With the increase in demand for early intervention services in recent years, SPD was appointed by the Ministry for Social and Family Development to operate the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) in Bedok and Tampines. The Building Bridges EIPIC Centre at SPD@Bedok and SPD@Tampines commenced operations in August 2016 and has served close to 120 children between them.

The new EIPIC centres organised open houses over two weekends – SPD@Tampines on 11 February and SPD@Bedok on 18 February – to allow residents living in the neighbourhood to have a better understanding of what we do and who we support.

Teachers and staff of the centres, with the help of volunteers from Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College 8th CSC(E), Kaki Bukit Green RC and IBM, set up face painting and snack booths for the guests. Visitors were brought on a tour of the premises to view the facilities, and had a chance to learn more about the different types of disabilities.

Some visitors also took the opportunity to sign up to be volunteers. Arvie Comia, 29, who signed up as a volunteer at SPD@Tampines to help the teachers in creating their educational resources, said: “This Open House raises awareness among parents and educators on what children with special needs experience when doing a simple task. Thanks for the experience, and good job!”

We thank everyone for welcoming us into the neighbourhood and we look forward to working in partnership with parents and our neighbours to maximise the potential of our children.