Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,

36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

Tel: 3757794/5

Good afternoon

Assoc Prof Low Seow Chay, MP for Choa Chu Kang

Dr John Ang, President, Fei Yue Management Committee

Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for inviting me to join you today at the official opening of Fei Yue Choa Chu Kang Family Service Centre. After successfully managing the first centre in Bukit Batok for the past eight years, Fei Yue is well-placed to set up this second centre. Fei Yue’s impressive track record includes being one of the first FSCs to conduct parent support groups for Mandarin speaking mothers, and hosting a Counselling Talk Show on radio. You have done good work and I commend you for your initiatives and efforts.

Since July last year, Fei Yue has been operating from Teck Whye. To provide services and programmes that suit the needs of the community, a study was conducted to to map out the profile and needs of residents in Choa Chu Kang. The study revealed that the majority of residents here comprise parents with young children or teens. Their main concerns relate to parenting issues, youth problems and marital issues. In the older part of the estate, in the Teck Whye area, most of the concerns, in contrast, were related to the needs and care of the elderly.

After studying the needs of Choa Chu Kang residents,Fei Yue decided to provide counselling services and legal consultation to families. It will also develop and nurture mothers’ support groups, and conduct parenting and marriage enrichment workshops at this centre.

Fei Yue will continue to have programmes for both the young and old to foster inter-generational relationships. It is running a Reading and Interpersonal Skills Enrichment (RAISE) programme for children at this new FSC and a Retirees Centre at Chua Chu Kang Community Club. These are just some examples of how the Centre will better serve the community and facilitate the building of strong and stable families. I strongly encourage the residents of Choa Chu Kang to make full use of the excellent services and programmes provided by this Centre.

In the development of family service centres, my Ministry is working towards the three "A" attributes. They are:

• Availability of programmes – that is, programmes must be comprehensive, well-distributed and easily accessible.

• Affordable programmes - so that everyone has access to them; and

• "A-class" quality programmes – where high quality, effective and relevant programmes to meet the rising expectations of Singaporeans. Clients can be assured that the social workers at FSCs are professionally trained and are in the position to help them.

To help the public identify family service centres which have these three "A"s, my Ministry is launching an FSC Logo Design Competition today. Only centres which meet the Ministry’s definition of a full-fledged FSC, one with the four core programmes – casework and counselling, information referrals, volunteer development and family life education – and have the three ‘A"s, will be allowed to display the logo.

Still on the subject of quality service for families and the community, I am pleased to note that, in line with my Ministry’s thrust towards "A-class" quality service, Fei Yue has added another feather to its cap by distinguishing itself as the first FSC to receive the ISO 9002 certification. This means that residents in Choa Chu Kang can be assured of quality service from this FSC.

The Ministry applauds Fei Yue’s mission to deliver quality of service to your clients and to track service effectiveness by pursuing an ISO9002 certificate and documentation. You have set precedence. Voluntary welfare organisations are now challenged to look more closely at how they too can evaluate themselves on service quality.

It is my hope that the residents of Choa Chu Kang will take part in the programmes available at this FSC. I also encourage residents to volunteer their services to help the needy, whether in tuition, befriending or in organising activities. This is your FSC and with your involvement, much can be done to enrich your community.

Someone once said, "We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour." Fei Yue is ready to serve you. I hope that community leaders, schools, and residents of Choa Chu Kang will come together to serve your neighbours, and give Fei Yue the support it deserves.

Before I end, allow me to congratulate Fei Yue on the opening of its second FSC, for doing a good job in helping families manage their responsibilities more effectively and nurturing strong families. I wish the management and staff of Fei Yue every success in the running of this FSC and I wish all of you a very pleasant afternoon.