Last September, the two children held a joint birthday party and encouraged their guests to forgo presents. Instead, they invited them to donate to Singapore’s disaster relief agency, Mercy Relief, in support of children in Gaza.
For those who could not attend, the family baked cupcakes and attached QR code stickers to the packaging, encouraging recipients to donate.
The initiative raised S$7,500.
“I told them that since we decided to do this, we need to make sure we give it our best shot,” Ms Ong said.
As a firm believer that grades are not the only measure of success, Ms Ong has instilled in her children the importance of empathy and social responsibility.
“So we will discuss what the news is about, how we can help and how we can contribute,” she said. “This leads to them having that sense of gratitude and compassion in them.
“I don’t think that academics are everything. I think having a good character is important. If you’re a kind and compassionate person, you cannot go wrong.”
CHALLENGES
Although Ms Ong has laid the groundwork and mapped out plans for the coming months, launching ground-up initiatives comes with its own set of challenges that she is still learning to navigate and overcome.
One of the biggest challenges she and her children currently face is “recruiting” others to join them in their efforts.
“My kids told me that they were worried that people wouldn’t want to join them.
“I didn’t think recruiting people was going to be difficult. I always thought everybody wants to do good, they just don’t know how to do it.”