed funding by the National Volunteer Philanthropic Centre and is supported by the Ministry of Community Development Youth and Sports and the Health Promotion Board under the Ministry of Health.

CityCare was started by a group of like-minded professionals who wanted to promote a culture of doing good through encouraging volunteerism in Singapore—to build a city that cares, one where philanthropy is a way of life among its citizens and not merely an afterthought.

“CityCare was formed as a non-profit community organization and international humanitarian aid group to encourage more people to serve the community through active volunteerism,” he says.

In the aforementioned Haiti earthquake, CityCare wasted no time in assembling medical teams and coordinating six disaster relief operations to the Caribbean island. Supplies of waterproof tents and water pumps to provide temporary shelter and access to clean water were also donated and distributed amongst the affected Haitians. Since end-February, CityCare has sent six teams of 22 doctors and 45 disaster relief workers to aid and treat a total of 7,943 earthquake survivors in Carrefour and the nearby suburbs—an impressive achievement considering that the efforts took place from make-shift medical facilities set up without joint backing from any international, more established collaborators.

Beyond disaster relief, CityCare has also facilitated many poverty alleviation and education projects in Asia, including helping to build primary schools, orphanages and welfare facilities. Ultimately, however, CityCare’s vision is to promote active volunteerism among both individuals and corporate organizations. To inculcate the values of doing good in the youth, CityCare developed its first values-based curriculum called “The New SINGAPOREAN”, where SINGAPOREAN is an acronym for foundational values being taught—Social Responsibility, Innovative, Net Giver, Globalized, Adaptable, Problem Solver, Opportunity Seeker, Resilient, Educated, Attuned and Nation Conscious.

This curriculum is being taught in schools through engaging formats like interactive learning and games, and has been well-received by the students and teachers alike. In fact, some students from Fajar Secondary School were so impacted by the New SINGAPOREAN values that they painted all 11 values on the steps leading to their school
parade square.

Building upon this success, CityCare has developed other equally well-received curricula such as You the Leader teaching on leadership, the Big Idea on social entrepreneurship, Dare on smoking cessation, the 3G Man on manhood, and New SINGAPOREAN 2 on values.

Toward the end of the curriculum, students will execute a social innovation project through the application of business strategies to achieve social causes. These projects will be led by the students themselves, facilitated by CityCare mentors. As such, beyond education, the program seeks to benefit the students in terms of personal development and empowerment.

Those who have completed CityCare’s programs are then encouraged to continue working with CityCare by signing up as a volunteer with the Caretalyst Club, where they will be supported by a network of mentors. There are now three Caretalyst Clubs at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.

Of note, Caretalysts from Singapore Institute of Management obtained Youth Expedition Programme funding and taught the New Singaporean curriculum to students from a top high school in Tianjin, China last December. Together, the Singapore and Chinese students conducted an orphanage makeover project in Henan, China following the course. CityCare currently has 1,039 Caretalysts on the team. At the end of the day, these initiatives aim to combat apathy and empower individuals to be social change agents and build a more caring community.

CityCare also played its part in promoting awareness among the corporate sector through its community project series, which saw the involvement of 15 organizations over a 3-day period to benefit more than 400 beneficiaries in Singapore.

The Bukit Ho Swee Family Service Centre, for example, extended help to disadvantaged children from the youth shelters Gracehaven and Club Rainbow, hearing-impaired youths from the Singapore Association for the Deaf and needy elderly from Jamiyah Home for the Aged. From imparting IT skills to disadvantaged children and learning the waltz with destitute elderly to providing free health and dental checks to low incomes families, the objective was clear—to promote corporate philanthropy even in uncertain economic climates, as it was then.

In addition, CityCare partnered with many businesses and organizations in the promotion of corporate social responsibility, working with institutions like Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Maybank, Citispa as well as Reader’s Digest.

More recently, CityCare conducted a social entrepreneurship camp for South West Community Development Council and provided volunteer support in the highly-publicized We Are One project, championed by MediaCorp and CapitaLand, which provided financial support to families affected by the global recession last year. Since its inception, CityCare has worked with 53 enterprises to help build a more caring society.

“Through our community program with CityCare called Affection in Assurance, not only did we get to serve over 50 poor and needy families by offering them free insurance coverage, this experience also has given us a whole new perspective of life. We now have a desire to get out there and do more for those who are unprivileged,” says Stanley Quek, Financial Services District Manager of SP-Stanley Quek.

As a non-religious organization, CityCare promotes values that are universal and shared across all faiths, having worked with both secular and

religious schools such as the madrasah, and served voluntary welfare organizations regardless of their religious affiliations. Since 2007, CityCare has conducted its programs in 67 schools and trained over 9,000 students through its courses and camps.

Through its educational programs and humanitarian projects, CityCare hopes to encourage more people to serve the less fortunate and to make doing good a lifestyle. “We believe that by helping people one person at a time, we can create a multiplier effect and bring systemic change to our world,” concludes Tan.

For local delegates, if you are interested in being a volunteer or a donor, or to partner with CityCare; and for overseas delegates, if you are keen to find more about CityCare and how to be our international affiliates, please contact Cindy at [email protected] for more information or visit us at The Marketplace Trade Fair Booth D4/D6 at Expo Hall 7.

Local talent Chen Wei Qian launches her debut album Love Caught at NTUC Downtown East.

PHOTO: Joseph Oo

“It is a dream come true,” said Chen Wei Qian, a budding local singer who has worked alongside big names such as Aaron Kwok, Jolin Tsai and Stefanie Sun as an assistant music producer. Chen released her debut single on April 24 at NTUC Downtown East, Pasir Ris.

Chen is no stranger to the local music industry. At the age of 17, she was the first student of the prominent music producers, Lee Si Song and Lee Wei Song. Since then, her foray into contemporary music has been intermittent largely due to commitments at her day job. However, things took a turn when she was crowned winner at the Chinatown Showdown finale, a singing competition jointly organized by Singapore Press Holdings and UFM 100.3 in December 2008.

Fresh from her win, 32-year-old Chen was taken under the wings of The Sonic Studio to work on the release of her six-track debut album, including two sing-along karaoke tracks arranged and produced by renowned local music producer, Kenn Wu.

Throughout her hour-long performance, Chen recounted her journey as a singer and threw in little personal nuggets about the emotional highs and lows of having her dreams realized in this set of musical collaborations.

The highlight of the showcase was a duet Chen performed with Campus Superstar judge, Peter Chen. Besides the familiar tune previously performed by Stefanie Sun, it was her original self-penned tracks titled “You” and “Escape” that stood out in the five-song set performance. The skillfully crafted songs kept the crowd of 50 entertained. Overwhelmed by the love and support of her family, friends and co-workers, the petite singer burst into tears. To Chen, it was a moment to behold, as the sight of newfound fans that had gathered at the event square was a clear validation of her hard work as a recording artiste. Knowing that she could not have achieved all this alone, she tearfully said, “Thank you for the beautiful memories.”

Among those present at the launch were Christopher and Xiao Wei, both in their 30s and representatives of MStudio Singapore. The pair told City News that they were long-time friends and collaborators-at-work with the singer, adding that Chen “has what it takes” and that they were “definitely behind her.” Their actions spoke louder than words when they were one of the first in line to have their albums signed during the autograph session that followed.

Chen ended her heartfelt performance with a few parting words of advice: “Keep pursuing your dreams and never give up, as the day will come when you will finally be recognized for all your hard work.”

Chen Wei Qian’s debut album Love Caught will be sold at CD-Rama for S$8.90 from mid-May.