Social enterprise founder helping disengaged youth among 11 President’s Challenge Fellows

Seventeen years ago, Lovelynne Chong, then in her 20s, secured seed funding to set up social enterprise FyreFlyz to support young people who felt lost after falling through the cracks.

Chong was a single parent with a daughter aged just three at that time. She recognised that despite Singapore’s well-developed social assistance system, some people drifted away from mainstream paths for various reasons, limiting their life choices and career prospects.

FyreFlyz works with educational institutions, public service agencies and charities, among others, to provide training and internships for disadvantaged families, young people with learning difficulties or psychological challenges, and disengaged youth.

These young people take part in marketing and digital content creation projects, or learn coding to develop initiatives that benefit the community. They engage in hands-on learning and are paid by the hour, while also building networks and exploring employment and education opportunities.

The President’s Challenge Fellowships, now in their second year, announced 11 recipients at the President’s Challenge Night on Sunday (25 October). Chong’s passion for driving social change earned her a fellowship in the Civic Action category.

She will soon pursue further studies and undertake a research project at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. She plans to develop a framework to better help disadvantaged young people build social capital and improve their social mobility.

“To me, social impact is not just about helping others through difficult times. It is also about creating an environment where those in need can develop skills, earn an income, build networks and participate meaningfully in society.”

The President’s Challenge Fellowships support people from different backgrounds in realising their potential and becoming a new generation of role models in their respective fields. The scheme has three categories: Civic Action, Springboard and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Inspire. Twelve people received the inaugural fellowships last year.

“A lot of what happens in life depends on context, or the circumstances each of us find ourselves in,” President Tharman Shanmugaratnam told the media on Sunday.

“What we must do is to make that context positive for everyone: remove the hurdles they face, and give everyone a take-off board. I believe very strongly in this: everyone, with the right support, and the right people around them, can uplift themselves, and in fact surprise both themselves and others with how far they can leap, how far they can go in life, and how much they can contribute to those around them.”

Tharman praised the latest recipients for their perseverance in overcoming adversity and their efforts to promote social inclusion. “They will, I’m sure, spur others, and will in their own ways expand the canvas of leadership in our society.”

Tan Teck Lee, 63, deputy principal of the Singapore Institute of Power and Gas under SP Group, received an ITE Inspire fellowship for his outstanding technical achievements and leadership.

Tan has enjoyed exploring technical work since childhood. In 1982, he obtained an Industrial Technician Certificate in electrical engineering from the Vocational and Industrial Training Board, the predecessor of the ITE, before joining the Public Utilities Board as an electrical technician.

In 1995, when the government corporatised the Public Utilities Board’s electricity and gas departments, Tan moved to the newly established Singapore Power, now known as SP Group.

To upgrade his skills and advance his career, he studied while working, earning a diploma and then an advanced diploma. At 34, he went to the University of Glasgow in the UK for further studies, graduating with first-class honours in electronic and electrical engineering. During his studies, Tan was also elected president of the university’s engineering society, becoming its first Asian president.

After graduating, Tan returned to Singapore Power as an engineer and later moved into consultancy work. In 2013, he joined the Singapore Institute of Power and Gas as a trainer, and was promoted to deputy principal this year.

He thanked SP Group for giving him opportunities to keep learning, take on new challenges and contribute in different ways. But he firmly believes it was the ITE that gave him the confidence to take the first step in his career. He now plans to create more opportunities for ITE students to develop communication and soft skills, and devote more effort to guiding their career development.

This year’s President’s Challenge raised more than $11.04 million. The funds will support 62 new projects run by 60 organisations, bringing the total, including projects launched last year, to about 120.