SPD@Jurong staff working on the mural

SPD@Jurong provides programmes and services for children with special needs living in the West, namely the Early Intervention Programme for Children and Infants (EIPIC) and Development Support Programme (DSP). With this main emphasis on children, it was essential to create as welcoming and child-friendly an environment as possible.

With this in mind, staff at SPD@Jurong created a mural with a safari theme at the entrance outside the centre at Block 339 of Jurong East Avenue 1. The theme was chosen to complement the existing bright and cheery owl-themed artwork currently adorning the walls of SPD@Jurong.

About 10 litres of paint of different colours were used for the mural. Eight staff from SPD@Jurong, including main artists Wencina Clement, a psychologist, and Sha’dah Bte Suib, a teacher, tapped on their creativity and took over three days to complete the masterpiece in time for SPD@Jurong’s official opening on 10 May. Some of their family members also volunteered in the mural painting.

According to SPD@Jurong centre manager Kunal Ghosh, the finished artwork brightened up the place and lifted the moods of the residents in the vicinity, “The residents whom we interacted with during the painting appreciated the artwork a lot,” he said.