Background

Matthew*, 20 years old, has lived a difficult life. He was born in Singapore to Malaysian parents and has lived most of his life in Singapore. He is currently on student pass and has studied in Singapore since his birth. His parents were working in Singapore however, divorced when Matthew and his sister were young. His father received custody of him and his sister and could afford to pay their school fees in Singapore. However, tragedy struck Matthew and his older sister when their father passed away in 2013 from stage 4 colorectal cancer.

The Struggle

Matthew lost his father at the young age of 15 years old. His mother was working in Malaysia and could not afford to pay his school fees. Since the age of 15 years old, he has been staying in a rental room with his older sister who is 2 years older than him. To make matters worse and to further add to Matthew’s difficulties, his mother is currently incarcerated and will only be released in January 2019.

Help Needed- Give Hope

Matthew is currently taking his diploma in a local polytechnic. He has one more year to go and his school fees and living expenses for one year is expected to be S$15,000. Matthew’s sister was forced to stop schooling as she needed to work in order to support her family back home in Malaysia. An organisation managed to get donors to support Matthew’s polytechnic fees and living expenses however, they will now be stopping their assistance.

Matthew has one more year left in school before his graduation. He is currently looking for a part time job however, due to his school, he can only work for a few hours each week and the income that he receives from his part time job is insufficient to get him through school.

Matthew has lived most of his life in Singapore. Education is important as without a proper education, it would be difficult for Matthew to have a decent job and salary.

Ray of Hope is therefore trying to raise S$15,000 for Matthew’s school fees and living expenses. Please give Matthew the gift of education and help him through his final year in school!

* Name has been changed to protect the identity of Matthew as he is still studying

* Matthew is not receiving government assistance