PM Lawrence Wong at SPD's 60th Anniversary Dinner

President of SPD, Ms Ong Toon Hui,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am happy to join all of you this evening to celebrate SPD's 60th anniversary. Truly, there is much to give thanks and be grateful for, because it is six decades of helping persons with disabilities, supporting their families, and shaping Singapore into a more inclusive society. So thank you everyone for doing your part and being here to celebrate this remarkable milestone.

SPD’s Journey

When SPD was founded in 1964 as the Society for Aid to the Paralysed, its focus was on helping those with physical disabilities find jobs.

Over the years, SPD expanded its services beyond employment support.

It gave out scholarships and bursaries to students. It provided skills training and help them access more opportunities at work.

It provided valuable rehabilitative services, including the use of assistive technologies. And this has opened up new possibilities for many to live, travel, learn, and work independently.

And more than 10 years ago, SPD broadened its mission to serve persons with all forms of disabilities, not just physical disabilities; and it has also been extending support to caregivers and their families.

Throughout its 60-year journey, SPD has always been looking for new approaches to support persons with disabilities. A good example is how it piloted the first Enabling Services Hub, serving persons with disabilities living in Bedok and Tampines. As the first provider of this new service, there were naturally teething issues and hurdles. But SPD adapted and refined its approaches, and this paved the way for more hubs in other parts of Singapore.

Today, SPD continues to play a vital role in improving the lives of persons with disabilities through all stages of their lives. Its services encompass early intervention for the young, employment support and training for working adults, therapy services, and rehabilitation and care. With its experience and expertise, SPD has also contributed valuable insights to the various editions of our Enabling Masterplans.

Throughout the last 60 years, SPD has touched many lives. One example is Awlia Waafini. I just met her outside this room before entering, and she will be performing with her peers later this tonight. She has spina bifida, and when she grew up, she was not able to walk. But with the dedication of the early intervention educators and therapists, and the support from SPD, she has made significant progress in her motor skills. She can walk now, is able to move independently, is now attending preschool and continues to be supported by SPD’s early intervention educators as they prepare for her transition to primary school. So the progress is remarkable, and what SPD has done is truly a blessing.

Awlia's story is just one of many who have benefitted from SPD’s good work. Each story represents a life transformed, a potential unlocked, and a step towards a more inclusive society.

And all these good work is possible only because of the hard work and dedication of SPD’s staff and volunteers. There are many to mention, but I would like to give a shout out to Ms Chia Yong Yong, who is here with us this evening. She has served with SPD since 2004. A recipient of SPD’s bursary support during her university days, she has chosen to pay it forward with her many contributions to SPD and our wider community. I got to know her better when she served as a Nominated Member of Parliament, and when she was there she was truly a passionate voice and advocate for people with disabilities.

Of course there are many others who have contributed, and tonight I would like to thank everyone in SPD – the board, management past and present, as well as the many donors and volunteers who are here – for all that you have done and will continue to do. Thank you all for your contributions!

Building a More Inclusive Society

Working together, we are building a more inclusive Singapore. We have achieved much over the years, and our society has become kinder, more gracious, more inclusive, and more understanding.

But we all know there is still more to be done. Under the Enabling Masterplan, we have various workstreams – MSF is overseeing them; SPS Eric Chua has been busy at work across these different workstreams. But tonight, I just briefly touch on three areas which we hope to do more.

First, we want to provide more timely support for children with disabilities. That is why we are increasing the number of spaces in government-funded early intervention programmes. We are also training more educators, and looking at ways to make this an attractive career for those who have a passion in helping children with developmental needs.

We are working with social service agencies and special education, or SPED schools to uplift the capabilities of our SPED educators. This means more opportunities for them to deepen their professional skills, and exchange ideas and best practices. We are also developing a leadership programme to develop future leaders in this area.

And we also want to better equip parents with the knowledge and skills to provide early intervention support at home. And that is why we have recently launched a pilot training programme for caregivers of two- to three-year-olds with developmental needs. We will learn from this pilot, and see how we can scale this up further. So first, priority is for children when at a young age, how we can provide early intervention and timely support.

Second, we are doing more, and want to do more to prepare SPED school graduates for the transition after they leave school, especially those with the potential to work and live more independent lives.

Currently, most of our SPED schools cater for students up to 18 years old. But it can be difficult for them to find a job after school. And we are looking at how we can help SPED school graduates continue their education even after 18, while enabling those who can work to make a smoother transition to the workforce.

At the same time, we are doing more on the employer front. There is now greater awareness amongst employers about inclusive hiring, and the Government is also supporting employers through various grants and recognition. Through these collective efforts, the employment rate of persons with disabilities has increased from about 28% five years ago to 33% today. But there is still scope for us, all of us in society, to get more employers on board and to expand job opportunities, so that we can further raise the employment rate to 40% by 2030 – that is what we hope to achieve in a few years time.

Thirdly, we want to do more to support caregivers. With our ageing population, and smaller families, the pressure on caregivers will increase. It can be challenging for them to juggle day-to-day care, and at the same time to plan for the future.

Caregivers will have to prepare for changing needs, as they, and their loved ones with disabilities, grow older.

Many will have concerns about what will happen to their loved ones with disabilities when they are no longer able to care for them.

In the past, when we had larger families, the burden of care could be shared amongst others within the family. But it is harder to do so these days when family sizes are smaller. So, we will need to find ways to better support and address the concerns of caregivers.

And that is why we are studying how we can give more help to caregivers and persons with disabilities, to enable them to plan for their needs, goals and aspirations, and to update these plans as their life stages and family circumstances change. We are also looking into ways to enhance and extend the range of support to enable persons with disabilities to continue to live independently in the community. We hope this will reduce the emotional and mental strain on caregivers, by assuring them that their loved ones with disabilities can continue to live well in the community, even after they are no longer able to care for them.

So these are three broad areas we are looking at – early intervention; SPED school graduates after 18; as well as caregiver support. And there are other areas as well.

And most importantly, a truly inclusive society cannot be achieved by the Government or event by community organisations like SPD alone. Everyone must do our part.

Last year, I attended an event where a wheelchair-user came to me, and she spoke to me and said, did you notice that there is no ramp access in the exhibition space. I looked around, and truly there wasn’t ramp access. The organisers had obviously overlooked this detail, as they were rushing to get the event ready. It might not have been a big deal for the organisers, but it matters to people with disabilities and it should not have happened. We can and we must do better. It is only with greater empathy and attentiveness to the lived experiences of persons with disabilities that we can move forward as an inclusive society.

Conclusion

After all, it was empathy that motivated the creation of SPD.

SPD was formed 60 years ago in response to a moving speech by Ms Paulette Leanings, who had cerebral palsy. In her speech, she said that “we are all fellow travellers on the road of life, and we have to learn to accept each other no matter what we may be – coloured, blind or palsied”. Her speech so moved the members of the Singapore Rotary Club that it spurred them to establish the Society for the Aid to the Paralysed, which later became SPD.

So, thank you SPD once again, for your many contributions in helping all travellers along this road of life. Thank you everyone for supporting SPD and this deserving course. Together, let us build a society that embraces everyone as respected and valued members of our society – a society and a Singapore where we can all realise our dreams and be the best possible version of ourselves.

Thank you very much.