365 days, 7 families, 5 commendable siblings, 4 selfless caregivers and 3 outstanding siblings with one common motivation – a loved one.
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.
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 2022: Beautiful Inside & Out awardees – 5 commendable siblings, 4 selfless caregivers and 3 outstanding siblings! These awardees are true representatives of the many caregivers and siblings of Club Rainbow who give selflessly of their time to their loved ones.
Exemplary Caregiver Awardee, Mr Gan Keng Aik together with Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament Singapore (left) and Dr Sashikumar Ganapathy, President of Club Rainbow (Singapore).
Mr Gan, father of Aloysius and one of the Exemplary Caregiver awardees shared, ‘every parent must dare to dream that their kids can have a dream!’ Mr Gan supports his son’s passion for Boccia as a coach and athlete competition partner. Aloysius has been representing Singapore in the Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) for Boccia and brought pride to Singaporeans with his first gold medal from the Bahrain 2021 AYPG. Sharing similar sentiments, Karen who is a teacher, a mother of 2 children and a caregiver 24/7 for her son, Mikkel, strongly believes that no child is the same as another. Putting a lot of effort into learning special education techniques and therapy exercises, she hopes that Mikkel would be as independent as he can. Through Karen’s perseverance and guidance, Mikkel has achieved many goals and skills, which were far from an imagined possibility at the point of his diagnosis.
Sharing the same room since the birth of his little brother Yao An in 2008, Yao Kang has been a key part of his brother’s life even before the diagnosis of Yao An’s rare disorder in 2013. He was an elder brother to whom Yao An looks up and bonded very closely. With his brother’s condition degenerating over time from verbal to non-verbal, Yao Kang has never given up on communicating with this little brother and spends his daily life playing music with Yao An to encourage sensory stimulation. A Year 3 student at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine now, though with a demanding academic schedule, Yao Kang still makes time for Yao An. An avid supporter of siblings with special needs, Yao Kang recognises the important role of siblings in a family unit. He is the co-founder of SibsUnite, a volunteer-run organisation.
Like Yao Kang, Auni, an Exemplary Sibling awardee of 2022, takes care of her little brother, Royyan while her mother is at work since the passing of their father. The 11-year-old has stepped up to support her mother in caring for Royyan by encouraging him on every single step of his daily essentials, guiding him on how to get home, helping him with personal care, and supporting Royyan with his academics.
To hear more of our awardees, watch the Celebrating Heroes 2022 videos here:
Exemplary Caregiver Award 2022
Exemplary Sibling Award 2022
“It’s not what you look at matters, it’s what you see.”