Students bag awards for their hard work and character
Students overcome challenges to contribute to society
It took him two months to learn how to cook mee goreng, practising two to three hours every week.
Mr Ang Wei Jie, 18, was diagnosed with global developmental delay from a young age. This condition impairs one's motor and intellectual skills.
At Minds Woodlands Gardens School, Mr Ang is taught work-related skills and has done work attachments at supermarkets and retail outlets.
His teacher of two years, Miss Noor Adilah Ngadi, said: "Wei Jie is a happy-go-lucky boy who is open to criticisms and works on them to improve."
His perseverance has led him to overcome many challenges.
Just a few months ago, he had problems learning how to craft a text message because he found it hard to form sentences.
However, he diligently kept the guide given to him by his teachers and managed to inform them when he was caught in a train delay on his way to school.
Mr Ang's positive learning spirit helps him to pick up new skills such as floorball quickly. Despite learning it just a few months ago, he represented his school in a competition.
At home, he is the main caregiver for his mother, helping out with simple chores such as cooking her meals, folding clothes and cleaning the house.
Yesterday, Mr Ang received the Lee Kuan Yew Exemplary Student Award at the Special Awards Presentation Ceremony held at Republic Polytechnic.
The annual ceremony recognises students who overcome odds to become role models and contribute in various areas. The awards were presented by the guest of honour, Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, and Culture,Community and Youth.
Alongside Mr Ang, Mr Chryston Chua and Mr Neo Yizhe, both 21, received the Lee Hsien Loong Interactive Digital Media Smart Nation Award - given to polytechnic students whose projects improve the lives of citizens - for their dementia tracker.
The tracker was inspired by Mr Chua's grandmother, who was diagnosed with dementia when he was 11. He remembered her condition deteriorating to a point where she could not move or speak.
She rarely left the house as family members feared that she would get lost, and she could not be left alone without a caregiver.
"I watched her go from being able to speak and move to the point of being unable to communicate, almost like a baby," he said.
She died two years ago.
The dementia tracker, which was Mr Chua and Mr Neo's final-year project in Singapore Polytechnic, comes with an SOS function, and is small and light enough to be carried comfortably. They also aim to price the device at a fraction of commerical trackers, which cost about $200 each.
"Some low-income families do not have the money to hire a caregiver. When that happens, patients are locked in their homes, which can worsen their condition."
The device is currently with Singapore Polytechnic for further research.
Both men will enter Nanyang Technological University to pursue electrical engineering once they complete national service.
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