It’s a weekday evening at Boon Lay. People are rushing home from a long day at work or are heading out to meet friends. Many walk past the ground-floor shop units of a certain HDB block, often without a second thought. But behind those doors, a world of activity is unfolding.
In one unit, the art studio, children are gearing up for an outdoor theatre performance slated to take place at the playground outside. In another unit nearby, kids who may not get regular meals at home are busy in the community kitchen preparing sandwiches for their dinner. A few steps away, some kids are tending to a community garden, caring for curry leaves, long beans and papayas.
These areas are all part of Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC), a project under 3Pumpkins, a non-profit arts organisation. The club offers a nurturing space for kids from tough family backgrounds to play and grow holistically, regardless of their circumstances, through various developmental programmes.
Shiyun Lin, the 42-year-old founder of 3Pumpkins, can be seen in the art studio, helping the kids pick out their costumes and paint the props needed for their upcoming performance.
“This is the kids’ space,” Lin told me. “A community where kids come together, learn crucial values, grow together with other children, and then transmit these values to younger kids.”
NURTURING CHILDREN WHO FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS
Lin has always been passionate about children. The Singaporean has an arts background and was an arts producer for 14 years, working on theatre and performance arts for youths.