Focusing on Life Transitions
A common priority at both the MOE and MSF is ensuring social mobility, and looking at how education can be a “social leveller” to uplift families.
"For MOE, we're very conscious that we have a role to make sure that even children without the same headstart in life have opportunities in school to fulfil their potential. And that ties in quite nicely with what MSF is doing to help low-income families."
In her role, Wan Yong focuses on supporting those with developmental needs and disabilities throughout their different life stages, from children requiring early intervention to adults.
“Kids who don't develop as typically as other children need help in the early years so that they can hopefully catch up with their peers. That's under the Early Childhood Development Agency in the MSF family. Then they go to a SPED school or an MOE mainstream school for their education.
"After they finish their education, they are now adults with disabilities. And that goes back to MSF," she explained.
"As they transition from preschool to school and into adulthood, how do we smoothen the transition? How do we make sure their families and caregivers feel more supported? How can we find more employers who are prepared to hire persons with disabilities (PwDs)?"
Community Efforts
After graduating, not all PwDs are able to go into open or supported employment. There are Day Activity Centres where they can spend time, but the greater aim is to have them be gainfully occupied and keep up their life skills.
One way to better support these PwDs and their families is to tap community resources. As people become more educated and affluent, more want to give back.
"There are donors who want to give money, but the tougher issue is with manpower. Are we able to staff these Centres? That’s a harder challenge because these jobs are tough," she said.
"So, it’s also about giving our time to help one another. It can be as simple as offering to look after a neighbour’s child with disabilities so that the neighbour can run errands without having to drop off the child at a daycare centre," Wan Yong said.
"I do think there is room for us to do a bit more to become a more inclusive society. It's not just the government, or social service agencies, it's about how all of us respond, as a society."
Learning From Leaders
After starting in the then-Trade Development Board (now Enterprise Singapore), and moving through several Ministries spanning trade and industry, education, and finance, she became Special Assistant to Mr Teo Chee Hean, then-Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, in 2011.
The role of a Special Assistant, she explained, is "taking care of all the chapalang things so he can focus on the important things".
"He coined the phrase that I was his ‘adjunct brain’, which of course is not possible – his brain is way bigger than mine!"
She learnt greatly from seeing Mr Teo work across many different areas of government, from climate change, research and population policies, to home affairs, national security, the Elections Department and the Public Service.
One of her work habits is inspired by how Mr Teo spent much time coaching staff, despite his busy schedule in a senior role.
"He is probably the best tutor I know. He was so deliberate about it," she said. "Now when I reply to an email with my edits or views, sometimes I write a little note: 'Learning moment', and I'll explicitly state the lesson from this particular piece of work."