NUS Pro Bono Week

The NUS Pro Bono Group (PBG) recently organised its annual flagship event—the NUS Pro Bono Week (PBW). PBW aims to increase recognition of the legal needs of various segments in society among NUS Law students and to inspire the student body to be more involved in volunteering with the various pro bono groups in the community.

This year, the PBW comprised three initiatives: an experiential learning journey to Geylang, the Human Library, and a Night Market fundraiser.

Conducted by Citizen Adventures, the Geylang tour allowed students to learn more about various social issues in Singapore and their legal ramifications. These included overcrowding of migrant workers in residential spaces in Geylang and the legalisation of sex workers.

For the Human Library, our students were privileged to have the opportunity to speak with esteemed representatives from a wide variety of charitable organisations to learn more about their work in the community and to better understand their individual journeys in the field of pro bono. Some of the library “books” included Mr Gregory Vijayendran S.C. from Rajah and Tann LLP, Ms Lin Huiyu from the Ministry of Manpower, as well as Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Mr Chen Yongxin from Eugene Thuraisingam LLP.

To end the week on a high note, students also joined in the PBG Night Market. The Night Market was planned with the aim to raise pro bono awareness, as well as raise funds for Pro Bono SG, a Singapore NGO and PBG partner.

NUS PBG would like to express our utmost gratitude to the following organisations and individuals:

• Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), Community Justice Centre (CJC), Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST), Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC), Jamiyah Singapore, Justice Without Borders (JWB), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Pro Bono SG, Providence Law Asia, Singapore Association Of Women Lawyers (SAWL), Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities (THKMC) for their time and kindness in engaging our students
• Associate Professor Helena Whalen-Bridge (Faculty Advisor, NUS Pro Bono Group) and Mr Clement Cheong (Manager, Student Affairs, NUS Faculty of Law) for their kind assistance throughout the organisation and preparation process.