“Food is a basic need and we use the subject to teach kids everything from spelling and name recognition to how to share, how to have self discipline and to have manners. These are important lifeskills which our children, many of whom are from disadvantaged or dysfunctional families, find it difficult to acquire at home”, related senior teacher Mdm Eng Yut Ing, in Mandarin.

She leads the teaching staff at Child@ St 11 - a daycare centre set up for children from low income families and single parent families with working mothers. The centre, which was established in 1999, gets its children from the neighbourhood and most parents walk their kids to and from the centre from their homes.

Operating at full capacity currently, most of the 75 strong cohort came to the centre via word of mouth or recommendation from Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) social workers. Child@ St 11 is set up as a charity and families who wish for their children to attend the program are means tested, to ensure that they really need the help the centre provides.

They have three sittings and lunchtime is very busy

Child@ St 11 runs a programme based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy of pre-school teaching and provides daycare for kids who range in age from 2-16 years of age. The centre is a secure and safe environment for the children many of whom have no one at home to care for them or whose families are too busy trying to make a living and may neglect their development.

Everyone calls her Auntie Tan

Day care being an all day affair, the children get breakfast, a mid-morning snack (normally juice and biscuits), lunch and a mid-afternoon snack. Over 300 meal portions a day are lovingly prepared by Mdm Tan Soo Gek, whom the children address as “Auntie Tan”. The kitchen is squeaky clean, but small and very limited. She does an amazing job with what she has, as the kitchen has no storage space, so everything is cooked fresh daily. We visited on a Wednesday and sat down to a lunch of mock fish, mixed vegetable soup, cherry tomatoes and cucumber, braised tou fu and rice followed by fresh fruit.

“We feed the kids only balanced vegetarian meals so we don’t have halal issues. Every child takes a few days to adjust, but they love their food and never leave much on their plates. We teach them not to waste and they learn quickly to enjoy the meals”, says the auntie who is much loved by the kids for her special dishes which include everything from waffles and honey to Nasi Lemak.  When interrupted by boisterous younger children while serving lunch, she gently disciplines in Mandarin, Malay and a smattering of Tamil as well, causing the lunch line to stop making noise and receive their portions in an orderly fashion.

The centre is doing an incredible job with their charges, especially since Mdm Eng relates that many of these kids come from families that have trouble putting food on the table.

“Most of them when they get here don’t have fresh food, fruit or vegetables daily, they don’t even know the names of the fruits and vegetables, because they haven’t seen them before. We even pack them a dinner packet if we feel they need additional help”. This way the centre ensures that the kids have nutrition for learning and health.

As a charity, Child@ St 11 always welcome funds or donations in kind. The centre at age 12 is in need of a refit, with bathrooms and the kitchen in need of the most work. Cereal, milk and other food stuff are always welcome for their pantry and Mdm Eng says that volunteers can help by just giving time or even things as simple as arts and crafts materials and stationery. The centre even accepts interns and volunteers so for further information, please click here.

* All pictures courtesy of Guy Hoh.