Tuesday 11 December 2018

Muis announces S$2.5 million disbursement for the needy

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) will disburse over S$2.5 million through the annual year-end disbursement (YED) exercise which comprises bonuses and back-to-school vouchers and activities to 4,459 low-income families across Singapore.
This payout is to eligible families receiving monthly financial assistance from Muis. The YED is in addition to the monthly assistance received by zakat recipients, supplementing other national assistance schemes for the disadvantaged.

This increase in YED as well as number of recipients is made possible by the revisions made to the per capita income (PCI) eligibility criteria in September 2018. The YED aims to supplement expenses for families with school-going children before the school term starts in January 2019.

Zakat-receiving children under the financial assistance scheme who have been actively participating in core programmes at the mosques will also be receiving back-to-school kits or vouchers. These will be distributed islandwide at selected mosques until end-December.

The children also benefit from enrichment programmes such as learning journeys, team-building and motivational talks under the Back-To-School Activities programme which was piloted in 2017.

A total of 1,724 children will benefit from the back-to-school component (voucher and activities) with an allocation of S$163,650. This is 15% less than the S$192,670 from last year due to the number of eligible children decreasing by 14.2%.

Close to S$400,00 will be disbursed to families with children aged 18 years old and below, as part of the yearly Reqab (Study) Bonus. Some 5,420 children will benefit from this bonus. Those with one eligible child can receive S$100 whereas families with two or more eligible children will receive S$70 per child.