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AWWA’s journey to empower the disadvantaged began in 1970 by the will of one woman, Mrs Shakuntala Bhatia. Mrs Bhatia rallied like-minded women in Singapore to start helping the needy, as the wives of British troops, who had been plugging this welfare gap, started leaving in the late 1960s.
In the beginning, the work consisted of general welfare services. Under the banner of the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, Mrs Bhatia and her peers identified gaps in the community. In addition to helping families in need, they also delivered much-needed services to help the aged and persons with disabilities. Their goal was to empower the marginalised and socially disadvantaged and enable them to lead dignified and independent lives.
Over the past 50 years, what started out as a group of caring volunteers coming together to support low-income families, has grown into one of the largest multi-service social service agencies in Singapore, delivering a wide range of services for children and adults with additional needs, vulnerable families and seniors.
On 7 January 2015, the Association incorporated AWWA Ltd., a Singapore company limited by guarantee. In April that year, AWWA Ltd. took over the operation of all the charitable services and activities previously managed by the Association.
On 29 March 2022, the Association’s members passed a resolution to dissolve the Association, which was approved by the Registrar of Societies and the Commissioner of Charities. While this chapter of the Association has closed, the work of AWWA will continue through AWWA Ltd.. We will strive to live up to the courage and vision of our early founders and members such as Mrs Kula, Mrs Bhatia, Mrs Tambyah and many others before us, whose good work has laid the foundation for AWWA and empowered so many to lead better and more dignified lives.
Today, our 900-strong team of social workers, therapists, teachers, programme staff and management, as well as our large pool of volunteers and donors, continue striving to fulfil our mission of empowering the disadvantaged, and identifying and filling key social service gaps in the community. This aptly embodies our ethos of “People Giving to People”.
We continue to carry with us Mrs Bhatia’s belief that no one should be left behind. AWWA’s services are focused on empowering clients to participate in society as fully as possible, whether through achieving independence, integration in mainstream settings, or aspiring to full inclusion. In recent years, AWWA has been advocating for greater inclusion in the education sphere. In 2016, it started Kindle Garden, Singapore’s first truly inclusive preschool, with the support of Lien Foundation.
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Kindle Garden Preschool by AWWA has been awarded the Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK) Certification
AWWA is a social service agency, serving persons across life-stages.