Preschool teacher who overcame childhood abuse among 11 awarded President’s Challenge fellowships

President’s Challenge Fellows (from left) FyreFlyz founder Lovelynne Chong, preschool teacher Nor Natasha Samian, and PCF Sparkletots Preschool teacher Muhamad Shahril Samri on Oct 25.

Vanessa Paige Chelvan

Published Oct 25, 2026, 08:30 PM

Updated Oct 25, 2026, 08:30 PM

SINGAPORE - Preschool teacher Nor Natasha Samian, 27, not only teaches the children in her classroom their ABCs but makes sure they also feel safe and loved, after her own experience with abuse in her early years.

At six, she was sexually abused but an adult family member she spoke to did not take her seriously. At 12, she developed a skin condition that made her a target of cruel remarks from other children.

She attempted suicide at 15 and was placed in a children’s home. After a second attempt, she was referred to HCSA Dayspring, a residential treatment centre for girls who have survived abuse.

The centre’s staff helped turn her life around, said Natasha, who has been a teaching preschool for the last five years.

She draws on her childhood experiences to better understand children who exhibit challenging behaviour in her classroom.

Natasha is one of 11 recipients of the 2026 President’s Challenge Fellowship, which supports people overcoming adversity, social sector professionals and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates who are doing their part for the community.

All were awarded their fellowships during the President’s Challenge Night fundraiser on Oct 25.

In her preschool class, Natasha tries to understand what is troubling the children, instead of simply correcting them because challenges outside school can affect how children behave in class, she said.

“Instead of focusing on correcting their behaviour, I try to understand what they are feeling and what they’re trying to tell me,” she added.

Now in the first year of a part-time early childhood education degree at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Natasha hopes to deepen her knowledge of special needs education and trauma-informed care, supported by the fellowship. She will also receive mentorship to guide her personal and professional development.

Speaking to reporters before the fund-raiser on Oct 25, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said while people’s circumstances often shape their opportunities in life, it is important to remove the hurdles they face and give everyone a chance to succeed.

“Everyone, with the right support, and the right people around them, can uplift themselves, and in fact surprise both themselves and others with how far they can leap, how far they can go in life, and how much they can contribute to those around them,” he added.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said while people’s circumstances often shape their opportunities in life, it is important to remove the hurdles they face and give everyone a chance to succeed. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said while people’s circumstances often shape their opportunities in life, it is important to remove the hurdles they face and give everyone a chance to succeed.

This year, 11 people were selected for the President’s Challenge Fellowship, under the Civic Action, Springboard and ITE Inspire tracks. All in, 23 people have been awarded the fellowship since it began in 2025.

Apart from Natasha, the other Springboard Fellows are ITE College East student Nurul Ashikin Seman, SUSS part-time research assistant Quek Hwee Kimberly, and Yellow Ribbon Cares social worker Rizwan Habib.

Five ITE graduates were selected as ITE Inspire Fellows to mentor students and help them explore career opportunities.

One of them is preschool teacher Muhamad Shahril Samri, 38, who entered the profession almost by chance.

After seven years studying engineering at ITE and polytechnic, he got into the early childhood education sector when a friend helped him land a temporary part-time job at a preschool.

He was later asked to teach children about traditional Malay music and instruments at PCF Sparkletots in Pioneer. The principal saw him at work and encouraged him to become a teacher.

He had his doubts because male preschool teachers were rare at the time, he said. But he took the plunge and will mark 10 years as a teacher in February 2027.

Shahril said he hopes to prepare ITE early childhood education students for the realities of the classroom during his fellowship. He also wants to help them understand that the job goes beyond changing diapers.

He added that he plans to organise poetry and public speaking workshops to encourage students to use their mother tongues, by roping in groups like the Poetry Festival of Singapore.

The other four ITE Inspire Fellows are Wang Junyong, managing director of I.S.E. Education; Tan Teck Lee, deputy principal at the Singapore Institute of Power and Gas; Derrick Lee Ming Yang, co-founder and chief technology officer at tech firm Accredify; and Sheila Manokaran, co-founder of River Valley Irregulars.

Two social sector professionals received the Civic Action Fellowship, which allows them to take one- to two-year sabbaticals to develop new ways of tackling social issues.

One is Lovelynne Chong, 42, founder of social enterprise FyreFlyz, who plans to help open doors for disadvantaged youth.

She became a single mother at 21 and struggled to get by with little support. She was also ineligible for public housing, subsidies and tax rebates.

Her daughter is now 21, but Chong believes many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds still face similar hurdles, compounded by a lack of connections and opportunities.

Drawing on 17 years of experience in the social sector, she hopes to develop a model that connects underserved youth with working professionals and community leaders who can offer mentorship, career guidance and access to networks they might otherwise lack.

The aim, she said, is to help young people build social capital – the relationships and connections that can open doors – and narrow the gaps in opportunity between those from different backgrounds.

Chong will spend her one-year fellowship at SUSS, developing and testing the model in the hope that it can be adopted more widely in the social service sector.

She described being named a fellow as “unreal”, saying the recognition affirmed years of work by her and her team.

The other Civic Action Fellow is social service professional Ng Shou Jin.

Partners including ITE, SUSS, the Singapore Business Federation Foundation, Temasek and Temasek Foundation will provide the fellows with expertise, networks and development opportunities.

Established in 2000, the President’s Challenge was refreshed in 2025 to provide multi-year funding for social programmes, instead of one-off grants.

It is supporting 62 new programmes in 2026, bringing the total to 121.

Vanessa Paige Chelvan is an education correspondent at The Straits Times. She also writes the occasional commentary on parenthood, work and family life.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Crowdfunding and fundraising

总统挑战奖学金获得者（从左至右）FyreFlyz 创始人 Lovelynne Chong、学前教师 Nor Natasha Samian 和 PCF Sparkletots 学前班教师 Muhamad Shahril Samri 于 10 月 25 日合影。

凡妮莎·佩奇·切尔万

发布于2026年10月25日晚上8:30

更新于2026年10月25日晚上8:30

新加坡——27岁的幼儿园教师诺尔·娜塔莎·萨米安不仅教班上的孩子们字母表，还确保他们感到安全和被爱，因为她自己在早年曾遭受虐待。

六岁时，她遭到性侵，但她向一位成年家庭成员求助时，对方却并未重视。十二岁时，她患上了一种皮肤病，这使她成为其他孩子嘲笑的对象。

她15岁时曾试图自杀，之后被送往儿童之家。第二次自杀未遂后，她被转介到HCSA Dayspring，这是一个专门为遭受虐待的女孩提供的寄宿治疗中心。

娜塔莎说，中心的员工帮助她改变了人生。娜塔莎在过去的五年里一直在幼儿园教书。

她会结合自己的童年经历，更好地理解班上那些行为有挑战性的孩子。

娜塔莎是 2026 年总统挑战奖学金的 11 位获得者之一，该奖学金旨在支持克服逆境的人、社会部门专业人士以及为社区做出贡献的工艺教育学院 (ITE) 毕业生。

所有获奖者都在 10 月 25 日举行的总统挑战之夜筹款活动上获得了奖学金。

娜塔莎说，在她的学前班里，她会努力了解孩子们遇到的困难，而不是简单地纠正他们的错误，因为学校以外的挑战会影响孩子们在课堂上的行为。

她补充说：“与其专注于纠正他们的行为，我更愿意去理解他们的感受以及他们想告诉我什么。”

娜塔莎目前在新加坡社会科学大学（SUSS）攻读非全日制幼儿教育学位，这是她第一年学习。她希望借助奖学金，加深对特殊教育和创伤知情护理的理解。此外，她还将获得导师的指导，以促进其个人和职业发展。

10月25日，尚达曼总统在筹款活动前接受记者采访时表示，虽然人们的境遇往往会影响他们的人生机遇，但重要的是要消除他们面临的障碍，让每个人都有机会获得成功。

“只要有正确的支持，身边有合适的人，每个人都能提升自己，事实上，他们都能惊讶于自己能跳多远，人生能走多远，以及能为周围的人做出多大的贡献，”他补充道。

尚达曼总统表示，虽然人们的境遇往往决定了他们的人生机遇，但重要的是要消除他们面临的障碍，让每个人都有机会获得成功。（海峡时报图片：Gavin Foo）

尚达曼总统表示，虽然人们的境遇往往会影响他们的人生机遇，但重要的是要消除他们面临的障碍，让每个人都有机会获得成功。

今年，共有11人入选总统挑战奖学金，分别来自公民行动、跳板计划和ITE Inspire项目三个方向。自2025年该奖学金设立以来，累计已有23人获此殊荣。

除了 Natasha 之外，其他 Springboard Fellows 成员还有 ITE College East 学生 Nurul Ashikin Seman、SUSS 兼职研究助理 Quek Hwee Kimberly 和 Yellow Ribbon Cares 社会工作者 Rizwan Habib。

五名ITE毕业生被选为ITE Inspire Fellows，指导学生并帮助他们探索职业机会。

其中一位是38岁的学前教师穆罕默德·沙赫里尔·萨姆里，他几乎是偶然进入这个行业的。

在ITE和理工学院学习了七年工程学之后，他经朋友介绍在一家幼儿园找到了一份临时兼职工作，从而进入了幼儿教育领域。

后来，他受邀到先锋区的PCF Sparkletots幼儿园教孩子们学习马来传统音乐和乐器。校长看到他教学后，鼓励他成为一名教师。

他说，当时男幼教老师很少，所以他一开始也有些犹豫。但他最终还是决定尝试一下，并将于2027年2月迎来执教十周年纪念日。

沙里尔表示，他希望在实习期间帮助ITE幼儿教育专业的学生做好应对实际课堂教学的准备。他还希望帮助他们理解，这份工作远不止换尿布那么简单。

他还补充说，他计划组织诗歌和公共演讲工作坊，鼓励学生使用母语，并邀请新加坡诗歌节等团体参与其中。

其他四位ITE Inspire Fellow分别是：ISE Education董事总经理王俊勇；新加坡电力与燃气学院副院长陈德利；科技公司Accredify联合创始人兼首席技术官李明阳；以及River Valley Irregulars联合创始人Sheila Manokaran。

两名社会领域专业人士获得了公民行动奖学金，该奖学金允许他们休假一到两年，以开发解决社会问题的新方法。

其中一位是 42 岁的 Lovelynne Chong，她是社会企业 FyreFlyz 的创始人，计划帮助弱势青年打开机会之门。

她21岁就成了单身母亲，生活拮据，几乎没有任何支持。她也不符合申请公屋、领取补贴和退税的条件。

她的女儿现在 21 岁了，但 Chong 认为，许多来自弱势背景的年轻人仍然面临着类似的障碍，而且由于缺乏人脉和机会，这些障碍更加严重。

凭借在社会领域 17 年的经验，她希望建立一个模式，将服务不足的青年与能够提供指导、职业指导和人脉网络的专业人士和社区领袖联系起来，使他们能够获得原本可能缺乏的人脉资源。

她说，其目的是帮助年轻人建立社会资本——即能够打开机遇之门的各种关系和联系——并缩小不同背景的人之间的机会差距。

Chong将在新加坡社会科学大学进行为期一年的研究员工作，开发和测试该模型，希望它能在社会服务领域得到更广泛的应用。

她形容被评为研究员“感觉很不真实”，并表示这一荣誉肯定了她和她的团队多年来的工作。

另一位公民行动研究员是社会服务专业人士吴守进。

包括ITE、SUSS、新加坡商业联合会基金会、淡马锡和淡马锡基金会在内的合作伙伴将为研究员提供专业知识、人脉网络和发展机会。

总统挑战计划设立于 2000 年，并于 2025 年进行了更新，旨在为社会项目提供多年资金，而不是一次性拨款。

2026 年，它将支持 62 个新项目，使总数达到 121 个。

Vanessa Paige Chelvan是《海峡时报》的教育记者。她偶尔也会撰写一些关于育儿、工作和家庭生活的评论文章。

尚达曼

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