Today Online 19 Aug 13;
SINGAPORE — With many young Singaporeans participating in community projects here and abroad, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday the Government will set up a volunteer youth corps to tap their idealism, energy and passion to “change Singapore and the world for the better”.
The youth corps will help by directing resources to young Singaporeans — especially students in the vocational and tertiary institutes — in the form of funding for projects, time off for full-time community service, as well as grants to continue serving the community after graduation, he said. Mentors will also be on hand to guide and advise these volunteers.
The initiative will match youths with “critical community needs” and help them “make a difference to our nation”, said Mr Lee.
Project NEPAL (Never Ending Passion and Love), which was started last year by Singapore Polytechnic students, was one of the examples that Mr Lee cited of young Singaporeans who were “doing good work”.
Some 30 students, alumni and lecturers visited Shree Janakalyan Lower Secondary School in Nagarkot village in Nepal in the project’s first expedition in March last year. They conducted science practical lessons, organised sports and art and craft lessons, and constructed a classroom and a rainwater harvesting system for the school.
The fifth and sixth trips under the project, which is part of the Youth Expedition Project under the National Youth Council, will take place next month and plans are already in place for a seventh trip next year.
ND Rally: New volunteer youth corps to be set up
Tan Qiuyi Channel NewsAsia 18 Aug 13;
SINGAPORE: A new volunteer youth corps will be set up to give young people more opportunities to work in the community.
There will also be resources like allowances for young Singaporeans who take time off to do community service full time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally Speech on Sunday.
Mr Lee noted that there are many young people doing good work in the community.
And he paid tribute to Singaporeans who have contributed in their own way, whether it was during the haze episode in June, or in volunteer projects overseas.
The government, he said, will do more to help those who want to serve.
Mr Lee said: "We want to encourage more young people to build a better world, and a better Singapore. You are our future, you're idealistic, full of energy and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the world, for the better."
The new volunteer youth corps will give young Singaporeans, especially those in polytechnics, Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) and universities, more opportunities and funding to run community projects.
And for those who intend to contribute full time, there's help coming in -- in the form of an allowance.
The youth corps will also match volunteers with critical needs in the community, which is especially important for those who are starting out.
Mentors will also be available to guide and advise young volunteers.
- CNA/al
Govt to fund volunteer youth corps
Elgin Toh Straits Times 19 Aug 13;
A VOLUNTEER youth corps will be set up to help spur the young to make a bigger difference to Singapore and to the world.
It is for those keen on community service and will be established and funded by the Government.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in announcing the move yesterday, urged young people to step up: "You are our future. You are idealistic, full of energy and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the world, for the better."
The new body will expand opportunities for community service in Singapore for young people, especially students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities. They may receive funding to start projects and, if necessary, be given time off from school to work full-time on community projects.
Grants will also be available for those who continue to be involved in the projects after graduation.
Young Singaporeans will receive guidance from mentors and be matched to areas where the community's needs are especially critical.
Young people who want to serve abroad can seek aid from the Youth Expedition Project, which will now be part of the new corps. The project, started in 2000, has supported more than 26,000 young people on 1,300 expeditions around Asia.
Among them is Ms Amanda Teng from Singapore Polytechnic, who went with fellow students to Nepal to build a classroom and a water system using rainwater.
"At first, the children looked at us funny because of the way we dressed and how we seemed to be from a different world. But when I was leaving, a 10-year-old boy, Galchen, cried," said the 19-year-old, who was in Nepal for two weeks.
"What I learnt was: the kids there don't have the best things but were very contented. Singaporeans should learn to appreciate better what we have."
