Bringing Light to Needy Communities

Soon Weiling Eileen

Project Light is an initiative that was the brainchild of a group of passionate nurses, started back in 2015. Their vision was to create a platform to bring together everyday Singaporeans and healthcare professionals to serve needy communities by addressing primary healthcare needs, and by empowering locals through preventive health education. Project Light recognises that one-off outreaches sometimes may do more harm than good as locals may develop reliance on external help. This becomes harmful when there is a sudden cut in external resources being able to reach the communities, such as what was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we aim to initiate sustainable health programmes to effect positive health changes among the vulnerable communities.

Locally, Project Light has been deeply involved in the migrant worker community, ensuring that their health and welfare are being paid attention to and taken seriously. Leaving behind their families in their respective countries to earn a living here, these migrant workers very often take care of our basic needs, so much so that we have become reliant on the presence of these workers in our daily lives; yet unfortunately, little appreciation has been given to these workers. We have thus held numerous basic health-screening mobile clinics and celebration of events. We have also been engaging and caring for the mental welfare of these workers who have sacrificed so much.

Overseas, Project Light has conducted medical outreach programmes to Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and the Philippines. These two years unfortunately, we have been unable to proceed with our regular overseas medical outreaches due to the pandemic. Thankfully, with the COVID-19 pandemic now coming under control, we are once again able to get back on the horse and pick up from where we left off.

We will be embarking on our second overseas medical outreach of 2023 to Phetchabun, Thailand, from 16 to 24 December 2023, in collaboration with Radion International. Radion International is a Singapore-founded non-governmental organisation that is headquartered in Thailand, focusing on both short-term and long-term assistance to the underprivileged and marginalised communities in Asia, with programmes that cover child rescue and protection, community development, disaster recovery, and largely aiding vulnerable and at-risk children.

This will be Project Light's sixth medical outreach in collaboration with Radion International in Phetchabun, Thailand. We will be conducting village outreach and mobile clinics, as well as food distribution and home visits for patients and the vulnerable elderly living in the village.

Our intended team would consist of at least two doctors, six nurses and/or allied health professionals, and one non-medical person to handle the logistic duties. We are looking for passionate doctors who will be willing to join us for this trip in doing our bit to help change lives, and hope to hear from you soon!


SMA and the SMA Charity Fund support volunteerism among our profession. SMA News provides charitable organisations with complimentary space to publicise their causes. To find out more, email news@sma.org.sg or visit the SMA Charity website at https://www.smacf.org.sg.


More about Project Light

To sign up for the medical outreach from 16 to 24 December 2023 to Thailand, visit https://bit.ly/47eyvK6.

Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/projectlight2015) and Instagram (@proj_light) or email projectlightsg@gmail.com to find out more about our work.


Soon Weiling Eileen is the medical director of Project Light. She is currently a resident physician GP at Intemedical Kovan Clinic and has deep interest in humanitarian work. She spends most of her off days and free time in the climbing gym (and occasionally overseas rocks and cliffs when time permits).

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