The ONE (SINGAPORE) Awards recognise individuals who share ONE (SINGAPORE)’s passion to “Make Poverty History and create The World We Want”.
“ONE Heroes often go about their work quietly,” says ONE (SINGAPORE) founder Michael Switow. “Natasha Lean and Elsie Oei are not household names, but their dedication, their service to the community and their work on issues of gender violence and poverty is extraordinary.”
Left to Right: Guest of Honour Vernetta Lopez, ONE (SINGAPORE) President Nichol Ng, Award Winners Elsie Oei and Natasha Lean, ONE (SINGAPORE) Co-Founder Michael Switow.
The ONE Hero: Natasha Lean
On a daily basis, Natasha Lean confronts issues of poverty and gender violence. Children in Tanjong Pagar say that Natasha is their hero because “she takes care of me when my mamma is at work” and “she helps my mamma when she is sad and pappa hurts her”. Natasha, who is employed as a Social Work Associate, can be a mentor, supporter and friend who understands the importance of listening and knows when to make someone laugh. Whether she is running programmes to prevent violence against women, stop bullying, promote financial literacy for children or raising resources for the families she works with, Natasha goes the extra mile to make the lives of women and children better.
The ONE Hero: Elsie Oei
Elsie Oei may be retired, but you wouldn’t know it. Every day, for the past ten years, Elsie arrives by public transportation at Willing Hearts, a local soup kitchen, at 5 in the morning to organise packing and logistics, before helping deliver hundreds of meals, sometimes going door-to-door to assist those who are not well enough to collect their packets at the void deck. Elsie, who often works past midnight, is a familiar figure in Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, where she accompanies the elderly and infirm on visits to the doctor, assists them with their household needs and has even been known to administer injections to diabetics.
The photo of Elsie Oei and the group photo at the top of the page were taken at The ONE Ball 2015, where the ONE (SINGAPORE) Awards were presented.
See the winners of the 2013 ONE (SINGAPORE) awards here.