Learning Centre Receives 700+ Participants, Visitors in 2nd Month

Saturday, Jul. 4, 2009 Posted: 7:54:40PM HKT

(Photo: Ngee Ann Polytechnic)

The new Focus on the Family learning centre is getting off to a good start, having attained nearly half the monthly goal for the number of participants and visitors in just the second month of operations.

With more than 700 participants and centre visitors in June, the setup, according to Focus on the Family Singapore Chairman Mr Tan Thuan Seng, is “well on [its] way to achieving [the target of 1,500 constituents per month by mid 2010]”.

This is in spite of the H1N1 global pandemic, Mr Tan noted in his reply to an email interview by The Christian Post.

The Learning Centre, which is located within the Community Hub, a 3,600 metres space within Jurong Point, will offer four new programmes in addition to the ministry’s wide range of family education courses.

With the 600 square metres of rent-free space allotted by the National Council of Social Service to the ministry to set up the Learning Centre, Focus on the Family aims to extend its reach and expand its family education services by 100 percent over the next three years with a concentration on West Singapore.

The additional space will also enable Focus on the Family to launch several cutting edge “brain fitness” programmes for children aged three to 16 years designed to enhance learning.

Jurong Point adopted a URA scheme designed to incentivise property owners to make available valuable space for use by voluntary welfare organisations to provide community services. This is a significant Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of the owners of Jurong Point; namely, Lee Kim Tah Holdings Ltd and Guthrie GTS Ltd. The Head Lease for the Community Hub was granted to the National Council of Social Service, according to Mr Tan.

Other beneficiaries are The Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Handicap Society of Singapore, Alzheimer’s Association and NTUC Child Care.

The Learning Centre has held its soft opening on May 2 and is anticipating its official opening on July 11 by Mayor Dr Amy Khor. Around 200 people, adults and children, attended the Open House on May 23 which included two talks.

Arising from this Open House, the ministry has signed up 23 children for Learning Skills Evaluations and 16 for Brain Fitness Programmes. Focus on the Family has already started running several Parent Education and Volunteer and Facilitator Training Programmes.

New programmes offered at the Focus on the Family Learning Centre include: Learning Skills Evaluation, a battery of tests to determine a child’s learning strengths and weaknesses; Fast Forward, which uses patented technology to improve listening, language and literacy skills; Revamp, a powerful exercise-based programme to improve a child’s visual-motor coordination; and Play Attention, which uses cutting-edge neuro-feedback technology to help a child with attention and concentration.

Because the brain fitness programmes are offered on a one-to-one basis, the costs of delivering the programmes are high. While the ministry has aligned its fee structure to that offered by other charity service providers, affordability is still a significant issue.

Focus on the Family will be launching a Bursary Fund with seed funding provided by the Wan Boo Sow Foundation at its official opening, and is seeking for more donations into this Bursary Fund so that the ministry can help more families to access these programmes.

The Centre is some 20 to 30 percent ahead of budget, said Mr Tan.

Edmond Chua
Christian Post Reporter