Love Empowered Co-operative

"To love and embrace the differences found in each child and empower each child to reach his/her fullest potential"

– this is the vision in which Love Empowered, a co-operative founded in 2015, advocates for.

There is a personal story about how Love Empowered Co-operative started.

Its Chairman, Tony Lim shared about a child he knew, who had bipolar disorder. The child was bullied and ostracised in school. To make matters worse, the child came from a difficult family environment. Without the relevant and available support then, the child had to be admitted into a mental institution.

In that situation, Tony realised that children with special needs, mental illness, or disadvantaged backgrounds, already face enough challenges of their own. And so, Tony believes that the love and empowerment given to these children will lead to the unlocking of the social and familial challenges that often accompany them. 

Tony is passionate about empowering every child to reach his/her fullest potential. Today, he has dedicated his life towards his role as a clinical psychologist and counsellor at Lakeside Family Services. He leads a Maths tuition and enrichment centre at MPM Parkway and is a senior consultant with Quality Development Research and Consulting Pte Ltd.

At Love Empowered Co-operative, there’s also Ghazali Muzakir, a drama educator and theatre practitioner. He champions the psychological well-being of people.

Another committee member, Anthony Garcia, is an Application Consultant with NCS Pte Ltd. Through music, he reaches out to the youth in his church.

Bowling charity event that Love Empowered Co-operative organised for special kids

Photo credit: Love Empowered Co-operative

Together, the team of Love Empowered Co-operative provides services ranging from specialised academic tuition, training/awareness workshops for families, schools, and workplaces for children with perceived differences such as special needs and mental illness, befriending initiatives, and outreach programmes, as well as volunteering opportunities.

SNCF spoke with Tony to find out more about Love Empowered Co-operative and its works.

Why was the Co-operative model chosen?

Love Empowered Co-operative believes in the empowerment of children who face challenges, seeing them as having strengths and different needs instead of special needs. This is aligned with the co-operative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.  We also believe in the motto of doing well and doing good that is ingrained in the co-operative model i.e., doing good for the children while being sustainable.

What’s the target age group of the children Love Empowered Co-operative is serving?

Love Empowered Co-operative has a Love Empowered (LE) Learning Centre. The target age group for our first programme are children with challenges aged 7 and up, as well as their parents. Subsequently, we will be providing services that serve another age group.

What is the purpose of the intake assessment?

The intake assessment we do for LE Learning Centre is to have a full and holistic understanding of the child, the family and the social environment to support and develop them in further services offered by Love Empowered Co-operative such as our Family Programme - Love In Motion.

Any story of a beneficiary who has gained from the service?

One of the most memorable stories is of a 16-year-old girl with learning needs from Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home. We supported her studies at the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ). Through our specialised tuition service, she passed the WSQ Level 7, which enabled her to gain employment at a 7-Eleven convenience store.

There’s nothing more heartwarming than to hear empowerment stories.

At the core of Love Empowered Co-operative is the desire to empower children with challenges. Let’s cheer them on, as they move on this mission empowered by love!

Original article by SNCF: https://www.sncf.coop/newsletters/know-our-co-ops-series-love-empowered-co-operative