The Singapore Association of Women Lawyers (SAWL) has launched a fundraising project for their SAWL fund.

Applications to fund increased by 90 per cent

This fund was set up in 1987 to further the educational needs of needy students with physical disabilities who have displayed scholastic aptitude.

In 2019, this was expanded to include students with special needs, including students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disability.

Amidst the pandemic in 2020, the fund received more than 130 applications, a 90 per cent increase from 2019.

The fund is very well-received by the community, particularly because there are almost no other scholarships like this fund for these students, which also celebrates their academic achievements.

Fund-raising via music video

As SAWL is hoping to extend the support of the fund to more beneficiaries, a fund-raising project has been launched, in the form of a music video, "Room At The Table For Students with Physical and Intellectual Disability".

The music video is a cover of  Charlie Lim’s song “Room At The Table”, which was written for this year’s National Day Parade, and was specially arranged by Chok Kerong, pianist, organist, and composer.

Besides featuring Minister in the Prime Ministers' Office and Patron of the Fund Indranee Rajah, Law Society's President Gregory Vijayendran S.C, Global Vice Chair and ASEAN CEO of Dentons Rodyk Philip Jeyaretnam S.C, and singer Rani Singam, the music video also features some of the scholarship's award recipients.

This includes 18-year-old Muhammad Daniel Bin Abdullah, who has an intellectual disability, and who received the SAWL Scholarship of S$2,000 in 2019.

The scholarship has helped him and his family with their financial needs and daily expenses including travel expenses to and from school.

The video also features 24-year-old Lee Ci En, who was born with Achonrdoplasia, a form of short-limb dwarfism, was awarded a S$12,000 SAWL Scholarship in 2019, which helped him complete his degree in Social Sciences, majoring in Political Science and Communication Management, in the Singapore Management University (SMU).

SAWL hopes to raise S$250,000 through online donations on Giving.sg by Dec. 31, 2020.

You can donate to the fund here.

This will be matched dollar-by-dollar by the Bicentennial Community Fund.

The fund is an Institution of Public Character status (IPC) and all donations above S$10 will receive tax relief of two-and-a-half times.

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Top image via SAWL SG's Youtube video