Dear residents,

IT’S been a busy start to the year for the South West Community Development Council (CDC)!

In February we launched our Flexi-works job fair which drew more than 30 companies offering a variety of part-time jobs with fl exible working hours.
In March we launched Women Enterprise workz, in short, WEworkz. This is a fi rst ever Co-operative for women that empowers them, especially those from low income families, with skills to engage in home-based economic activities that allows them to supplement their family income, gain some fi nancial independence and at the same time plan for their old age. WEworkz is targeted at women who for various reasons are unable to work full time. Since WEworkz’s launch, feedback from the residents has been truly overwhelming. Other than women who called to join the Co-operative, we also received offers from residents who want to lend a helping hand.

Remember our “ABC” motto? As much as we are able to “assist the needy” through our various schemes, we also cannot neglect the need to “bond the people”. We ounded off the busy fi rst quarter of the year by celebrating our Family Funnival 2008 – in its fi fth run this year – a day specially for families to bond and spend quality time together. This year’s theme was “Familympics”, to celebrate Singapore’s win in hosting the fi rst-ever Youth Olympic Games. Our heartiest congratulations to the Singapore National Olympic Council and all involved in the bid.

In his recent Budget announcement, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance and Minister for Education mentioned that even as the economy grows and does well, we must address challenges that we face together as a community. One of the key challenges we are currently facing is the much talked about rising “cost of living” which is also affl icting people in many other parts of the world.

In our new MoneyBridge section, we look at some creative ways to maximise your grocery dollar with our handy $20 shopping list. While the South West CDC continues to roll out aid to needy families through our social assistance schemes, I urge residents to also help keep an eye out for those whom you think might need a helping hand.

In the months ahead, let’s continue to progress as a district and a nation!