I saw this quote in the weekend papers and thought how aptly it describes our little growing allergic community in Singapore.
It’s been quite an exciting first half of 2019 for our allergic support group: Singapore Parents of Eczema and Allergic Kids (SPEAK). When I first sat down with SPEAK co-founder Joanne, and we decided to just ‘go ahead and set up an allergy parent support group’ we did not expect such overwhelming response.
It started with five families, then twenty and now our facebook group has grown to 460 people in a short time span of 2 months.
We reaped huge benefits from sharing resources and tips among our first 5 families. So we wanted to share the joy of these benefits with other parents who may have felt as clueless as us at the beginning.
Our dreams are big but start by moving small tiny stones.
We aim to hold regular events targeted at raising awareness for childhood allergies. Our hope is to gather enough momentum and maybe as a collective voice, we can effect bigger changes for the betterment of the allergic community in Singapore.
We dream big but start small 🙂 Please join us for any of our activities or help to pass the word along to those who may be interested to join us.
Every small voice counts 🙂
SPEAK activities for second half of 2019
We are experimenting with a variety of different outreach programs. Do give us feedback and let us know what you would like to see more of.
Save the following dates in your calendar! Get in touch with us via our facebook page and emails below.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/speakallergysquad/
Email: contact.speakaaa@gmail.com
6 JULY 2019 ALLERGEN FRIENDLY PLAYDATE
When allergic families meet up, we can relax and rest easy as our kids are not ‘weird’. Parents help to look out for each other, and we share notes on how to better cope with living with allergies. So come join our casual playdate this Saturday the 6th of July 2019.
The SPEAK organizing committee, together with our families will be there to mingle. We look forward to getting to know the allergic community better and in doing so, forge stronger ties and hear about your ideas and suggestions for us!
Bring your outdoor toys, scoots, bubbles, balls and picnic mats.
BYO: Drink & Allergy-friendly Nibbles
*while we cannot cater to all food allergies or food intolerances, we request that parents refrain from packing foods contain the top allergens: all nuts (peanuts and tree nuts), dairy, eggs, shellfish. Due to nature of food allergies and intolerances we also recommend that parents do not share food or drinks with other families/children, and that all guests are to remain respectful and considerate.
We will be wearing our SPEAK logo colors of red, black and white so you can identify us. Please feel free to private message any of the facebook admins or moderators to let us know you will swing by then we can look out for you!
29 AUGUST 2019 PSYCHOLOGIST TALK FOR PARENTS
Besides the physical care of allergic patients, the emotional well-being of both parents and children is a huge part of the coping process.
In collaboration with the Asthma and Allergy Association of Singapore (AAA), we have invited clinical psychologist Ms Emmanuelle Mollet O’Grady to share her expertise with us. She will be discussing the topic
‘Growing up with allergies: Impact on the psychological well-being of children’.
As this is a complex topic that warrants full attention, we decided to make this an adult only event. This is an RSVP only event so please send us an email indicating your names and contact. As places are limited please do RSVP early!
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/speakallergysquad/
Email: contact.speakaaa@gmail.com
12th OCTOBER 2019 STORYTELLING FOR KIDS AT SINGAPORE NATIONAL LIBRARY
our venue for the story reading coming in October 2019
So excited to be collaborating with the Singapore National Library Board on this initiative.
Through this reading program, we hope to raise awareness of this serious topic in a fun and hands-on manner. We will be reading 2 – 3 celebrated food allergy children’s stories in this half an hour session.
Just to give you an idea of one of the books we are reading, head on over to The BugaBees Friends with Food Allergies website for more information. We are very fortunate to have secured a personal interview with the author of this book Amy Recob lined up so watch out for that!
We are still finalizing a few details with National Library Board so we’ll update more details as we confirm them.
For more details, get in touch with us
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/speakallergysquad/
Email: contact.speakaaa@gmail.com
you can also email to me personally: amanda@projectsimplicity.sg
