The Alphabet Project (TAP) is a new movement of Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA). We partnered with the Social Service Office (SSO) of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to provide literacy programmes to young children aged 7 to 12 from underprivileged families and aim to reach out to at least 1,000 underprivileged children every year through reading, writing and storytelling programmes.
It can be challenging for lower income families to raise kids in Singapore where the cost of living is high. Less privileged families may not be able to cope with basic expenses including education fees. Many disadvantaged children struggle to cope in school and later on in life due to the limited opportunities and financial resources they have access to and often remain trapped in the poverty cycle for the rest of their lives.
Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA) launched The Alphabet Project (TAP) in partnership with the Social Service Office of the Ministry of Social and Family Development on Saturday (July 2) to provide literacy programmes for children from underprivileged families through reading, writing and storytelling programmes. The ComLink Read. Write. Tell (RWT) Guided Challenge programme saw 13 children between eight to 12 years old attend a six-week virtual story-telling class and create their own stories and audio books.
Mr Hassan was thankful that his nine and 11 year old children have benefitted from the programme, sharing that they learnt how to “speak out especially in conversation or telling stories…[which] give[s] them more confidence. When [they] read to me it’s better than [in] the past few months”.
Guest-of-Honour Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Communications and Information, and Lead POH for ComLink Alliance WorkGroup @ Bedok Town, graced the launch of our programme. We celebrated the milestones of children who completed our pilot programme by awarding them with certificates, treating them and their families to a meal at Yassin Kampung restaurant in Bedok, and bringing them for a day of fun at the Singapore Zoo.
It is our hope that TAP will become a nation-wide project that provides literacy programmes for underprivileged children in Singapore. We hope to provide them the platform to break away from the poverty cycle by building confidence, fostering connections with other children, and integrating with society.
Click here to donate to our programme. Your contribution will give many underprivileged children the chance of a better future.