Charity Transparency Award 2023

The Charity Transparency Award (CTA), in its 9th year, continues to recognise charities with good disclosure practices and excellent work of charities while inspiring others to emulate their practices. Club Rainbow was awarded the Charity Transparency Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2022. 

This year 2023, we are proud to share that we are being awarded the Charity Transparency Award once again!

Special Commendation Award for Operational Efficiency

Not only that, for the first time, Club Rainbow (Singapore) has been awarded a Special Commendation Award for Operational Efficiency, the award is only handed out to 5 charities this year and we are proud to be one of the charities to receive the award.  

In our efforts of achieving operational efficiency, our Management Council is committed to regularly reviewing its own effectiveness that that of the Club. Doing regular self-assessment and performance evaluations are crucial to ensure that we are progressing efficiently towards achieving our mission and vision to serve our beneficiaries and their families effectively. 

Adopting the Skills assessment Matrix and 360 Feedback provides us the panoramic view of the skill sets and experience among the members. Evaluative insights derived from the Skills Assessment Matrix are critical in building a diverse foundation and addressing potential gaps from leadership and management to niche skills. 

Also using the Impact Metrics, a family of measures critical to the success of our mission and key indicators are clearly defined to track operational effectiveness and efficiency. Measuring the staff capacity and mobilisation of resources in client engagement, the efficacy of programmes and the intervention strategies and the impact through the improvements in our beneficiaries and families’ quality of life allows us to progress towards our mission and vision. 

With constant benchmarking and regular networking with previous years, other social service agencies, charities in social media engagement, allows a better understanding of our performance and gaps in our service models, allowing us to improve our beneficiaries’ quality of life as well as our media content. 

In an era where transparency and accountability are paramount in the charity sector, being able to measure and communicate the impact of our efforts is essential. By implementing the Impact Metric, it has given us a deeper sense of purpose, provided external stakeholders with a clearer understanding of the impact that Club Rainbow has on the lives of our beneficiaries and their families

Celebrating Heroes 2023: Beacon of Hope

365 DAYS, 4 COMMENDABLE SIBLINGS, 3 SELFLESS CAREGIVERS AND 1 OUTSTANDING SIBLING WITH ONE COMMON MOTIVATION – A LOVED ONE.

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Celebrating Heroes, an original event by Club Rainbow (Singapore) has been honouring countless caregivers and siblings over the decade. Taking a hiatus from 2021, we continue to recognise these heroes walking in our midst.

Starting as Caregivers Appreciation Day, the event evolved to Celebrating Heroes (CH) in 2015, where the first Exemplary Caregiver Award was presented. Whilst the common saying goes ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ but the most important support comes together as a family unit. Siblings are often forgettable when immediate priorities surround children with chronic illnesses. Acknowledging these young ones as part of the core support system of the family, we appreciate outstanding siblings too who share the daily responsibilities of caring for their brother or sister together with their parents.

Exemplary Caregiver Awardees Panel Discussion

This year, we received numerous nominations for many caregivers and siblings from all walks of life and even ages. After many tear-jerking encounters from the interviews with nominated caregivers and siblings, we are proud to share this year’s Celebrating Heroes 2023: The Beacons of Hope – 1 commendable sibling, 3 selfless caregivers and 4 outstanding siblings! These awardees are true representatives of the many caregivers and siblings of Club Rainbow who give their time selflessly to their loved ones.

Joanna Yap and her daughter Amelia, Exemplary Caregiver Awardee

Meet Joanna Yap, mother to Amelia and one of the Exemplary Caregiver Awardees. To help Amelia reach her fullest potential, she spares no expenses in finding activities, interventions and different resources that will be able to enrich Amelia in her swimming abilities and baking skills. From enlisting the help of her friends to impart baking skills and bible knowledge to Amelia so that she will be able to learn things that are outside of her school curriculum. To developing Amelia’s passion in baking and now enrolled in a pastry course in Delta Senior School.

She has done a lot beyond just being a mother; ensuring that Amelia works towards the goal of becoming a national swimmer; becoming a kindergarten teacher so she could be better equipped to teach Amelia.

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Exemplary Sibling Awardee, Wen Xin

As much as Wen Xin remembers, her brother was born normal and she always loved playing with him, taking care of him and being the older sister. At the age of 6, Wen Jie was diagnosed with a rare condition, leukodystrophy. He then received a bone marrow transplant operation: however, after the operation his condition deteriorated and began to lose his speech, sight and physical ability.

Wen Xin shows great responsibility in caring for Wen Jie especially when their parents are not around, Watching her brother’s lost of ability first hand at a young age has caused her lots of distress growing up, needing the help of art therapy. However, she uses these experiences to share and help others who are going through similar situations.

Now at the age of 18, Wen Xin is one of the- Exemplary Sibling Awardees. She is helping Wen Jie with his daily needs like suctioning and NGT feeding. She is not only able to take care of Wen Jie but her other younger brother as well. She is also a part of our programme, Youths for Rare, where she took part in a human library project with NUS and NTU school of medicine where she shared her journey with Wen Jie to medical students, showing great determination and courage to fight alongside her brother.

To hear more of our awardees, watch the Celebrating Heroes 2023 videos here:

Exemplary Caregiver Award 2023

Exemplary Sibling Award 2023

Care and Support - Being There For Your Child

Featuring 2022 Exemplary Caregiver Awardee, Mdm Junnie Lim

Mdm Junnie Lim, is the mother of Ashley, 19, and has been awarded the Exemplary Caregiver Award for taking care of Ashley. Mdm Lim works full-time, juggling her time to take care of her two daughters both with chronic illnesses.

Ashley began having chronic migraines 4 years ago and was diagnosed with small fibre neuropathy, Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) and Sjogren’s syndrome. Due to a lack of medical information locally and general awareness of Sjogren’s syndrome, an accurate prognosis regarding how Ashley’s case can be effectively treated or cured remains unclear.

When Mdm Lim takes care of Ashley, she shares that as a parent, it is brutal to endure seeing her daughter in pain every day. For Ashley, her condition warrants the use of a port-a-cath.

It has been very tiring for Mdm Lim over the years, constantly worrying for her daughters. They also started to plan for Ashley’s worst-case scenario during surgery. While death plans have always lurked in her mind since she has 2 daughters with chronic conditions, her younger daughter has 2 liver transplant surgeries which have given Mdm Lim the will to fight till the end for her daughter.

Mdm Lim shares that she finds the most joy when they have their family trips together. She finds that it provides quality family bonding time, clear from any digital distractions which lets them truly spend time with each other. She enjoys their travel together in December and always looks forward to it because, to her, no amount of money can buy their meaningful time together. During their vacations, Mdm Lim always plans ahead by seeking out the nearest hospital in case of emergencies and is prepared at all times.

Thanks to Club Rainbow, Mdm Lim has managed to get both financial and emotional support. Mdm Lim first came to know Club Rainbow 16 years ago through 2 doctors, who acted as her pillars of support, when she felt at her wits’ end as she learned that her younger daughter had biliary atresia (a congenital chronic disease where the bile ducts are blocked or too narrow). The Club Rainbow social workers made her feel like family as they helped her through the emotional roller coaster. Club Rainbow has also supported her financially for her younger daughter’s first liver transplant when she had difficulties raising the pre-surgery deposit and once again when her younger daughter underwent a second liver transplant.

Mdm Lim wants to tell the world that not every sickness has a cure, but that is not the end of the world. Not every parent has a smooth journey and she hopes that everyone has more empathy and sympathy toward parents who are going through tough journeys with children suffering from chronic illnesses and undiagnosed conditions. She believes parents with special needs children should tell their story to the world because if parents can talk about it publicly, they can destigmatise their child’s condition and create awareness. Being embarrassed does not help the child and certainly not those around them because those who have not journeyed with the parents will not understand how much the family has endured and how they can help.

Despite all odds in her circumstances, Ashley has stood her ground and fought her illness with positivity and resilience. She currently provides free tuition to children along the borders of Myanmar and Thailand and has registered for the Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) programme. Aspiring to be a social worker to give back to society, she applied for a psychology course at a Polytechnic, which she was accepted into. As we admire Ashley’s never-say-die attitude and wish her all the best, we hope you share her story with your friends and family to raise awareness and support Ashley and her family in their journey.

Celebrating Heroes 2022

Watch the Exemplary Caregiver Video - click here

A son's first hero

Featuring 2022 Exemplary Caregiver Awardee, Mr Gan Keng Aik

Mr Gan, the father of Aloysius Gan, 16, has been awarded the Exemplary Caregiver Award for his efforts in taking care of Aloysius. Mr Gan currently works in physical security at the management level, overseeing the company operations while juggling his responsibilities with his son.

Aloysius, who attends a special needs school, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. Due to his condition, Aloysius uses a wheelchair and does not have clear speech. But while his motor skills are affected, resulting in reduced finesse in his hands and fingers, Aloysius can independently handle basic tasks in his daily life.

Just like any child, Aloysius’ daily routine revolves around waking up and going to school. Typically, his mother would send him to school and when Mr Gan gets to go into the office later, he spends his morning sending Aloysius to school. In the afternoon, Aloysius’ mum picks him up and sends him to Boccia training until the evening when he will return home for dinner and homework before going to bed. Admirably, Aloysius’ condition has hardly gotten the better of him and against the odds, he has succeeded in representing Singapore on the national team for Boccia and is a Gold medallist in the recent ASEAN Para Games and Asian Youth Para Games.

When Mr Gan takes care of Aloysius, he mentions that one of the most challenging times was the preparation for Aloysius’ Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE). While his condition does not impact his IQ, Aloysius takes a longer time to grasp concepts and requires lots of practice papers. It was a tedious and repetitive process as Mr Gan had to go through a concept many times. Fortunately, Mr Gan and his wife divide and conquer as they split tasks to efficiently help Aloysius; Aloysius’ mother tackles Mathematics and English while Mr Gan teaches Science. Due to his condition, Aloysius cannot write and has to use a special keyboard that significantly slows him down, warranting almost double the time for each exam paper.

While it can get arduous at times, Mr Gan shares that the most important aspect of caring for Aloysius is finding out how to nurture and mentor him to inculcate the right attitude toward life; to ensure Aloysius has resilience and determination such that despite other people viewing him differently, he can nonetheless rise above it and accomplish his goals. Whether Aloysius succeeds or fails at doing something, Mr Gan always encourages Aloysius. He commends him or motivates him to try again so that Aloysius learns and grows from his experiences.

As a father holding a full-time job, Mr Gan may need to travel overseas for work once every 1 or 2 months. However, he finds that there is always a choice in life and does not feel stressed or burdened to take care of Aloysius. Although Mr Gan may be busy, he actively spends time with his family when he is off work or entire Saturdays with Aloysius in Boccia training. Whether it is family, friends or hobbies, he believes it is a personal preference to choose how time is spent and he chooses his family. Mr Gan feels the most joy when he bonds with Aloysius. Going overseas for competitions allows him to spend quality father-son time with Aloysius. Some of the most meaningful experiences Mr Gan holds dear include the adventure and little moments he shares with his son because whether it is victory or defeat, he sticks by his son. They will win, lose, suffer and share the glory together.

To him, it is the journey that counts, not the destination.

Thanks to Club Rainbow’s support, Aloysius has been receiving funding through the Talent Development Fund (TDF) over the last few years, enabling them to purchase better Boccia equipment and balls for training and competitions that boost Aloysius’ gameplay.

Lastly, Mr Gan wants to tell the world that whether it is cerebral palsy or other illnesses, it remains up to the individual to decide what it means for their life. With the support of family and friends, any child can realise their dream and not let their condition limit them. Mr Gan believes that everyone has the right to chase their dream and live a fulfilled life.

Among other competitions, Aloysius will be playing for Singapore in the 2023 ASEAN Para Games. We wish the father-son duo the best of luck and hope that you can share their story with your friends and family to raise awareness and support them in their journey.

Written by: HCI Project Butterfly Effect
Edited by: Club Rainbow (Singapore)

Ride for Rainbows 2022 and 30th Anniversary Birthday Bash

Club Rainbow (Singapore)’s biggest event of the year, Ride for Rainbows 2022 and the 30th Anniversary Birthday Bash have successfully concluded on 27 November 2022.

The physical Ride for Rainbows is back after being virtual for 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic!

In conjunction with Club Rainbow (Singapore)’s 30th Anniversary, this year's edition for Ride for Rainbows is met with a hybrid format, giving our riders the flexibility to participate in a physical or virtual ride. We also had a birthday bash carnival with a tons of carnival games and rides at the end of the physical ride to celebrate this very special day and spend a fun filled day with our beneficiaries and their families!

On that day, there were over 600 participants and volunteers who turned up at Marina Barrage. This includes 78 families, close to 200 riders and over 100 staff and volunteers.

With that, we would like to take this opportunity to express our utmost gratitude to all our supporting parties, including our beneficiaries and their families, sponsors, riders, donors, staff and volunteers! This event would not be possible without everyone’s help and support. 

We hope to see you all again for Ride for Rainbows next year!

Please email rfr@clubrainbow.org to be a part of Ride for Rainbows next year!

Club Rainbow : Excellence and Tertiary Awards 2022

Education is one of the core pillars of support at Club Rainbow (Singapore) and we believe that it is the foundation and stepping stone in developing the potential of our beneficiaries. The Excellence & Tertiary awards are an opportunity to recognize our beneficiaries’ efforts and celebrate their successes. These awards are for those who completed their major national examinations like PSLE or N levels last year and for those in tertiary institutions.

This year, we presented 3 categories of awards - Excellence, Progress and Outstanding Character. 

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Our Excellence Award winners have performed exceptionally in their major national examinations and in their tertiary institutions.

Excellence Awards recipients:

• Aiden Chan Yen Peng

• Ng Gin Hon Royce

• Eswaran S/O Raja 

Our Progress Awards winners have displayed perseverance in their academics and have overcome challenges to make significant improvements.

 Progress Awards recipients:

• Victoria Tan Hui En

• Vasanthii D/O Raja

Our Outstanding Character Awards winners have participated actively in school and the community, displayed exemplary conduct and leadership qualities, and above all, inspired others by being role models.

Outstanding Character Awards recipients:

• Aniq Irfan Bin Norhisham

• Siti Nur Alawiyah Binti Kamsani