Current Affairs - WORK.

Another 'work' post. So stay away from this one unless you're the teacher. In that case the red carpet welcomes you. Anyway, let's start.

Source: http://enewslink.asia1.com.sg/brsweb/read_10.brsw?this=result&QDT=1&QFLST=HD%3AHG%3APD&DB=ST%3ABT%4005-07&QSTR=%28%28teens%29%29.HD.&DTSTR=%28%28PD+%3E=+20050919%29+and+%28PD+%3C=+20070219%29%29&PSZ=10&MAXL=200&SUMY=2&HLT=0&LSTN=0&ID=000000070@ST07

Helping hand for at-risk teen girls

A group of young professional women, called Beautiful People, runs programmes
and workshops to help troubled teenage girls

DEPUTY public prosecutor Gillian Koh Tan has seen many a young girl trapped on
the wrong side of life – pregnant teens who had abortions, those caught
shoplifting and others tangled up with gangs.
By the time their case gets to the courts, it is almost too late and many end
up in detention homes and jail.
So when Mrs Tan, 28, heard about a group called Beautiful People, she jumped at
the chance to become a “big sister”.
Founded by social activist Melissa Kwee, 34, Beautiful People is a volunteer
project that enables professionals to help troubled teenage girls who are
referred to youth and family service centres.
The group of young professional women conduct workshops and camps for teen
girls at-risk – on their own time and with their own money.
Set up in 2005, it is believed to be the first volunteer group to devise
programmes specifically to help troubled teenage girls.
Mrs Tan said: “I’ve come across many cases where things have gone wrong and
family structures have collapsed. I kept wondering if this could have been
prevented and how I could help.”
The project has four core members and 20 active volunteers.
Miss Kwee, a business consultant, first approached voluntary welfare
organisation Beyond Social Services for support.
“I noticed there was a rising trend in girl gangs and teenage pregnancies, and
not many programmes focused on girls.
“The idea is to reach out to them, not as social workers, but as people who can
be their role models,” she said.
The number of girls aged between seven and 19 arrested for crimes has been on
the rise. In 2005, 1,373 girls were arrested compared to 1,321 in 2004 and
1,310 in 2003. Girls represented between 25 and 30 per cent of all youths
arrested.
In June, 20 girls attended a two-day camp and learnt about legal rights,
budgeting and boy-girl relationships.
The second camp, held at Raffles Girls’ Secondary last month, was attended by
43 girls from Beyond Social Services, Andrew & Grace Home, and Pertapis, a
Muslim welfare and education organisation.
This time, they heard from a gynaecologist about menstrual wellness and learnt
self-defence techniques from a taekwondo instructor. The camp programmes are
devised by volunteers, who share the cost of about $2,000 for each camp, and
draw on their business and social networks to attract speakers.
Said Mrs Tan: “What struck me about these girls is that when you ask them what
they aspire to be, they look a little lost, a little stunned, and say they have
no dreams.
“I realised it’s because they don’t have role models in their lives.”
This is why the project group is called Beautiful People – to help these
teenage girls realise the potential in themselves despite all they have
endured.
Said one of the girls, Gina (not her real name), 13: “I thought this camp would
be boring, but it’s fun and I feel the adults are really listening to me.”
Gina was arrested last year for glue sniffing and sent to a home for 18 months.

“My parents did not bail me out and I hated them,” she said. “I also hated the
people who put me in the home.
“Now, after talking with Mrs Tan, I realise why this has to happen. I think I
want to be a lawyer when I grow up so I can help people who are like me.”
Beyond Social Services deputy executive director T. Ranganayaki is full of
praise for the group’s efforts.
“This is a very rare and noble effort,” she said.
“Of the many volunteers who come and support our programmes, this group has its
mind and heart in the right place, and consistently so.”
Beautiful People hopes to find part-time jobs for some of the girls, and
provide them with the social skills they need to hold down a job.
Miss Dawn Kong, 35, a volunteer, said: “It’s about giving them a chance by
using our personal resources to provide them with the opportunities they were
not able to get because they are disadvantaged.”
To reach out to more of them, the volunteers have also attached themselves to
youth centres in Ang Mo Kio, Ghim Moh, Tiong Bahru and East Coast.
Those who can commit their time to this project can get more details at
www.beautifulpeople.org.sg
tanya@sph.com.sg

My response:
Well, that's a start. Maybe society is trying to understand the next generation at last. As a teenager myself, I do find it tempting to ride on the wrong side of the long road of life. Drugs, sex, gangs and all that are out there. Even if we are 'afraid' of all that,it is certainly more exciting than the average teenage life now. Most adults expect us to live a routine kind of life. Wake up, go to school, come back from school, do homework, help out chores, sleep. Man, if everyone did that what's the point of carrying on in this world. Being alive is one thing, keeping your life interesting is another. While teenage girls are being lost on the road of life, society is finally extending a helping hand as role models. I have many female friends in other schools who also don't know what to do in their lives, they merely 'waste' it away with bad habits like drinking, wasting time etc. So I can understand the misunderstood generation of society pretty well. As such, society should give more attention to their internal affairs and social situation of teenagers, we are the next generation of this country, thus we deserve more attention to our situation. If society just leaves us alone, we make destroy ourselves eventually.
But as I said in my first sentence, that's a start. There should be more programmes catered to the extremes of society, the young and old. Besides teenage girls, I do hope there are more programmes that extend to males as well. Our gender constitutes to the majority of crimes committed, teenage or adult, we should still receive more attention from society. Using peer pressure and family influence, teenage boys on the 'wrong' side of life can also repent and turn over a new leaf.
With all the help society gives us, it is only natural that the next generation should improve themselves in order to effectively take up the tasks of the nation in the near future.