Singapore students with more financial helps

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS), which administers The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (SPMF)is ready with more help for the needy students.

From Sept 1,2008, primary school pupils will receive S$45 a month, up from S$35.00
The secondary students will get S$80, up from the current S$60.00
Other qualifing criteria will also be tweaked.
The fund will be eligible for students until they complete the secondary school, instead of up to age 17, as was the case previously.

The inflation rate for June 2008, was 7.5% a 26-year high and prices in school canteens have gone up. These are the few factors which prompts the SPMF to target to raise additional fund of about 28% more money to help the over 8,000 primary and secondary school students,coming from lower-income families.

Who qualifies ?
1) Singapore citizens or PR
2) Full-time students in the mainstream primary or secondary school, special,handicapped,or religious school.
3) Living in HDB 4-room flat or smaller.
3) Total income divided by the number of family members is not more than $450 per month.

To apply, call : 1800 8380-100

We can also make donate to the Fund, send a cheque :
1) Name : The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund

2) Mail it to :
The straits Times School Pocket Fund
Singapore Press Holdings,
1000 Toa Payoh North
Singapore 318994

3) Write your name, IC number and address on the back of the cheque.

100-year Oympic dream comes true

Is great to know that way back to 1908, which is 100 years ago, an educator in Beijing, name Zhang Boling fired up China's Olympic ambitions with these questions :

When could the mainland send an athlete to compete,and when would it win a gold medal? Most challenging,when would China, then severely weakened by hostile foreign forces and domestic strife, be able to host the Olympics?

08.08.2008 - China fulfilled this century-old dream with a grand spectacular opening of Beijing Olympic Games. The 16-day sports fest mark a bigger turning point in its development.

China has proven to the world that it is no longer the "sick man of East Asia" by beating the United States in the olympic gold medal race. Chinese athletes bagged a total of 51 gold medals, ahead of Second-placed US with 36 golds. As American sports historian Susan Brownell put it,hosting the Games was the Chinese people's "collective redemption for the natikonal suffering of he past century"

The 29th Olympiad was undoubtedly a remarkable success both for China and the international Olympic movement. TV viewership for both opening and closing ceremonies - at four billion - was unprecedented.

Do you have a view to share ? Drop me a line for the sharing.

Beijing opens Olympic 2008 - spectacularly

With 91,000 people packed into the New National Stadium, Bird Nest, China at last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, opened the Summer Games. At 8.00pm on 8 August 2008 with 2008 drummers beat out a pulsating rhythm with their hands to start off in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power.

To their eyes, the omens were good. The ceremony began at 8 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 _ auspicious in a country where eight is the luckiest number.

Scores of world leaders were on hand, and the potential TV audience was 4 billion worldwide for what was certainly the costliest ( estimated $40 billion ) and probably the largest opening ceremony in Olympic history. President Bush,Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and our MM Mr Lee Kuan Yew were among the dignataries who endured heat and humidity to watch China make this bold declaration that it had arrived.

The centerpiece was the parade of athletes, climaxing with the entry of the 639-strong Chinese team. Its flag-bearer was basketball idol Yao Ming, accompanied by 9-year-old schoolboy Lin Hao, a survivor of May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

A record 204 delegations paraded their athletes through the stadium Brunei is the only country did not send in any participant.

The celebration ended with former triple gymnastics gold medalist Li Ning, was hoisted by wires to the top of the stadium, circled the circumference as though he were spacewalking and then touched the torch to a thin pipe, setting off a spiral of flame to ignite the mammoth, scroll-shaped

"It was a breathtaking experience walking into the stadium," said Oganna Nnamani, a volleyball player from Bloomington, Ill. "I am thankful to be part of this moment."

"This is the biggest stage," said LeBron James, who hopes to lead the U.S. basketball team to a gold medal.