World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) Down Syndrome the World Celebrations at MINDS on March 21, 2019 Held the Apart from Extra Meaning for Us This Year
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MCI (P) 073/12/2019 In 2019 Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day with our first illustrated the heart voice storybook launch of special people p.14 Mindspeak Big-hearted and always MINDS’ first student care A special trip to the there: centre: Parliament: Celebrating the dedication and Take a look inside MINDS Raintree What were our self-advocates 1 generosity of our volunteers and p.8 up to at the Parliament of donors p.16 Singapore? p.28 The heart voice of special people Events Feeling the pulse of MINDS 01 CEO’s Message 02 MINDS Film Festival Prelude 2019 04 MINDS Film Festival 2020 CEO’s 01 06 Schools’ Graduation Ceremony 2019 08 Opening of MINDS first Special Student Care Centre 10 Of friendships, plants and inclusivity: Opening of the Friendship Garden @ Woodlands! 12 Launch of MINDS’ illustrated storybook series – A Place For Us STAYING RESILIENT, STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE 14 Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year from the Allow me to start by saying that as I reading this, I would like you to know 16 Volunteers & Donors Appreciation Day celebration MINDS team! went around engaging the different that MINDS is committed to supporting parts of the MINDS family, I am full you in every way we can, so that 18 Chefs & service staff in the making of admiration, very encouraged together as a team we can better help and significantly inspired by the your charges to gain abilities to live as 20 Four weddings and a celebration: Racial Harmony Day commitment, conviction and passion independently as possible, with quality. to continue to serve the children and at Yishun Training & Development Centre 2020 will be an important year for us as adults that have been entrusted to our Equipping Clients to be Future we continue on this journey to strive for care and nurturing throughout 2019, Ready. excellence; be it advocating for greater 22 Taking bold steps to conduct inclusive research despite the changes that MINDS was inclusivity through our signature MINDS experiencing. As we proudly witnessed 2019’s cohort Film Festival in Jan 2020, or supporting of final-year MINDS school students caregivers with other complementing Particularly I want to thank the MINDS graduating on 9 November, we are services or programmes such as health Engagements Senior Management team under the also encouraged that some of them were management with the opening of a stewardship of Deputy CEO, who the first to undergo a cyber-wellness second disability clinic in July 2020, Shining the spotlight on stakeholder engagements continued to stabilise the ship, guiding curriculum in an interactive manner, or helping out adult clients’ learning the tribe to remain resilient and stay on readying them to move on to the next through the rolling out of an adult 23 Hockey fun with the Singapore Hockey Federation course to fulfil our Vision. chapter of their learning journey. learning curriculum to seamlessly flow over from our schools. Building Greater Inclusivity. These milestones may be small, but 24 A Sea of Abilities at Purple Parade 2019 they represent MINDS desire to strive The road to making Singapore an To build a culture of inclusiveness in for excellence in everything we do, inclusive society is a work in progress 26 Clementi TDC crowned champions at Bukit Timah and the Singapore society for our clients, so that we can improve to ensure that that we at MINDS are committed to MINDS Family Day MINDS commissioned a six-volume our services evolve to best support the secure; hand in hand with our clients, 23 storybook series, titled ‘A Place for realisation of our clients’ aspiration, in caregivers and other key stakeholders. Us’. These books were inspired by real- consultation with their caregivers and Let us continue to stay resilient and life stories from our MINDS students. family members. strive for excellence. All six books are available for loan Experience from public libraries and also sold at We are not able to do this alone; our Peering through the lens of those journeying with us local bookstores such as Popular. It is volunteers have and will continue to an easy read; I strongly encourage play instrumental roles in this regard. 28 OLOV’s trip to the Parliament of Singapore everyone to take some time during this At the 2019 Volunteers and Donors festive season to read them. Appreciation Day, I was humbled by Mindspeak 30 Ready for Work at WEDC! our volunteers’ generosity to share Building Resilient Caregivers. their time, treasures and talent, for the betterment of our clients’ life. Our 31 Inclusivity in the form of kawaii bentos To support the caregivers of special volunteers’ dedication and efforts Mr Kelvin Koh needs students, we opened the MINDS motivate us at MINDS to do better as Chief Executive Officer, 28 Raintree Special Student Care Centre an organisation for our clients. 32 A Day of Sports and Fun with MINDS MYG MINDS in September 2019. For the caregivers 01 Events 02 The heart voice of special people MINDS Film Festival disability,” He said. Mr Koh also added that this screening “has opened up a new audience for MINDS to spread the message on community inclusivity.” “Now more than ever, as we move forward as a society, we need to be more inclusive than segregated, a model that Mr John Vanier based L’Arche upon,” said Mr Koh. Ms Bedos’ film chronicles Mr Vanier’s life and the experiences that motivated him to start L’Arche. Mr Vanier, a Canadian An audience member poses humanitarian, founded the L’Arche a question to the panellists (French for ‘the Ark’) model which is dedicated to the creation and growth of homes, programs and support networks for people with intellectual disabilities. The director, Ms Frédérique Bedos, giving an introduction to the film before the screening The organisation currently operates in 38 countries and spans 153 communities. The model has been proven successful in various western countries and some HDB flat. Ms Koh shared that they help receptive towards helping persons with Asian countries such as Japan, India one another, as well as their neighbours, intellectual disabilities, which helps with and the Philippines. and have integrated seamlessly into the MINDS’ eventual goal of widening the community. She also shared that some reach of community-based care, instead The screening was followed by a of MINDS’ programmes, such as the of institutionalising clients. dialogue session with Ms Bedos, MeToo! Club also sees volunteers going Ms Koh Gee May, Deputy CEO of into clients’ homes to interact and Said Ms Koh: “I think as long as we’re MINDS, Mr Vimallan Manokara, Head befriend them in the way that L’Arche able to educate the public and to let of MINDS Institute of Intellectual and communities are run. them see the value of our clients and Developmental Disabilities (MIIDD), how they’re able to help others and the and was facilitated by Mr Sherman Ho “The philosophy, the vision (of John community, we are taking a step closer from the Singapore Film Society. Vanier), and the service we provide to building an inclusive society.” should be based on this model where we give clients’ choices. We want the As a prelude to the upcoming MINDS Film Festival “What he (Mr Vanier) is proposing with L’Arche is a shift in mindset,” said Ms clients to tell us what is it that they want, rather than us telling them what they (From left to right): Post-screening dialogue (15 - 19 Jan 2020), MINDS held a screening of Bedos during the session. “The way I see it, the way society treats the weakest want,” Ms Koh said. “Moving forward, session on community inclusiveness and John Vanier: The Sacrament of Tenderness at people is a very powerful barometer of we will definitely take inspiration from the film with our panellists, Mr Sherman Orchard Cineleisure on November 16, 2019, how advanced and civilised we are.” today’s movie screening. After hearing Ho from the Singapore Film Society, Ms Saturday, with almost 140 movie goers in Having this mindset allows for a better from the man himself, I think we are Frédérique Bedos, director of Jean Vanier: society to be built, one that is respectful probably on the right track. We’re The Sacrament of Tenderness, Ms Koh attendance. Each guest was also given a packet of and mindful of everyone, including looking to see if some of the components Gee May, Deputy CEO of MINDS and those with intellectual disabilities. of the L’Arche can be implemented into IF YOU MISSED MINDS Bakers cookies in special festive pouches. OUR FILM Mr Vimallan Manokara, Head of MINDS more of our programmes.” FESTIVAL Institute of Intellectual and Developmental Ms Koh said Mr Vanier’s goal to integrate persons with intellectual disabilities into When an audience member asked PRELUDE IN Disabilities (MIIDD) Joining them was the director of MINDS, thanked the French Embassy what were the barriers identified when NOVEMBER, the film, Ms Frédérique Bedos, the for giving MINDS this opportunity to be local communities resonates strongly with MINDS’ aim to ensure a quality of adapting such a model for a local Ambassador of France to Singapore, part of the French Film Festival this year. context, Ms Koh acknowledged that His Excellency Mr Marc Abensour, Mr life, as independently as possible, for anyone with intellectual disability. His culture was one such factor MINDS Anthony Chaumuzeau, the Counsellor “Film is a powerful platform to engage had to take into consideration when philosophy runs parallel with several Mindspeak for Culture, Education & Science at the public and raise public awareness, Join us at MINDS Film Festival MINDS programmes which is modelled analysing the feasibility of adapting the Embassy of France in Singapore, seed discussions and even shape from January 15 – 19, 2020, on community-based care, she said.