Giving – and gaining – through volunteerism

G Suthershinii, a fresh Life Sciences graduate with a 2^nd major in Psychology, has a heart to serve the community. However, it was only after attending an Effective Altruism Fellowship programme that she realised the importance of supplementing this with thorough research and understanding of one’s beneficiaries, for impact.

With this understanding, Suther joined the medical team Under Project Sapulot, an overseas service-learning project, to provide medical education to underprivileged children in Sabah, Malaysia. She planned lessons on wide-ranging topics such as nutrition, mental health and women’s health to empower children to take charge of their own health.

Her background in Life Sciences enabled her to grasp medical content while her Psychology knowledge came in handy in tailoring the content to suit the children’s needs and cognitive abilities. 

Closer to home, Suther joined a small group of like-minded individuals to pioneer Grow Studio, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) focused on increasing migrant workers’ access to educational resources. By providing free online educational lessons in multiple languages, Suther hopes to make meaningful contributions to support migrant workers, who were hard-hit during the pandemic.

As the education director, Suther designed the curriculum and conducted classes in Tamil online. She also planned the overall strategic directions for Grow Studio which led her to understand how “running a non-profit organisation is a dynamic rather than static process”.

As a Psychology major, Suther says, “I was inclined to think of the migrant workers’ unique needs, mindsets and wants systemically. This ensured the time and resources put in led to optimal results.” From this experience, Suther gained valuable insights into the technicalities and challenges of running an NGO.

Suther is a research assistant at Duke-NUS Medical School, where she contributes to research in the emerging infectious diseases field. She also continues collaborating with Grow Studio on new projects to expand its outreach beyond the migrant worker community.