Over 7,000 thousand children from 39 madrasahs and mosques are honouring their fathers or father figures with words of affirmation and appreciation through handwritten Father’s Day cards. The initiative, helmed by Centre for Fathering (CFF), Bapa Sepanjang Hayat (BSH), MENDAKI (Council for the Development of Singapore Malay/Muslim Community) and MUIS (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore), aims to provide an opportunity for children to show appreciation and gratitude to their fathers for their hard work, sacrifice, and unwavering support, create lifelong memories between fathers and children as well as strengthen family bonds.
Teachers from the educational institutions will guide the students to write on the cards which would be handed back to BSH volunteers to be mailed out to the fathers a few days before Father’s Day so that they can be pleasantly surprised by the messages of love and appreciation from their children. More than 15 BSH volunteers are involved in the effort to pack and distribute the cards; collect the completed cards from the various institutions as well as prepare them for mailing. Last year, CFF and BSH organised a similar activity in collaboration with several Malay Muslim religious educational institutions which involved more than 1000 students surprising their fathers with a handwritten Father’s Day card. The meaningful initiative was so well received that it has been expanded to reach even more fathers and children this year.
Strong Community Support
“The overwhelming support for this initiative by our Malay Muslim religious and educational institutions exemplifies the importance that we must place on father-child relationships and honouring fathers for the important roles they play in the lives of their children,” said Mr Bryan Tan, CEO, Centre for Fathering, DADs for Life and MUMs for Life. “CFF and BSH will continue to work closely with our Malay Muslim community to strengthen families in Singapore!”
“Fathers are the steadfast pillars of families, radiating strength, guidance, and unwavering love. They are also role models that ignite the flames of curiosity, sparking a passion for knowledge. Through their words and actions, they inspire children to explore and embrace the wonders of learning. MENDAKI is delighted to be a part of this meaningful partnership that would benefit our families,” said Mdm Aidaroyani Adam, Deputy CEO of Yayasan MENDAKI.
Mr Bramsha Osman, the lead BSH volunteer coordinating the initiative, said, “A father’s role is not an easy one. Many fathers second guess themselves and doubt if they are doing the right thing or are good enough fathers. They feel this way despite their many hidden ‘sacrifices’ made for their family. Receiving a card of appreciation from their children will affirm many fathers of their efforts. They will be encouraged to become even more involved with and present for their children as well as better husbands to their wives. He added, “Fathers need a community of like-minded fathers to thrive. My group of volunteers and I are excited to be working on this meaningful initiative that can impact over 7,000 fathers and their families. I would want to use this opportunity to thank the public and sponsors for their donations.”
Celebrating Fathers 2023
This initiative is part of Celebrating Fathers 2023 – an annual Celebrating Fathers campaign is a nation-wide initiative that aims to recognise the efforts and contributions of Singapore’s Dads. Celebrating Fathers 2023, which runs from 3 June to 2 July 2023 with an exciting line up of events for families, is jointly organised by CFF, DADs for Life, MUMs for Life, Families for Life and Mediacorp and in support of National Family Week and Made For Families. Into its eighth year, Celebrating Fathers 2023 is themed “Honouring Fathers Through The Generations” and aims to recognise and encourage dads in their fathering journey.
Held on 18 June 2023 at OCBC Square, Dad’s Day Out 2023 will once again be the key highlight and culminating point of the Celebrating Fathers series of activities this year. A day of family fun awaits fathers, grandfathers and their families. This year’s activities are specially curated to reflect the favourite activities of the three generations in our midst – from trishaw rides, giant jenga, giant pick-up sticks, three-legged races, bouncy castle to video console games. Parents and grandparents can also share the values they hope to pass down the generations and leave words of encouragement for fathers at the Family Tree. Visit www.celebratingfathers.sg for more details on Celebrating Fathers.