Joyce Chen
Yew Chung/Yew Wah Chief Information Officer
First Staff Donor of YCCECE, and funded a scholarship for Student Teachers specializing in Special Education Needs (SEN)

I have joined this Foundation for more than 6 years now, and feel a strong sense of belonging and shared identity, because I know how difficult it is to find an organization that is so well aligned with my own values. I readily witness how Dr Betty Chan, who is of similar age tomy mother, and Professor Paul Yip, fully devoting their lives to education, which is deeply touching. So naturally, I wondered how I could contribute too?

Each of one us comes into this world with mission and purpose, and if you have the ability to help others and contribute to the community, using your life to impact other lives, it is a real blessing. In these years, I have been engaged in philanthropy as an orphanage volunteer, sponsored a few children, and mentored some teenagers, during which I gained new understandings and perspectives.

My decision to donate to YCCECE was made very swiftly, almost instantaneous. A colleague kindly remarked that my donation was a very generous one, but I simply replied that all our lives are fleeting, and we will ultimately depart this world taking nothing with us. God has provided sufficiently for me, and He has given me the ability to share my blessings with others too, so why would I not do so?

As for why I had decided to specifically support Student Teachers specialising in SEN, the answer is very simple: I strongly believe that SEN teacher training is critically important. This had immediately caught my eye when I read the YCCECE fundraising brochure. I know that young children with SEN are often neglected in society, and there is a lack of high quality SEN teachers too, so I believe that YCCECE’s SEN specialisation in their Bachelor degree programme is highly valuable. I therefore asked if I could direct my gift to this specific area, and was very pleased when I received the College’s positive response. I thought that if my donation could support these particular Student Teachers in their professional studies, it would be a worthwhile contribution.

I see a bright future for YCCECE, and I hope that its impact on the Early Childhood profession will continue to spread in the years to come.