One of the new things she is excited about learning is coding, and things are looking up. “(She has) a good opportunity here, and (it) can help guide her (to) where she wants to go,” said her mother, Santi Chong.
“Anything she asks me, I (don’t) really understand, like (when it comes to) education. And education, for me, is really important.”
It has taken =Dreams nearly two years to get the academic-focused facility going. Given the anxiety and self-esteem issues that students such as Vivian may have, however, would the charity consider adding programmes to better help their mental well-being?
The short answer is yes, said chairman Stanley Tan. “But the long answer is that obviously the first thing we’ve got to concerned about is their ability to cope with their schoolwork.
“Programmes aren’t cast in stone. We’ll modify them, evaluate them and include other aspects — so we do intend to be quite comprehensive in the way we explore what works best with these kids.”