Marriage, Parenthood and Early Childhood
Strong families are the foundation of strong communities.
Headed by Associate Professor Muhammad Faisal Ibrahim, this focus area aims to provide a continuum of care and support for Malay and Muslim couples and their families in the areas of marriage, parenting and early childhood development.
Available Resources
The following community resources are available for couples and families in the various M3@Towns:
KelasMateMatika@CC
Nurturing confidence in pre-schoolers, empowering parents and strengthening bonds between them
Piloted in September 2018, the 10-week programme by Yayasan Mendaki and PA MESRA has benefitted more than 500 parents and children. In 2019, the programme was expanded to all M³@Towns with support from the grassroots organisations such as the Community Club Management Committees, Malay Activity Executive Committees (MAECs) and Mosques. This programme is supported by Temasek Foundation.
Click here to find more about KMM@CC classes or sign up as a co-facilitator today!
Pre-school Outreach
Championing the importance of pre-school education
Through the Pre-school Outreach programme, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), works with pre-school outreach agencies, including Yayasan MENDAKI, and community partners to promote the importance of pre-school education, and to help families from low-income households to enrol their children into pre-school. Outreach agencies also work closely with the families to ensure regular attendance after enrolment.
Bersamamu
Supporting Muslim couples from before solemnisation to throughout their first two years of marriage
To inspire strong and stable Muslim marriages, this ground-up initiative by Naib Kadi (marriage solemniser) supports couples in their journey from before the big day and through the first two years of their lives together. Couples begin their pre-marriage journey with a face-to-face meeting with their selected Naib Kadi prior to their solemnisation ceremony. As of Sep 2020, over 5,700 couples have benefited from the programme.
Marital First Responder Training
Building community capability for strong marriages
The community plays an important role in supporting strong marriages and family life. The Marital First Responder Training (MFR) is one way in which the Ministry of Social and Family Development partners community stakeholders to build the capability of community volunteers to provide basic marriage advice and help. The first M³ MFR run was piloted at M³@Nee Soon in March 2019, and made possible with support from MAECs, mosques and MENDAKI. Since then, 128 community partners and asatizah, including Kadis/Naib Kadis, have been trained to provide basic marriage support to couples.