SINGAPORE — For hawker assistant Wee Wei, 45, life is a struggle when his family of six has to depend on his S$1,300 monthly income for a living.

His wife, Madam Chua Siew Tin, 44, has a history of tuberous sclerosis (a genetic disorder where non-cancerous tumours form in vital organs) and other chronic conditions, and is suffering from clinical depression as well. Unable to work, she chips in by looking after their four school-going children.

Even that is no easy task — their oldest daughter suffers from epilepsy, and another son is placed on long-term medical monitoring for his severe asthma.

Considering the family’s circumstances, some might be surprised to hear Mdm Chua say chirpily in Mandarin: “Life is not so bad!”

Speaking to TODAY on Thursday (June 20) night, Mdm Chua said that her optimism was possible because the family could have floundered under hefty medical bills and schooling expenses were it not for the financial help from the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC).

“It is tough to get by, but if I need help for anything, I can simply pick up the phone and call the CDAC officer. They know my financial situation and what we are going through,” she said.

Their family is one of 800 Chinese households that have received continuous support from CDAC case workers in the past year.

All of Mr Wee's four children also receive CDAC bursaries, which are designed to help low-income families defray schooling costs, including transport and meals, as well as to help needy students take part in enrichment and holiday programmes.

Three of their children are in secondary school and they receive S$450 each year, while the youngest, who attends primary school, gets S$280. The children may also attend tuition courses at CDAC for free.

From next January, more low-income Chinese families such as the Wees will be able to benefit from such programmes, after CDAC’s income eligibility criteria are revised upwards.

For example, families with a monthly household income of S$2,400 or a per capita income of S$800 may apply for CDAC’s schemes meant for needy families, up from a monthly income cap of S$1,900 and per capita income cap of S$650 currently.

CDAC will also extend assistance on a multi-year basis, which means Mdm Chua will not need to reapply for aid for her children each year.

Case workers will be empowered to provide more help where it is needed, such as helping families buy study tables and lamps if they lack these essential items at home.

'MORE CUSTOMISED SUPPORT'

Mr Ong Ye Kung, chairman of the CDAC board of directors, said at the group's annual general meeting on Thursday that these adjustments are meant to help identify the more disadvantaged families and provide them with “holistic and deepened support”.

“The objective is to ensure social mobility within the Chinese community, and recognising that education for children and stable jobs for parents are the best way to bring this about,” Mr Ong, who is also the Education Minister, said.

Around 3,000 families will benefit from these changes, of which half are existing CDAC beneficiaries who may receive higher support from next year. This will cost another S$1.5 million to implement, the CDAC said in a statement.

The funding and scale pale in comparison with other government-run social programmes, but Mr Ong said that this allows for more customised support for the families.

The case workers’ ability to help needy family buy essential furniture, for example, is possible only because of the programme’s smaller scale.

He said: “We have a smaller budget and help only around 800 families a year, and our case management officers know these families deeply.

“If you are a large organisation like a government department, and you have to handle hundreds of thousands of cases, then it is very difficult. By leveraging (the smaller scale) and by changing the way we operate, I think we will be more effective.”