Recently, I came across a news article that largely grabbed my attention immediately because it a place that i like to frequent often. It talked about 18chefs in Singapore and how the restaurant owner was a former drug addict who now turned his life around by starting up this chain of restaurants with much success. In summary, it talked about the life story of Mr. Benny Se Teo who was released from jail in 1993 and was rejected numerous times in his quest to find a job. Therefore, he wanted to become an owner himself and hire ex-convicts just like himself. Although initially it was not successful and he had to resort to closing down a few outlets, he made a few changes and slowly built his restaurant up to what eighteenchefs is today. Faced with much challenges and difficulties, but he never gave up and always persevered. He is very humbled about his successes and does not try to cover up the fact that there are challenges faced and gives the examples of one of his staff thrashing the kitchen in a drunken rage and also other instances where there was trouble. He gave this staff a chance again and he was rehired, this portrays his forgiving nature and his ability to give second chances. He talks about how his passion lay in chinese food rather than western, however he wants to give people the kind of food that they would like to eat. He attributed the success to his past failures and challenges, and how he is glad that he can be an inspiration to many.
Reading this article was very heart-warming as I have always been curious about the nature of eighteenchefs. Before entering this course, the only social enterprise that i knew well enough and had experienced was eighteenchefs. Therefore, this article largely peaked my interests. Reading about Mr Benny Se Teo has truly inspired me as I am amazed at how he managed to bring his life around despite so many setbacks and problems set against him. It portrays how hardwork is rewarded and that with the right mindset anything is possible. His ability to change so many lives is truly great and eighteenchefs is very sustainable and also popular among youths. I learnt much about the insight, his inspiration and his journey in creating this success story and it was truly interesting and a unique experience.
A few things that caught my attention was when Mr Benny Se Teo mentioned about how he did not want people to see eighteenchefs as a social cause and come based on sympathy for his social mission. He wanted people to view it as just a restaurant where people want to continuously come back for more because of its affordability or quality food. His reasoning for this being that coming just for sympathy would only last once or twice but he would rather people come just for the food. This makes the restaurant sustainable as more people want to go just for the food or ambience. Also, he mentioned about the problems faced with his staff when one of his staff thrashed the kitchen in a drunken state and also staff who broke into the restaurants safe. I think it would be extremely easy to blame the reason for these happening on the fact that they are ex-convicts. However, it could happen to anyone but we fail to realise this. We automatically associate it with the fact that they are ex-convicts. I hope that the social stigma associated with hiring ex-convicts would soon be removed from society as a whole.
In conclusion, I have learnt a lot from reading this article and it has inspired me greatly. I feel that Mr Benny found the balance between enterprise and social cause and that is the reason for his success. This is what we as students from business and social enterprise should aim to do. I hope that more aspiring entrepreneurs will follow his path and go down this route that many are scared to take. With these, more help can be given to those who need it and it will be a better singapore with better people.
References:
Huang, L. (2014). Former drug addict cooking up social change. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/former-drug-addict-cooking-up-social-change on 13 August 2015.
Sunday, 16 August 2015
Monday, 10 August 2015
Unwed mothers' plight in Singapore
Although this article may not seem relevant to social entrepreneurship, it is a social issue that i did not know about until recently. Unwed mothers do not receive the same benefits as those who are married even if they have kids. In summary, the article states how single mothers do not receive the same 16 week paid maternity leave but in turn they only receive 8 weeks of leave. The additional paid leave which would greatly help mothers pay for the child expenses. They are also not entitled to the baby bonus cash gift of $6000 for their first child and also parenthood tax rebates. They are only allowed to purchase housing when they are 35 years old and above under the singles scheme. Build-to-order (BTO) flats are not available to them as they and their children are not considered family.
I was very shocked by this article as i assumed that single mothers would have been given privileges because they are the ones who need it the most. I did not expect them to be deprived of it. I agree that the institute of marriage should be practiced, however that does not entail the children of unwed mothers to also be subjected to this. The first few months of a child's development is incredibly vital and it is important that they attain constant support and guidance from their parents. They did not choose this or have a say in this, therefore they should not be deprived or penalized. Single mothers are already suffering with the high costs that come together with having a child but not being able to get the benefits that help other parents use bring up their child is unfair and uncalled for. Every child is a Singaporean child and should be taken care of the same way. All the additional incentives will be especially useful in bringing up a child and unwed mothers are especially those who need it most with only one income provided,
So far, little efforts have been made to improve their situation, What single parents find most unfair currently seems to be the 8 weeks maternity leave that they receive. They want the same 16 weeks as other parents in order to spend more time with their children during their early years and i think that it is totally acceptable. We should not punish them in this manner, just for being unwed. Every case and scenario is a different one that we know nothing about and thus we should not judge them too quickly. Practically, housing and a roof over a family's head is extremely vital. They should not be deprived to live together as a family instead of struggling. Benefits and subsidies should come more to unwed mothers who have families as they need it more then married couples. We should treat every child as a Singaporean child and think of their needs first.
In conclusion, I hope that the Singapore government can do more to ease the situation of unwed mothers. Through this way, hopefully their children will also receive the same benefits as every other child. With the support and guidance, children are sure to grow far. They should never be penalized in any way regardless of their situation because it is not out of choice. I hope the government looks into these matters to help Singaporeans move forward as a whole.
References:
Kok, X.H. (August 9, 2015). Don't penalise children of unwed mothers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dont-penalise-children-of-unwed-mothers on 11 August 2015.
I was very shocked by this article as i assumed that single mothers would have been given privileges because they are the ones who need it the most. I did not expect them to be deprived of it. I agree that the institute of marriage should be practiced, however that does not entail the children of unwed mothers to also be subjected to this. The first few months of a child's development is incredibly vital and it is important that they attain constant support and guidance from their parents. They did not choose this or have a say in this, therefore they should not be deprived or penalized. Single mothers are already suffering with the high costs that come together with having a child but not being able to get the benefits that help other parents use bring up their child is unfair and uncalled for. Every child is a Singaporean child and should be taken care of the same way. All the additional incentives will be especially useful in bringing up a child and unwed mothers are especially those who need it most with only one income provided,
So far, little efforts have been made to improve their situation, What single parents find most unfair currently seems to be the 8 weeks maternity leave that they receive. They want the same 16 weeks as other parents in order to spend more time with their children during their early years and i think that it is totally acceptable. We should not punish them in this manner, just for being unwed. Every case and scenario is a different one that we know nothing about and thus we should not judge them too quickly. Practically, housing and a roof over a family's head is extremely vital. They should not be deprived to live together as a family instead of struggling. Benefits and subsidies should come more to unwed mothers who have families as they need it more then married couples. We should treat every child as a Singaporean child and think of their needs first.
In conclusion, I hope that the Singapore government can do more to ease the situation of unwed mothers. Through this way, hopefully their children will also receive the same benefits as every other child. With the support and guidance, children are sure to grow far. They should never be penalized in any way regardless of their situation because it is not out of choice. I hope the government looks into these matters to help Singaporeans move forward as a whole.
References:
Kok, X.H. (August 9, 2015). Don't penalise children of unwed mothers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dont-penalise-children-of-unwed-mothers on 11 August 2015.
Friday, 7 August 2015
Help for social enterprises in Singapore
Another article on the development of social enterprises in Singapore! The social enterprise sector in Singapore is upcoming and on its way to a good development. The social enterprise sector currently needs all the help and support that it can garner in order to develop itself. In the recent news article that i read, that is exactly what they have mentioned. It is even titled 'Social enterprises to get more help'. This article mentions much about the initiatives taken to help and guide aspiring social enterprises by offering grants up to $20 000 for them to try and test out their social enterprises. Previously only those who have registered as an official social enterprise can apply for a grant. Now, an ideology and passion to try to do something and make a difference would be enough to obtain a fund to try out social enterprises. Social enterprises start-ups are able to receive up to $100000 in seed grants while social enterprises which have been operating for at least two years can obtain financial help to expand.There is even a Presidents' Challenge Social Enterprise Award which has been postponed by two weeks due to the overwhelming response.
This article definitely makes me feel more at ease in my course as i realize that there is constant and ever-growing support and help available in the social enterprise sector. It is also heartwarming to know that there are more people who are willing to try something out to help people around them. Social enterprises are a really creative and intelligent way of helping people while gaining profits themselves. When i read the article, i saw a familiar name of Ms Desiree Yang. I remembered that she graduated from Ngee Ann Psychology studies in HMS and i truly felt proud because she is doing what she really wants to do. Even though she started out small, and currently only her father and her are working full-time to help the lower income families, i'm sure that she will develop the business furthur through grants and the help from organisations such as raiSE will definitely boost her business, She could change and improve many lives from the work she is doing and it is truly admirable. Grants like this will really be beneficial especially for new and upcoming social enterprises who are struggling financially.
The support and aid given to social enterprises will definitely help and encourage more aspiring young entrepreneurs to push forward with their idea and develop a business themselves. With a growing social enterprise sector, there will be more help for more people all over Singapore or even the world. We can all play a part to change someone else's life and financial troubles should not be a barrier to that. If we have a good and feasible idea with the faith that it will work, then we should work hard to put it into action and achieve what we can. Social enterprises deserve the extra help to help them become more sustainable in the future. We should help in whatever way we can to help the people around us whether directly or indirectly.
In conclusion, i think that this article provides more of an insight on social enterprises in Singapore. Many people are still clueless and unaware as to what social enterprises are. Hopefully, more awareness will be gained among the general public to garner support. It is vital that people know of the problems that social enterprises face of lack of sustainability due to lack of funds. It is better to be transparent before developing the business furthur and learn as much as possible in this time period. It is very important to learn new things and constantly improve yourself as well as your business. Through this journey, opportunities like these are rare and should be utilized in order to maximise the benefits.
Goy, P. (2015, August 1) Social enterprises to get more help. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/social-enterprises-to-get-more-help on 8 August 2015.
This article definitely makes me feel more at ease in my course as i realize that there is constant and ever-growing support and help available in the social enterprise sector. It is also heartwarming to know that there are more people who are willing to try something out to help people around them. Social enterprises are a really creative and intelligent way of helping people while gaining profits themselves. When i read the article, i saw a familiar name of Ms Desiree Yang. I remembered that she graduated from Ngee Ann Psychology studies in HMS and i truly felt proud because she is doing what she really wants to do. Even though she started out small, and currently only her father and her are working full-time to help the lower income families, i'm sure that she will develop the business furthur through grants and the help from organisations such as raiSE will definitely boost her business, She could change and improve many lives from the work she is doing and it is truly admirable. Grants like this will really be beneficial especially for new and upcoming social enterprises who are struggling financially.
The support and aid given to social enterprises will definitely help and encourage more aspiring young entrepreneurs to push forward with their idea and develop a business themselves. With a growing social enterprise sector, there will be more help for more people all over Singapore or even the world. We can all play a part to change someone else's life and financial troubles should not be a barrier to that. If we have a good and feasible idea with the faith that it will work, then we should work hard to put it into action and achieve what we can. Social enterprises deserve the extra help to help them become more sustainable in the future. We should help in whatever way we can to help the people around us whether directly or indirectly.
In conclusion, i think that this article provides more of an insight on social enterprises in Singapore. Many people are still clueless and unaware as to what social enterprises are. Hopefully, more awareness will be gained among the general public to garner support. It is vital that people know of the problems that social enterprises face of lack of sustainability due to lack of funds. It is better to be transparent before developing the business furthur and learn as much as possible in this time period. It is very important to learn new things and constantly improve yourself as well as your business. Through this journey, opportunities like these are rare and should be utilized in order to maximise the benefits.
Goy, P. (2015, August 1) Social enterprises to get more help. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/social-enterprises-to-get-more-help on 8 August 2015.
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