Wednesday, July 01, 2015

[Event] SAF50 : BORN A HERO - CELEBRATING THE STRENGTH OF WOMEN FOR THE SAF


Won a pair of invites to attend the Born a Hero Finale Event which was held at Tangs and hosted by Irene Ang. Thanks Jessie for holding the giveaway. Sponsored by AXA Singapore, this Born a Hero (BAH) project was launched and organised by women's website Material World Singapore as part of the commemoration for the SAF's 50th anniversary (SAF50). BAH celebrates the unsung heroes behind Singapore's defence by telling the stories of ordinary women who have contributed to the success of the SAF in their own ways. 


All invited guests received two very nice tote bag. Love this cloth tote bag which says, "Keep calm and soldier on." Inside contains some goodies as well as a $10 voucher to be used on the same day. 


We were in for a treat with the yummy refreshments and drinks from the Providore served to us by the warm and friendly staff there. Despite the very long queue, they still carry a big smile when serving us. 


What Providore believes and delivers. Oh, and I also went to sample their Chocolate and Chili powder. Almost chock. So in the end I got myself the safest Chocolate powder with the $10 voucher. 

Welcome speech by the host, Irene Ang (who played the popular role of "mother of Ken Chow" in the Ah Boys to Men movies) and also wonderful live band performance we enjoyed while we do our shopping. 


At about 8pm, we all gathered again as host, Irene Ang facilitate the Born a Hero Panel discussion. It was a 15 minutes of fame featuring Deborah Tan, Co-Founder of Material World Singapore, who initiated this Born a Hero Project; Judy Kong, Born a Hero Personality, she is a veteran who joined the Singapore Women's Auxiliary Naval Service (SWANS) in 1964 as a volunteer; Setoh Wei Leng, another Born a Hero Personality, she provided her significant other with moral support as he went through National Service; and lastly Priya Shahane, Chief HR Officer with AXA Singapore.

10 stories each honouring and celebrating women who have contributed towards our nation's defence network were released on Material World (www.materialworldsingapore.com) from March to June for this Born a Hero project. I happened to read a few inspiring stories that of Tina Goh, a veteran who joined the SAF in the 1970s at the tender age of 18; blogger-mum Summer Goh, who adapted to a new life in Sweden with her husband who is a regular with the Republic of Singapore Navy - when he was deployed there on training; and lastly Judy Kong who felt that women had an equal role to play when it comes to safeguarding the interests of Singapore. She joined SWANS together with 20-odd other young women from all walks of life in 1964 upon seeing an advertisement in the Straits Times. She is in view that all women can contribute to national defence and it doesn't necessary have to be joining the uniformed services. Those who are not part of the services can contribute to national defence by giving support as good mothers, wives, sisters or even neighbours.   


Born a Hero is a great initiatives that gives a chance to thank and honour women for the various roles we played. As the saying goes, "Behind every successful man is a great woman"  so go ahead and thank your female partners who have been the heroes in your life,

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