www.eurasians.org.sg JUL - SEP 2019 Making A Nam e For Singapore anders • paige• Tia• liz • bryan • amiTa an OccasionTo remember • Workforce singapore • y outh identity Campaign CONTENTSapr - jun 012019 PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE 02 NEWS Occasion Of a Lifetime! 04 remembering Myrna Braga-Blake 05 alice Edith pennefather 10 06 In-HouseBalut Battle; rock & roll 15 07 Heritage Tea party To Get Volunteers On Board 02 08 ON THEJOB Ea & Workforce Singapore; job Listing 02 09 EDUCATION 11 FSS Bursaries For primary & Secondary Family Day at Community House Levels; percussion Workshop 12 YOUTH 14 EVENT 10 MEN’S SOCCER Eurasian-ish: a Youth Identity Celebrating Singapore’s 54th Fighting Fit On The Soccer pitch Campaign 15 FLYINGTHEFLAG 11 Florence Takes Off! 16 COVERFEATURE Making a name For Singapore 20 OURSTORIES My Sister Stephanie 22 HERITAGE & CULTURE Eurasian Women and Their Baju panjang; precious Familyportrait; How julia Found The perfect Outfit no part of this publication may be reproducedin any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. all rights reserved. MCI (p) 052/04/2018 THE Advertising Rates Series Discounts neweurasian Primepositions (full colour) Twiceayear: 5%discount Magazine of the EurasianAssociation, Singapore Bleedsize: 215mm x280mm; Typearea: 185mm x255mm Fourtimesa year:10%discount Toplace your ad, call the EAat 6447 1578 TheNewEurasianis published quarterly and read by InsideFrontCover:$1,200 InsideBackCover:$1,200 or email Natasha at [email protected] morethan17,000 Eurasiansin Singapore. OutsideBackCover:$1,500 LooseInserts: $1,500 It is circulated to seniorgovernmentoffices, Inside (Colour) Copymustbesubmitted twoweeksbeforepublication date variousministries, statutory boards,community FullPage:$1,000 Half Page:$600 Publication dates: 15 Jan,15 Apr,15 Jul,15 Oct* organisationsand self-help groups. QuarterPage:$300 * Datesmaychange The Eurasian association was established in july 1919. Visit us at 139 Ceylonroad, Singapore429744. Tel: 6447 1578 Fax:6447 3189 Email: [email protected] neweurasian | JUL - SEP 2019 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE THE EURASIAN ASSOCIATION SINGAPORE PATRONS Herman Hochstadt George Yeo TRUSTEES Barry Desker Timothy de Souza Gerald Minjoot Gerard de Silva judith prakash Edward D’Silva AUdIT COmmITTEE Helen Lee (Chair) Lim Yih Chyi ruby Cheah lEGAl AdvISORy bOARd Carla Barker (Chair) With artistes (L-R) SeanHongWei,Melissa Tham,JeremyMonteiro, Christy Smith andTamaGohat the EAFundraiser. William da Silva mANAGEmENT COmmITTEE President Dear fellow members alexius a. pereira 1st Vice President The past quarter has seen highs and lows made a huge impression on me, and it Vincent Schoon for the Ea. was she who got me involved in the Ea. I 2nd Vice President speak for all who knew her when I say she Yvonne pereira will be missed tremendously. Thank you Honorary Secretary Thehigh for us was the Charity Fundraising angelina Fernandez Dinner, held on 11 May at the jW Marriott Myrna for all you have done for the Ea, Honorary Treasurer Hotel, Singapore South Beach. Thanks to the Eurasian Community, and Singapore. Martin Marini all the hard work of the Dinner Organising Committee Members On that note, I would like to add that the Graham Ong-Webb Committee, the support of donors and julia D’Silva contributions in kind from friends and well Ea’s Centennial activities will be going Christopher Gordon wishers, the Earaised over$500,000. The into high gear this quarter. We have the Melanie rodrigues-Smith Ea would like to thank in particular Senior Eurasian Festival on 27 july, for which andrew pang we have lined up a great combination of Danni Danis Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam not Hannah Hendriks only for gracing the event as our Guest-of- music performances and activities. prime Christian Eber Honour but also for his inspiring speech Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be our and tribute to Eurasians. Guest-of-Honourat the Festival; please do SECRETARIAT come and say hello to him. Then, on 21 General Manager September, we will launch the Eurasian Lester Low The low was the passing of our dear friend Senior Accountant Dr Myrna Braga-Blake on 31 May at 83. Heritage Gallery with president Halimah Bernadette Soh Myrna was a key member of the Ea and Yacob as our Guest-of-Honour. We again Manager (Heritage & Culture) hope to see all of you at the launch. I am jacqueline peeris served on the Management Committee Asst Programme Executive (Heritage & in the late 1980s and early 1990s. as a sure you will be delighted at how beautiful Culture) natalie Kum trained social worker, she built up the Ea’s and informative the new Gallery is. Asst Manager, Corporate Communications welfare services, laying the foundation for natasha Darwood The Ea was formed in july 1919. Asst Manager (Casework, FSS) today’s Family Support Services. j. ramakrishnan Asst Manager (Admin) as a researcher, Myrna, together with ann all together now... “Happy 100th Birthday, Bridget Basnayake Ebert Oehlers, led a team to publish the Ea and many happy returns!” Programme Executive (Education) jolvin Wong landmark Singapore Eurasians: Memories Operations/Events Executive and Hopes. as a person, Myrna was soft- Gerard Goh spoken and very kind. I met her as a young Events Executive undergraduate as she was teaching at Hazel Soe Executive (Youth Engagement the national university of Singapore. She Dr alexius pereira and Special Projects) Vinitha Mukunthan Accounts Assistant ON THE COVER albert pok Youngpeople are what will drive the EAforward, andAndersAplin,Tia Rozario, PaigeHill, Elizabeth Sergeant-Tan, Bryan de RozarioandAmita Berthier are leading the wayto put Eurasians and Singapore on the map.All in their EdITORIAl TEAm teens or twenties, they are making a namefor their country and for themselves.Aswecelebrate our nation’s 54th angelina Fernandez (Chair) birthday and the EurasianAssociation’s 100th this year, let’s not forget that we havea whole future ahead of us. natasha Darwood Ion Danker an OPUS CrEaTIVE Hana Schoon 01 NEWS OCCASION OF A LIFETIME! In commemorating our centennial, the Ea more than met our target of raising half a million dollars to fund programmes that will help the less privileged in our community. Coming from friends and well wishers, the donations will go towards Ea’s Family Support Services and Education programmes. We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the Fundraising Dinner Committee: andrew pang, Gerry de Silva, Celeste Basapa, Quentin pereira, Brandon Barker, julia D’Silva, Hazel Soe and Vinitha Mukunthan, our chefs Quentin pereira and Kenneth Francisco, emcee Brian richmond, our talented performers jeremy Monteiro and Band, also Vernon Cornelius and Band, Carla, Deborah and Megan Barker accompanied by judith D’Silva, and again Megan and her dancers, and the Ea Dance Troupe for making it an occasion of a lifetime! Committee Chairman AndrewPang,Senior MInister TharmanShanmugaratnamand EAPresident DrAlexius Pereira. Left: NoEurasiancelebration without theJinkli Nona! Right: EAPresident Alexius Pereirawith SeniorMinister TharmanShanmugaratnam and his wife MsJaneYumiko Ittogi, andFundraisingDinner Committee Members(L-R) QuentinPereira,Julia D’Silva, Celeste Basapa, Gerryde Silva and AndrewPang. Eventplanner for the eveningBrandon Barker and emcee Brian Richmond. MPChristopherdeSouzastarting the Ball rolling with his motherPat. 02 neweurasian | JUL - SEP 2019 Guests(from top) Humphrey andLanette Conceicao, and Mr& Mrs Eduardo Ramos Gomezwith Celeste Basapa. ????????? Judith D’Silvaon the guitar accompanyingthe fabulous Barkergirls Carla,MeganandDeborahin atribute to their father/grandfather, formerLawMinister andcommunityleaderEddieBarker(pictured in suit in backdrop). Chefsextraordinaire Kenneth Francisco and Quentin Pereira with emceeBrian Richmond; theeleganttable setting. Above:MPJoanPereiragiving Olivia Stewart a bear hug.Left: EAdancerswith choreographer Valerie Scully. Below:Violet Oon,whowas conferred Lifetime AchievementAwardby SingaporeTourismBoardjust twodaysbefore the EAeventon 11 May,acknowledging our thanks for contributing aluckydrawgift for theevening. MaestroJeremyMonteiro at the piano andSingapore’s favourite popstar VernonCorneliusat the mike. Happyguestswith ChefQuentin Pereira 03 NEWS Remembering Myrna In1999, Myrna receivedthe Braga-Blake Outstanding Social Worker awardalongside current director 1936 - 2019 of social welfare forthe Ministry of Social andFamily Development, Ms AngBee Lian. In 1990, a group of young Eurasians got together in the Eurasian I turned to Myrna for a way to help the Government realise that association as members of the Management Committee to Eurasians too needed help in uplifting themselves through a contribute their efforts towards advancing the aims of the mechanism like a self-help group. She said: “The Eurasians are association. Myrna and I were in the Welfare Sub-committee successful indeed but that does not mean we don’t have those which focused on Eurasians who were on the margins of the who are ‘lesser-privileged’, those who are struggling with life.” livelihoods. Myrna had had vast experience in social service on a national level and working alongside her as we reached out to our Myrna then put together a report on the Eurasian community own Eurasians was an amazing experience for me, personally. entitled The Lesser-Privileged in the Eurasian Community, which proved there was a sizeable number of Eurasians in need of Myrna was the archetype social worker, familiar with the latest support. This study was a groundbreaking piece