Singapore International Foundation

14 Oct 2009

Emergency Nursing Education Project Closing Ceremony

Director of International Volunteerism & Community Partnerships, SIF, Mr Aaron Ng, speaks at the Closing Ceremony of the Emergency Nursing Education Project In Malang, Indonesia.

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Ibu Isnaeni,
Director, Health Polytechnic of Malang

Dr Samsul Islam,
Dean, Medical Faculty, Brawijaya University

Dr Mohammad Thamrin,
Director, Saiful Anwar General Hospital

Ladies and Gentlemen,


Hi, my name is Aaron, from the Singapore International Foundation, or the SIF in short. It gives me great pleasure to join you here in Malang for the closing of this Singapore Volunteers Overseas (Emergency Nursing Education) Project.

We have enjoyed a great working relationship with Rumah Sakit Saiful Anwar since 1992, and were extremely honoured when they approached us in 2006 to embark on this project.

Malang is the second biggest city in Indonesia’s East Java Province, and similarly Rumah Sakit Saiful Anwar is one of the busiest hospitals in Indonesia.

The hospital sees some 73,000 emergency patients per year and medical practitioners from Malang are often despatched to other cities in Indonesia in times of emergency crises.

That is why it remains extremely important for doctors and nurses in Indonesia to remain prepared and continue upgrading their skills and knowledge to handle causes of trauma.

A group of SIF Singaporean volunteers, from Singapore General Hospital and Nanyang Polytechnic, had very kindly committed their time and efforts to share their skills and knowledge with their Indonesian counterparts.

For the past two years, they have been working with a dedicated team of nurses and academic staff in Malang to prepare them for the launch of a new certification in emergency nursing.

Once implemented, this certification will be the first of its kind in the whole of Indonesia.

I am sure our volunteers as well, will walk away from this process of mutual learning and sharing enriched both professionally and personally.

One of our volunteers speaks fondly of the dedication of the nurses she trained. She talks about how enthusiastic they were to learn and how hard they worked. Towards the end of the project, she saw a vast improvement in their communication and IT skills.

It’s exactly this mutual learning and sharing that we, at the Singapore International Foundation hope to encourage. We celebrate the strong ties of friendship each project creates, as much as the performance outcomes each project achieves.

A not-for-profit organisation that was set up in 1991, the SIF works to support communities for sustained development and promotes the sharing of knowledge and ideas between Singaporeans and people across the globe.

For example, through programmes like this Singapore Volunteers Overseas project, the SIF hopes to provide opportunities for passionate Singaporeans to take up the call of volunteering overseas. As our volunteers work among and with people from different cultures, they develop friendships and an appreciation of the world beyond Singapore.

The SIF is indeed privileged to share such a great work with our Indonesian partners and Singapore volunteers to build a better world of friends, of understanding, and of mutual development.

On this note, I would like to thank our volunteers:

1. Josephine Teo Foong Yee, Advance Practice Nurse Intern (Emergency Care), Singapore General Hospital;
2. Ho Yim Fong, Lecturer, Nanyang Polytechnic;
3. Joelle Yap, Lecturer, NYP (who unfortunately is not here today);
4. Pung Ai Khim, Senior Nurse Manager, National Kidney Foundation (who joined us for the sixth training frame).

Much appreciation also goes out to the Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Health Polytechnic of Malang and the Brawijaya University for their help and support on this project.

Thank you and please enjoy the rest of the day.