PA to expand its Better Me, Better Us programmes and launch eHandbook to support women and families

People's Association to expand its "Better Me, Better Us" programmes and launch e-Handbook to support women and families

            The People’s Association (PA) Women's Integration Network (WIN) Council and Women's Executive Committees (WECs) are expanding its “Better Me, Better Us” programmes to 32 this year, a 33 per cent increase from the 24 programmes available in 2024.  The PA “Better Me, Better Us” Programmes, which connect women from different backgrounds to learn about health, parenting, financial planning, and other important women’s issues, was launched in 2020 with seven programmes and has been steadily growing its programmes over the years.

2        To enable WECs to curate more meaningful, tailored programmes that address the specific needs of women and families in their respective divisions, PA is also launching its “Better Me, Better Us” e-handbook.  The PA “Better Me, Better Us” e-Handbook exemplifies community-driven innovation, incorporated through invaluable insights from the community and Women's Executive Committees (WECs).

3              The expanded programmes and e-handbook will be launched by Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Development and Adviser to PA WIN Council, Ms Sim Ann, at the WIN Council’s International Women’s Day Celebration 2025. The event, with the theme ‘Celebrate Women, Empower Women’, will be held on Sunday, 2 March 2025 and is expected to attract about 500 participants from the WECs, partners and young women from other women’s groups.

4              Ms Sim said, “We want to empower women and families in the community through collaborations with the members of the public, organisations or agencies, to co-create programmes that help address the needs of women and families in different aspects of their lives. Through sharing information and personal experiences, we hope that participants can gain useful knowledge to enable them to take charge of their lives, connect with other women and families whom they can turn to for mutual support.  They can come together to help spur one another on their journey.”

5        In the spirit of SG60, the SG60 PA Engagement Grant will be made available to ground-up community efforts this year.  Partners and residents are invited to connect and collaborate with PA’s WECs and Family Life Champions and tap on the PA SG60 Grant to explore collaborative opportunities with new partners and residents to develop impactful programmes for residents and community. These programmes can then be incorporated into the PA “Better Me, Better Us” e-handbook.

PA “Better Me, Better Us” Programmes

6        The Covid-19 pandemic saw women experiencing heightened stress and anxiety due to the challenges of working from home and caring for their family. This affected their mental and physical well-being, exacerbated by social isolation and their inability to connect with peers face-to-face. To improve women’s well-being, connectedness and foster learning together, PA WIN Council launched its “Better Me, Better Us” programmes.

7        Feedback to PA “Better Me, Better Us” has been positive. Ms Diana Pang, Chairman of Fengshan WEC and PA WIN Council, who organised the Financial Planning for Women for her residents last year, said: “Many participants shared that the programmes were very accessible for them, and found the knowledge they gained useful. They also liked how our WEC programmes gave them a safe space for sharing personal experiences.”  

8        Ms Rabeeka Beevi, 38, a housewife, who attended the Financial Planning workshop, said: “I am glad to have attended the workshop as the speaker has shared good tips to help me understand the importance of saving up for myself and family, and basics in growing my savings.  There was also a financial health clinic where there is a coach for a one-to-one consultation which I found very useful to start financial planning. I also made new friends among the fellow women who attended the workshop, and we continue to keep in contact to share how we are progressing in financial planning.  I learnt how to save more money which is beneficial to me and my family.”

PA ‘Better Me, Better Us’ e-Handbook

9                  The e-handbook provides information on 32 programmes developed in collaboration with partners including KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore Heart Foundation, Image Mission, Caregivers Alliance Limited and Institute for Financial Literacy.  Through the e-handbook, the WECs can organise programmes for their residents and create opportunities for them to contribute to the community by volunteering to impart their knowledge to other residents or co-create support networks to continue engagement.

PA “Better Me, Better Us” Programme

The “Better Me, Better Us” (BMBU) Programme is a series of talks and workshops initiated by the Women’s Integration Network (WIN) Councill. The programme aims to share knowledge and experiences for women to better manage their and their family’s health, as well as work and family life. Women may also come together to support some of our partner non-profit organisations in collaboration with WECs.

2.              There are 13 partners classified under three categories as follows:

Health
(i) Active Alliance Against HPV
(ii) KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital
(iii) Caregivers Alliance Limited
(iv) Singapore Heart Foundation
(v) Breast Cancer Foundation
(vi) Singapore Cancer Society

Financial Planning
(i) Institute for Financial Literacy

Others:
Outreach activities, breastfeeding for back-to-work mothers, return to work with confidence, services for protection of online victims
(i) Image Mission
(ii) Flegen Pte Ltd
(iii) Make-A-Wish Singapore
(iv) YWCA of Singapore
(v) SHECares@SCWO
(vi) United Women Singapore

32 Programmes are as follows: