The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) is a charity for the Singaporean Indian community. Set up to focus on educational and socio-economic matters, its mission is to “build a well-educated, resilient and confident community of Indians that stands together with other communities in contributing to the progress of multi-racial Singapore”.
SINDA is one of four "self-help groups" available for each ethnic community in Singapore — which also include the Chinese Development Assistance Council, Eurasian Association and Yayasan Mendaki — which provide a variety of programmes and services to assist its community. It is the only SHG to have its own family service centre, which assists communities on interpersonal and family-related issues.
SINDA's programmes revolve primarily around the themes of education, youth, family and children, social and financial assistance, and community.
SINDA Subsidy
All of SINDA’s programmes are heavily subsidised or provided at no cost to Singaporean Indians. From 1 July 2018, the criteria were:
Family Per Capita Income (PCI) refers to the total monthly nett monthly household income divided by the number of members living in the household. PCI is used by SINDA to assess the eligibility of individuals and families for financial assistance and programme fee subsidies.
History
Before 2000
1990: Then Director of Welfare at the Ministry of Community Development, K V Veloo, recognised the social obstacles faced by sectors of the Indian community. Alongside S. Vasoo and S. Chandra Das, they formed the Singapore Indian Welfare Association (SIWA) to help Indian individuals and families sort out their social difficulties. It was later renamed to SINDA, or Singapore Indian Development Association, with E Sukumar announced as the president.
1991: The Action Committee on Indian Education (ACIE), chaired by J Y Pillay, highlighted the educational under-performance of Indian students and recommended wide-ranging remedial measures. Several courses of action were proposed and one of them was to have SINDA operate on two fronts; the Education Wing, aimed at Indian students and their parents, and the Welfare Wing, which would focus on reinforcing healthy and happy family relationships. The new SINDA came into effect in August 1991, with S Iswaran as Chief Executive Officer.
1992: SINDA Tutorials for Enhanced Performance (STEP) was launched and by March, 2,600 students had enrolled in the programme through referrals of educators and parents. STEP centres were made more accessible, fees affordable, class sizes kept small and trainings for tutors were enhanced.
1996: The Youth Development Wing was initiated to develop, engage and motivate Indian youth, in activities such as holiday enrichment programmes like camps and community service.
2000 – 2010
By the 2000s, in tandem with evolving trends, SINDA diversified its programmes and services – counselling, talks and workshops on parenting, student mentoring and IT training were provided. SINDA strengthened its relationships with community partners, and groups such as community centres, Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAECs), Indian organisations and religious organisations.
New programmes were introduced and collaborations with the community increased as well, stemming from heightened networking and the collective interest of working towards uplifting the Indian community in Singapore – Project Give was launched, Teach programme was introduced to help weak students, Project Athena to empower single Indian mothers to become confident and independent and the Back To School Festival, which allows students to receive stationery and shoe vouchers for the new school year.
SINDA also launched its newsletter, SINDA Connections in 2008 and today, it is circulated to some 62,000 Indian households and community organisations to keep them updated on SINDA news. In 2010, the SINDA Youth Club (SYC) was established, targeting at 18 to 35 year olds. SYC’s aim is to nurture generations of Indian leaders with a passion for community building and social leadership.
2011 to Present
In 2011, as part of its 20th anniversary, SINDA launched the SINDA 2020 review to gauge how far the community had come and the progress still required. The review resulted in the “SINDA 2020: A New Momentum” report, which recommended key strategies for SINDA to focus on.