SPEECH BY MR CHAN SOO SEN, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE 15TH PROJECT CABIN – “THE MERAHAN COVE”, 2 APRIL 2005, AT 10.00AM AT BUKIT MERAH SECONDARY SCHOOL, 10 LENGKOK BAHRU

Mr Koh Choon Hui

Chairman, Singapore Children’s Society

Mr Ridzwan Bin Dzafir )

Dr Robert Loh and ) Directors of Press Foundation of Singapore

Mr Joseph F. De Conceicao )

Mrs Chin Lai Yoke

Principal, Bukit Merah Secondary School

Mr Alex Lee

Vice-Chairman, Social Work Service Standing Committee, Singapore

Distinguished Guests

Boys and Girls

Good morning

Introduction

1. It is my pleasure to join you this morning at Bukit Merah Secondary School for the official launch of the 15th Project CABIN – “Merahan Cove”, a partnership between the Singapore Children’s Society and Bukit Merah Secondary School. Project CABIN is not new to me. In fact, this is the second time I have been invited to officially launch a new CABIN. Back in 23 November 1999, when I was then Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Community Development (now known as the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports), I was invited to open the CABIN at Naval Base Secondary School. Though a few years have passed, I continue to believe that Project CABIN is a relevant outreach and developmental project that provides our youth with opportunities to take part in meaningful after-school activities, such as workshops, talks and group work.

2. Today’s launch of Project CABIN at Bukit Merah Secondary School also marks the move of the Project operating from customised containers to classroom premises. Here, an appropriately located classroom has been converted into a CABIN drop-in centre for the students. Despite the change in the facade of the CABIN, the Merahan Cove has proven its attraction as evidenced by the good visitor record so far. 43 per cent of Bukit Merah Secondary’s total school population has participated in the CABIN-initiated programmes since its inception in July 2004. I believe that this is largely due to the successful programmes introduced in the CABIN by the Singapore Children’s Society.

New Programmes at Project CABIN

3. The Singapore Children’s Society has always strived to improve on its services. Since its establishment in 1994, Project CABIN has undergone several revamps to meet the changing needs of students. One of the new programmes is “TalkSHOP”. TalkSHOP is a workshop conducted by the CABIN staff for some classes during their PCCG/CME lessons. Varied topics are discussed during TalkSHOP, ranging from boy-girl relationships, sexuality education, positive self-esteem, dealing with peer pressure, to anger and stress management. I hope that our students will find that discussing and sharing their thoughts on such topics both useful and relevant.

4. In addition to TalkSHOP, Project CABIN also started another programme “I Say, U Say”. “I Say, U Say” takes the form of informal small group discussions with student visitors during the CABIN operating hours. The objectives are to create an opportunity for students to share their views as well as to learn from the discussion with their peers and the CABIN staff on any issues that are of interest to them. So unlike TalkSHOP, the discussion topics in “I Say, U Say” can be about anything under the sun. Students can talk about articles of interest that they read in the newspapers, programmes they watched on television, or their experiences in and out of school.

5. Last year, 123 TalkSHOPs and 50 sessions of “I Say, U Say” were conducted, benefiting some 4171 students in the various partnering schools[1] with Project CABIN. Today’s environment is quite different from what I experienced when growing up. Our youth are being exposed to many more influences, both internal and external, not all of which are positive, at the crucial development stage in their lives in which what they experience and do often shapes who they are to become in the future. I strongly believe that the positive mentoring influence offered by such programmes will help our students to better cope during their growing up years.

Future Initiatives of Project CABIN

6. This year, Project CABIN will be focusing on training the CABIN Club members to further develop their peer counselling skills, so that they can provide peer support to their fellow students. The concept of training students to help other students can be very useful, especially when youths characteristically prefer to turn to their peers for help, support and advice. Already, CABIN Club members undergo a basic training course, “Peer Befriending Training”, which is conducted by a social worker and counselor from the Singapore Children’s Society, and consists of six sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours. CABIN Club members learn basic communication skills, and come away with a basic awareness of the problems youths might face and how best to handle these problems. As part of further training, I understand that the professional staff from the Singapore Children’s Society, together with some CABIN Club representatives from each CABIN are orgainsing a Peer Befrienders’ Seminar on 16 July this year. The objective of this seminar is to share Basic Peer Befriending skills through Forum Theatre, which involves a group of professional drama actors and actresses who will put up case scenarios. CABIN Club members will then have to utilise their befriending skills to act out and solve the cases. There will also be group discussions among the students on the case scenarios, and a social worker or counsellor from the Singapore Children’s Society will be attached to each group to help facilitate the discussion.

7. The staff of the Singapore Children’s Society will also continue to organise interesting programmes for students after school hours. I am very happy to hear that some of these programmes have been very well received by the students. One of these programmes was the Sushi Making Class, which was conducted last year with over 30 students. The response was so good that some students had to be put on the waiting list. The students enjoyed themselves very much, sharing their delicious sushi with their friends, teachers and their family members. Many students have provided feedback that they hope to have more of such interesting programmes organised for them after school hours.

8. I was also informed that the beautifully designed bookmarks that we received today as door gifts are made by the CABIN Club members as well as the student visitors during the recent hand painting sessions conducted by the Merahan Cove to teach the students a new skill. I feel greatly encouraged that our students are participating in such meaning activities after school, learning new skills, and are engaging in thought-provoking and critical discussion with their peers as well as the professional workers in the CABIN. The positive feedback given by students at the end of each programme reflects that the CABIN programmes are moving towards the right direction.

9. In conclusion, I would like to commend and congratulate Singapore Children’s Society and Bukit Merah Secondary School for undertaking this meaningful and challenging partnership. This is made possible with sponsorship from the Press Foundation of Singapore. It is through partnerships of this nature, between the home, school and community, that we can nurture our children into resilient and confident young adults, with the skills and attitudes that will help them to do well in life and the heart to contribute to the wider community. I wish Project CABIN – “The Merahan Cove” all the best.

Thank you.

[1] There were 13 secondary schools – New Town, Whitley, Choa Chu Kang, Regent, Naval Base, Unity, Bartley, Queenstown, Beatty, Balestier Hill, Bukit Merah, Braddell-Westlake, and Bishan Park.