Cancer survivor, 12, among 194 student volunteers recognised for efforts supporting community

SINGAPORE – Debbie Ong En Yu, now 12, was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer when she was in kindergarten, but that has not stopped her from volunteering to help others.

The Tao Nan School pupil, who eventually had her right leg amputated because of osteosarcoma, is also an aspiring Paralympian. She is currently one of the youngest table tennis players in the Singapore Disability Sports Council’s pre-development squad.

At school, Debbie volunteered in a recess-buddy programme that saw her accompanying a young student who had trouble adapting to the classroom environment.

She said: “There’s such a big improvement now. He doesn’t suddenly jump out of the seat to interrupt the teacher anymore.

“He listens attentively during class, and he knows how to talk to his friends, so that they’ll like him.”

Debbie was one of 194 students from 81 schools who received the Singapore Silent Heroes Student Award at the Spring Singapore Auditorium in Bukit Merah on May 23.

The annual awards were launched in 2023 by the Civilians Association Singapore. The awards aim to highlight students who choose to do good in supporting the elderly, caring for people with special needs, or their peers.

“To be honest, I know that I’m probably not the best person in my school, but I worked hard a lot, and it’s nice to see that my efforts have resulted in inspiring others.”

“I am not good all the time, every single day, like every single minute. I think I’ve definitely made some mistakes here and there, but I think overall I’ve tried my best, and I’m quite happy with the results,” Debbie said.

In her speech at the awards ceremony, Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau said that it is difficult to learn compassion from textbooks.

“We try our best to teach them about values, but nothing beats having a chance to practise it.

“So I’m very happy to see many students here who have had the opportunity and who have seized it and tried your best to show what values look like in action”, said Ms Lau, who is also Minister of State for Digital Development and Information.

CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School student Teo Min Xuan, 16, received an award for her advocacy work around rare diseases and disorders and digital literacy for seniors.

The Secondary 4 student raises awareness for rare disorders and leads a group of like-minded schoolmates to organise talks, prepare care packs and display educational materials across her school campus and online.

She also volunteered with others to prepare lessons on digital literacy for seniors by holding sessions for seniors at the Asian Women’s Welfare Association in Ang Mo Kio.

Seniors learnt how to better protect themselves from scams on their phone, and also how to better use the functions on their phones.

“It’s not how much effort or time you put in, it’s about whether you put in the effort to help these people at all.

“I believe through advocating for these people, I can get more attention from others who may have the same passion or even more passion to step up and take initiative to start projects or even start volunteering,” said Min Xuan.

Tay Yu Han of Holy Innocents’ Primary School was nominated for her resilience in school while undergoing treatment for cancer.

The 12-year-old takes care of her special needs brother, who is seven, while they are at school together.

Yu Han aspires to be a nurse in the future.

“I want to become a nurse because during my treatment, there were a lot of kind nurses who helped me. When I see them help patients, it touches my heart,” she added.

Addressing the students in the audience, Ms Lau urged them to remain kind despite other pressures.

She said: “There will be pressures on you to work faster, to think of yourself more, to focus on your academic grades, to strive to compete, and you may not even notice how you are changing.”

“But I hope when you have a chance, think about what you are receiving your award for today, and think about how you felt when someone said that you are a Singapore silent hero… don’t get sucked into that cycle of unkindness that you may see out there in the world today.”