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The Hougang Constituency Education Trust (HCET) bursary cheques are done and ready for disbursement at the Children's Christmas Party in Hougang tonight. This year, HCET will be giving out about $42k to about 90 recipients, almost 3.5 times the amount of about $12k given out in its inaugural bursary ceremony held 23 years ago on 20 December 1992.
HCET is an established charity and helmed mainly by residents of Hougang. I found the following excerpt from an old HCET commemorative magazine:
"When Mr Low was elected as MP for Hougang in the 1991 General Election, the only bursary available in Hougang was from the Education Fund of the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) under the Hougang Community Centre...
When Mr Low learnt from a source that the CCC, whose Adviser as is the case with all opposition wards was (and still is till today) potential election candidate of the PAP, would no longer be giving out bursaries to assist these families, he was very concerned and disturbed. While he had to face numerous other challenges as a newly elected MP then, he was adamant that families facing financial strains, especially at the start of a new academic year when their children needed to buy new books and school uniforms, should not be left struggling on their own.
Although Mr Low initially assisted some constituents who approached him from his own personal resources, he was aware that he needed to find a long-term solution. More importantly, he believed that the solution should be community based, involving the Hougang residents themselves.”
The rest is history as they say and today, four of the original trustees from Hougang are no longer with us to witness the fruit of their hard work and warm-heartedness. I will always have full admiration for the way the community rallied together to start the bursary initiative and most important of all, to keep it as a going concern for 23 years.
[h=5][URL="https://www.facebook.com/hougangsmc/?fref=nf"]Hougang SMC
[h=5][URL="https://www.facebook.com/The-Workers-Party-Volunteer-Network-695421570592834/"]The Workers' Party Volunteer Network
