Meet Abigail Chuah, the Centre Manager at the Social Service Agency, Hope Centre. With her team by her side, Abigail oversees the Children & Youth Centre and Seniors Drop-in Centre, working closely with clients, volunteers, partners and more. 

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A Dream Team to Match a Strong Purpose

Like many who foray into Social Service, Abigail joined because of her innate desire to help others. She sees it as a privilege that she is able to positively impact her clients. “They trust us without knowing us for a long time. This is a privilege we need to handle with love and wisdom. No one should be left behind as we continue to progress as a society and I’d like to serve those in need as long as I’m strong and able,” she says.

Empowering Each Other to Achieve More

“If we believe that certain things should have been done or should be done better, we should do it,” claims Abigail. A firm believer of taking action rather than just thinking about it, her can-do spirit has been adopted by her team as well. The COVID-19 pandemic saw them adapting to changes, picking up new skills and remodeling their existing programmes in order to keep their clients safe and engaged. “When the partial lockdown was announced, our Children & Youth staff rushed to create home kits for the children, spending a whole day printing and delivering them to each and every one. Our Seniors staff were also hard at work delivering meals twice a day to seniors, at one point,” she says proudly of her team’s efforts. 
The ever-readiness of the team has also given her the courage to take risks at work – a quality she believes is necessary in Social Service. 

In addition to ensuring that her team members have adequate resources to do their jobs, Abigail also focuses on training them such that they can keep up with the changes happening around them. They have to be equipped to meet the evolving needs of their clients who belong to multiple generations. She hopes to train more people, so that more of them can continue to run meaningful programmes for the community.
Aside from that though, the one key thing that drives her to do what she does every single day – is the dream team that she leads. They solve problems together. They tap on each other’s strengths. They bond as a team, sometimes over lunch prepared by Abigail. If a situation calls for it, they also cover for each other. “The ability to rest is important in our line of work, and when I need to take a break, my team covers for me well in my absence. I am extremely thankful for that,” she adds.

United By a Cause

In the broader sense, Abigail’s responsibilities involve team work with external organisations too. She collaborates with corporate and community partners. She also connects with other Social Service Agencies in the area. “We update each other on our work plans regularly, to prevent duplicating our efforts and channel our resources better. Together, we want to reach as many people as we can.”

A role in management is one of many in Social Service. To find out more, read about a career in corporate services..