Words Of Love

Edipresse Media Singapore’s Words Without Walls storybook project supports local charity New Life Stories in its work with incarcerated mothers and their children, writes Grace Ma

- Grace Ma

ONE FAMILY HAS 14 members living under one roof, including a 74-year-old taking care of his four young great-grandchildren whose mothers were once in prison. Another seven-year-old boy, whose family has four generations of incarcerated parents, was unable to read any English until a volunteer started weekly reading lessons with him.

These are the families that Edipresse Media Singapore wants to help through its Words Without Walls literacy project. This year, the project takes the form of a children’s storybook, which compiles original stories written by women serving their sentences in prison into an illustrated book that will be sold to raise funds to support New Life Stories. The non-profit organisation helps families with incarcerated parents to break out of the poverty cycle through early childhood learning and parent engagement.

Corinne Ng, managing director of Edipresse Media Singapore, which publishes Singapore Tatler, says that she was impressed when she heard about the programmes run by New Life Stories from Como Foundation director Ming Tan and National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre CEO Melissa Kwee.