25 Years as a Home Team Volunteer: A Doctor at Heart

As the saying goes, “volunteers may not necessarily have time, but they have heart.” Dr Prem Kumar Nair is the Chief Executive Officer of IHH Healthcare Singapore - IHH Healthcare. He’s also the Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Visitors (Community Rehabilitation Centre) and a Committee Member of the Singapore After-Care Association. In 2020, he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace, and this year, he received the Long Service Award (25 Years) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for his distinguished contributions to the Home Team. He explains what he loves about being a volunteer. 

PHOTOS: Dayana Yakob

What made you first decide to be a Home Team volunteer?
As a young doctor in 1996, I had a boss, Dr Loo Choon Yong, who was very active as a Home Team volunteer. He also served as the President of the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association. He asked if I’d be keen to volunteer and shared with me about the Home Team’s work. 

I thought it was a good cause, despite being slightly apprehensive about my first volunteer role, which was to serve on the Anti-Inhalant Abuse Centre Review Committee. But I grew to enjoy working with the inmates as I interacted with them more. Once you start volunteering for a cause you believe in, you’ll continue to do so. This is why I’ve been volunteering for 25 years.

Volunteering is one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had. There’s a great need for volunteers, not just for the Home Team, but in other sectors too. 

What have been some of the highlights of your volunteer years?
The Anti-Inhalant Abuse Centre Review Committee was an interesting body to chair. We visit the prisons and Drug Rehabilitation Centre and conduct meetings with Prison officers, rehabilitation officers and counsellors to see how the young inmates are doing during their rehabilitation. 

I was also happy to be involved in the rehabilitation work at the Community Rehabilitation Centre (CRC). This is an initiative by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) that’s a step-down from the Drug Rehabilitation Centre and which focuses on rehabilitating youths aged 16 to 21 years. They are given a chance to kick their addiction to drugs through counselling programmes that support their needs and a structured living environment. 

Since CRC was launched in 2015, we’ve observed that many of the youths have improved from when they first arrived, becoming more responsible through the programme and with the support of their family members.

What’s the most interesting exchange you’ve had with an offender?
During a recent visit to CRC, I met a youth who’d come to Singapore from overseas after his parents had divorced. He’d been studying an aviation-related course at the Institute of Technology Education (ITE).

When I asked why he chose this course, he replied, “I’ve always been fascinated by planes. Once I’m released, I plan to complete my studies at ITE and polytechnic before applying to become a pilot.”

Despite knowing the challenges that lay ahead of him, he wasn’t deterred. His determination intrigues me, and if we can instil this kind of motivation in other CRC residents, that would be wonderful!

How do you balance your professional work with your volunteer commitments?
It isn’t easy, but as someone in the medical profession, volunteer work is a natural extension of what I do. Also, as a doctor and volunteer, my focus is on engaging with and helping individuals and families.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learnt while volunteering with the Home Team?
One of the things that has been ingrained in me is that we shouldn’t look at drug abuse as a standalone problem but as a manifestation of different social issues. When we talk to inmates, we often discover what these issues are and can then tackle drug abuse in a multidisciplinary way. 

That’s exactly what I see the Home Team doing. We put a lot of time and effort into rehabilitating inmates, from offering educational opportunities at the Prison School and providing counselling and religious programmes to helping them develop their skills and finding work after their release.

I’m also happy to note that over the last decade or so, the way that society perceives inmates and ex-offenders has changed, and this is due to the work by SPS and Yellow Ribbon Singapore. 

How do you feel about receiving the Long Service Award this year?
I was surprised that it has been 25 years. I recall receiving the 20-Year Award from Minister K Shanmugam at a ceremony previously, but due to the COVID-19 situation this year, MHA sent it to my house instead. I’m very appreciative of the gesture.

I’d also like to pay tribute to the counsellors I’ve worked with in the Home Team. They play an important role in the entire rehabilitation and reintegration process. For example, on the Anti-Inhalant Abuse Centre Review Committee, we refer to counsellors for advice on whether an inmate is suitable to be released or can benefit from further counselling and rehabilitation. 

What words of advice do you have for those who wish to volunteer with the Home Team?
MHA is a great organisation to work with, and our communication with the Home Team Volunteer Network is excellent. We’d like to encourage more people to step forward. In the same way that my former supervisor introduced me to volunteering with the Home Team, I’ve also been recommending likeminded people, especially the young, to do so. 

I can see myself volunteering for many more years, and feel happy to contribute in any way I can to the Home Team cause. Despite volunteering for 25 years, I’m still very motivated and encouraged to serve the community.

Read: 55 Years as a Home Team Volunteer: Committed to the Ideals of Public Service