MEET-THE-PEOPLE SESSIONS
Volunteering at the Grassroots Level
Since 2024, I have been volunteering at weekly Meet-The-People Sessions in Tanjong Pagar GRC, supporting Member of Parliament Ms Rachel Ong Sin Yen. My role is that of a case writer: I listen to residents who come with problems, understand their situations, and translate their concerns into letters addressed to the relevant government authorities. On average, I handle six cases a week. The issues vary, but the pattern rarely does.
Where Policy Meets People
The textbook version of policymaking involves parliament, white papers, and legislation. What I see every week at Tanjong Pagar GRC is where all of that eventually lands. It lands with a man in his 60s who cannot afford his utility bills after losing his job. With a family whose housing transfer has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo for months. With an elderly woman who does not understand why her application to withdraw her CPF savings was rejected, and has no one to help her write the letter to find out why.
As a case writer, I translate these situations into letters addressed to the relevant government authorities. But the longer I have done this, the more clearly I see where things get stuck. It is almost never the policy itself. It is that the affected person cannot communicate their situation in a way that the system can act on. That gap has real consequences. People lose access to entitlements they are legally eligible for simply because they cannot find the right words.
This is where The Unspoken Policy becomes real. Project Flare builds students' confidence in communication before they ever need it. Meet-The-People Sessions show me, every week, what it costs when that never happens.
The Impact
6
Cases handled each session
Weekly
Commitment to constituents
20-30
Residents served per week
Since 2024
Continuous and ongoing
COMMUNITY READ ALOUD
Homecoming to inspire the young
On 17 April 2026, I returned to Chiltern House Pre-School as a Guest Author during Book Week, bringing Miles in the Park to life across multiple read-aloud sessions for students aged 4 to 6. It was a homecoming of sorts, as Chiltern House was where my own story began, long before the writing, the research, and the published pages. What began as my own story about finding the courage to speak up had come full circle, back to the very place where it all started.
The questions the children asked were often the most honest ones, and that is exactly why stories like this one matter. A room full of young readers has a way of reminding you why you wrote the book in the first place. Fifteen years on, I stood where I once sat. The quiet student had become the author at the front of the room.
What they said
Watch the Session Highlights
The Impact
60
Young readers reached
4 - 6
Age groups engaged
10
Teachers in attendance
15 years
From student to author