President Tony Tan visited the South West Community Development Council (CDC) on Wednesday, Oct 5.
He met mayors Dr Amy Khor, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Dr Teo Ho Pin, Dr Maliki Osman and some District Councillors from the five CDCs to better understand the work of the CDCs.
At the closed door session he was briefed by Dr Khor on the roles of the CDCs, as well as their initiatives and plans.
He was told that the CDCs had together disbursed close to $61 million to assist some 61,500 beneficiaries through the National ComCare schemes and helped place about 12,500 job seekers for employment in 2010.
In addition, Dr Khor shared with the President that the CDCs also encouraged the more able individuals and corporate organisations to help the less able.
After the closed door briefing, the President also visited the South West CDC Service Centre. He noted that CDCs play an important role in strengthening community bonding, promoting social cohesion and helping those in need.
He said that the CDCs have to be "conscious of the challenges faced by Singaporeans who struggle to make ends meet or feel that they are being left behind" and do their best to help them.
