PSSA 2009 - Individual Category Award Winner

Ms Lye Lan Fong

“The wounds of widowhood are not easily seen with the eyes because the process of grief is within the heart and soul.  Others can misread us.  Hence, it takes a widow to fully understand a widow.”
Ms Lye Lan Fong, Founder-Chairman, Wicare Support Group, sharing on the need to start a support group for widows

Having the experience in dealing with her own pain as a widow, Ms Lye started an informal support group to help widows in 1994.  Subsequently, the support group was registered as the Wicare Support Group with the Registrar of Societies in October 1998.  Supported by only two full-time staff, Wicare has now expanded from an informal group of 12 widows to over 600 widows and more than 800 children.  

As a result of Ms Lye’s vision, Wicare has build up an extensive offering of services for widows – providing emotional support to them, developing their life skills, rebuilding their confidence, and assisting them to be self-reliant. 

Ms Lye’s dedication to the cause is evident in her active involvement in the programmes offered by Wicare.  Despite her full-time job as an Executive Financial Consultant, she attends and co-facilitates the support group meetings, and even meets and follows up with her support group members on their progress.  Ms Lye would also accompany them to professional counselling centres and institutions such as the Institute of Mental Health and the Samaritans of Singapore.  In addition, Ms Lye works with other stakeholders such as Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and Community Development Councils to help needy widows. 

Ms Lye has also extended Wicare’s outreach to the Chinese-speaking community.  It started in August 2004 with less than 10 ladies, and now serves more than 100 Chinese-speaking widows.  Wicare started an art therapy programme last year for the widows’ children.  Through art and craft, dancing and singing, the children found strength and encouragement from each other as they realised they are not alone in the grieving journey.  So far, more than 20 children have benefited from the programme.

To acknowledge her outstanding contribution to the widows and their children, Ms Lye won the Rotary Shine On Singapore Award for Unsung Heroes by the Rotary Club of Singapore last year. 

Other PSSA 2009 winners: