On 2 August 2022, without much fanfare, the SMA Charity Fund (SMACF) opened applications for the SMA Medical Students' Assistance Fund (SMA-MSAF) Bursary on our newly minted independent website at https://www.smacf.org.sg.
For the much-coveted SMA-MSAF Bursary, we received a total of 74 applications from students of NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and Duke-NUS Medical School.
With the support of our loyal donors, SMACF was able to disburse a total of 51 bursaries amounting to $255,000 to our beneficiaries this year.
The pandemic had scuppered our plans to hold bursary disbursement events over the last three years, and we were absolutely delighted that we could revive our flagship event this year with a turnout far beyond our expectations. Altogether, more than 25 students turned up to meet with SMACF Chairman Dr Chong Yeh Woei, SMA President Dr Tan Yia Swam and SMACF board members at the SMA office.
In his opening address, Dr Chong shared with our beneficiaries SMACF's mission and vision, and how we will continue to support as many beneficiaries as our limited finances permit. Dr Chong also shared anecdotes of his engagement with past recipients who have since gone on to forge successful careers in medicine, some choosing to specialise in their chosen fields while others went into private practice as GPs, providing invaluable service to the communities in the heartlands.
This year's event took on a different format, with our guests divided into three groups. This provided our beneficiaries the opportunity to pick on the wisdom of our board members, who serve in the healthcare sector as doctors and/or healthcare administrators.
The event officially ended at 8.30 pm with our beneficiaries and board members banding together for a group photo. What was heart-warming was that even after the event officially ended, the majority of the beneficiaries stayed behind to mingle with one another for another hour. It was heartening to see them share the backgrounds of their life experiences and exchange contacts so that they could keep in touch with one another.
SMACF will continue to strive towards not only providing financial support, but to also build a close-knit and supportive community among our future doctors. Let us continue "Supporting Tomorrow's Doctors Today".
Acknowledgements
SMACF would like to thank Ms Ariana Ria Gopakumar, Ms Lim Shi Yu, Ms Sharifah Roshani and Ms Chen Yun Jie Tricia of Republic Polytechnic Final Year Project Team 3 for their assistance in capturing the event through their insightful photos and videos.
For more information on the event, visit our website at https://www.smacf.org.sg/Events-n-News.