Volunteer Feature: Dr Ngiam Xin Ying, CAREconnect Webinar Lead

Many members who have attended CaringSG’s online webinars would find Dr Ngiam Xin Ying a familiar face as she is one of our emcees.

We hear more from Xin Ying about her volunteer journey with us and what she and the CAREconnect webinar team has in store for members in 2022!

Q: Please share more about yourself

XY: I graduated from NUS’ faculty of medicine in 2005 and trained in paediatrics at National University Hospital (NUH). Currently, I work in a small paediatric practice in Ang Mo Kio, practicing both general and developmental paediatrics.

I am also mom to 3 kids – my 10-year-old son and 3-year-old twin daughters. My son was diagnosed with ADHD in Primary 2. He is a really bright and artistic young man but has his challenges; nevertheless, we are slowly making progress!

In my free time, I enjoy reading and drawing comics. I am also a volunteer with Tzu Chi Singapore (not terribly active at the moment), where I helped with doing preschool observations for children suspected to have developmental difficulties and also provided artwork for some of their promotional material.

Q: What do you do as a volunteer with CaringSG?

XY: I am the webinar lead for CaringSG. My team and I organize the monthly webinars for caregivers every 3^rd Saturday night of each month.

We come up with a variety of topics which we think will interest caregivers of special needs children and persons with disabilities. We will then try to contact suitable speakers – both professionals in the relevant fields, as well as caregivers who are willing to share their personal journeys as pertains to the topic at hand. This is to promote an equal partnership between professionals and caregivers.

Our webinars have been well-received, and we can see that the participants are very engaged. In particular, when caregivers share their stories, we see an outpouring of support and encouragement in the Zoom chat. We know from this that the stories have touched their hearts.

Q: Why did you step up to volunteer with CaringSG?

XY: I joined because Dr Lim Hong Huay called me and I couldn’t say no! Haha… But to be honest, I thought it was a really meaningful initiative to have caregivers support one another, and for professionals and caregivers to work as partners in bringing about positive changes for the special needs community.

Q: What do you enjoy about your volunteer work?

XY: Getting to know more people among the volunteer pool, professionals in the relevant fields and other caregivers who are doing amazing work. It is beneficial both to my professional work and personal growth. I also am happy to meet fellow healthcare professionals who are also caregivers – it makes me feel less alone!

Q: What can members look forward to?

XY: 2022 will be our second year running the monthly webinars. We have come up with a few series of talks about topics like future care planning and relationships. So, do join us as members (it’s free!) and look out for the webinar series at https://caring.sg/upcoming-events/