SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG AT MERCY RELIEF STAKEHOLDERS’ NITE CUM 5TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER , 20 OCTOBER 2008, 8.30PM AT SINGAPORE SOKA ASSOCIATION

1.        I am delighted to join you this evening for Mercy Relief’s Stakeholders’ Nite and 5th Anniversary dinner.
 
2.        Mercy Relief started off as a modest initiative by the Muslim charitable organisation, Perdaus.  It is now an independent organisation, enjoying strong and active volunteer support.  It attracts and brings together energetic and enthusiastic people of all races, religions and backgrounds to fulfil its mission.  More than 75% of volunteers and 65% of donors are non-Muslims.  Since its inception, Mercy Relief has embraced a global outlook.  It extends humanitarian assistance to all, regardless of country, culture or creed. 

Appreciation for Mercy Relief’s Work
 
3.        There are two main types of international humanitarian work – disaster relief and development.  Mercy Relief had previously focused on disaster relief.  In the past five years, its volunteers have gone to war-torn Afghanistan, earthquake-hit Pakistan and Tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia, and many other places.  In May this year, Mercy Relief responded effectively to provide relief to cyclone-battered Myanmar and earthquake-hit Sichuan in China.  It distributed nearly $1 million worth of relief supplies and equipment, and sent teams to run reconstruction projects, such as deploying water treatment systems and rebuilding schools. 
 
4.        Recently, Mercy Relief has also begun to do development work.  It is operating several longer-term projects focused on capacity-building and teaching self-reliance.  In China and Indonesia, its volunteers are constructing water points to provide clean water to poor families, and deploying bio-gas facilities to provide a low-cost, clean and sustainable energy source.
 
5.        The good work that Mercy Relief has done in these areas has been deeply appreciated by local communities.  In relief operations, the lives of humanitarian workers are often put at risk when they enter a disaster site to help others.  They may take some precautions, but aftershocks, landslides and water-borne diseases are common.  I applaud Mercy Relief’s staff and volunteers for your courage, tenacity and compassion.

Increasing Global Consciousness in Singapore
 
6.        The growth of Mercy Relief has been part of a growing interest in international humanitarian work among Singaporeans.  The Government had supported these efforts in several ways.  Our junior colleges and tertiary institutions regularly sponsor student groups to go overseas for short stints of volunteer work.  The Youth Expedition Project, which was launched in 2000, has supported over 15,000 youths in more than 700 overseas community service projects.  The Singapore International Foundation also runs several programmes for young people wishing to do longer stretches of overseas volunteer work.

7.        We encourage youths to do international volunteerism work as a good way to build resilience and nurture a strong sense of community and service.  Taking youth away from their comfort zone allows them to discover their strengths and weaknesses, learn the importance of teamwork and gain self-confidence by overcoming difficult challenges.  It is also important that youth are given the opportunity to explore the wider world, and come to appreciate that Singapore is a unique society very different from most countries around us.  At the same time, through these projects they learn to understand our neighbours and their challenges, not just abstractly or intellectually, but as fellow human beings striving for better lives.

8.        Increasingly, youths are organising their own groups to volunteer overseas, and an entire ecosystem has sprung up to support such programmes.  Several organisations, such as Raleigh Society, Habitat for Humanity and YMCA Singapore, regularly send youth overseas on humanitarian projects.  These are largely funded through public donations and contributions from philanthropic organisations like the Tote Board, Lee Foundation, Tan Ean Kiam Foundation and Khoo Teck Puat Education Fund.

9.        This is an encouraging development.  It shows that more Singaporeans are now ready to contribute and make a difference, and not simply express a view and expect someone else to make the effort.  It shows that we are gradually becoming a more mature and global citizenry, prepared to do our part for the international community.

Working Together as Team Singapore

10.        I am glad that experienced teams like Mercy Relief are helping the newer teams to find their footing.  I am told that when new non-government organisations (NGOs) go to work in Aceh and Meulaboh, the local authorities refer them to study Mercy Relief projects as exemplary models.  In Meulaboh and Nias, Mercy Relief’s Posko Temasek, or command centres, assisted not only its own teams but all Singapore teams.  This is commendable.  Experienced teams should share their expertise, networks and resources.  In this way, we can build up the overall capabilities of all Singapore teams. 

11.        All too often, NGOs trip over one another when operating in the same disaster site.  After a major disaster, lots of groups want to help, but if their efforts are not coordinated and aligned the results will be confusion and frustration.  For major deployments, it is important that Singapore teams work together overseas.  Fortunately, we have a good record of doing this.  The Tsunami Reconstruction and Facilitation Committee was one good example.  Leading international humanitarian organisations such as the Mercy Relief, the Singapore Red Cross and the Singapore International Foundation came together to manage the Tidal Waves Asia Fund and coordinate the people sector’s involvement in the affected countries.  This collaboration continued even when the organisations went abroad.  It is encouraging that when our humanitarian organisations go out for their missions, we have done so as Team Singapore.

Conclusion

12.        Every Mercy Relief personnel and volunteer on humanitarian missions wears a vest proudly emblazoned with a badge of the Singapore flag.  You are thus a representative of our nation, bringing help and hope to communities in pain and suffering, showing the socially responsible, humane side of Singapore to the world.

13.        I congratulate Mercy Relief on its 5th Anniversary.  You have grown to become a widely-respected organisation within this short span.  I hope that we will have many more home-grown humanitarian organisations achieving the same success.  Together, we can show that while Singapore may be a tiny dot, we are a country with a big heart.