Compassionate Communities are best built together, through connection and collaboration.
Last month, as we launched Compassionate Communities Singapore (CoCoSG) and marked World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, Singapore Hospice Council (SHC) was pleased to host Prof Allan Kellehear, founder of the Compassionate Communities movement, and Dr Emma Hodges, Development Director of Compassionate Communities UK, in Singapore.
Over the course of 5 days, the SHC team, along with CoCoSG partners and stakeholders, had the opportunity to engage in insightful conversations with Prof Kellehear and Dr Hodges, emerging from those conversations more empowered to build Compassionate Communities.
Prof Kellehear and Dr Hodges’ itinerary sent them around the island, into various settings that embodied where people in Singapore often spent their time. Their first full day here was spent with two of CoCoSG’s Founding Stakeholders, Brahm Centre, a mental health charity dedicated to promoting happier and healthier living, and Masjid Al-Muttaqin, a dynamic, community-focused mosque that nurtures the community. At Brahm Centre’s Simei Active Ageing Centre, Prof Kellehear and Dr Hodges were hosted by Ms Josephine Tham, Brahm Centre’s Programme Head, and Mr Navin Singam, Centre Manager, Brahm Centre Simei Active Ageing Centre. Over at Al-Muttaqin, the pair were welcomed by Mr Md Fairus Abd Manaf, Chairman, Al-Muttaqin, and Mr Zalman Putra Ali Senior Director, One Mosque Sector, and Mr Helmy Isa, Senior Director, Religious Talents Development, representing Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS).
In the respective conversations, what became clear was that Compassionate Communities should not be built from scratch. Each organisation, through their respective strengths and care models, can build Compassionate Communities. With additional support from those with palliative care expertise, these organisations have the capabilities and capacity to ensure no one dies or grieves alone.
On their last stop, Prof Kellehear and Dr Hodges found themselves at HCA Oasis@Outram Day Hospice, where they were led by Ms Mathilda De Boer-Lim, Head of Advocacy and Partnerships from HCA into a space with an open bar, a movie theatre, a ‘Spalon’, a game room and an indoor greenhouse. There, the group envisioned a Compassionate Singapore where bars and cinemas across the country understood the needs of the dying and grieving, and made time and space for them.
On 12 October 2025, in the morning before the launch of CoCoSG, Dr Hodges and SHC Executive Director, Ms Sim Bee Hia joined Susan Ng on CNA938’s Our Town. On air, the three engaged in lively and heartfelt discussions, littered with personal stories on compassionate responses to grief and what Compassionate Communities can look like. Listen to the interview here.
Following the radio show, Dr Hodges and Ms Sim headed over to Tanjong Rhu to witness the launch of CoCoSG and the unveiling of Winds of Compassion, a community art installation.
Our guests’ visit concluded with an Insights Exchange with Prof Allan Kellehear, facilitated by Dr Alethea Yee at Huone Singapore with our CoCoSG Partners, Stakeholders, and the SHC staff in attendance. Prof Kellehear expressed the importance of having a public health approach to palliative care to ensure its sustainability in a rapidly ageing society, but indicated optimism in the work that has been done in Singapore.
SHC is committed to being a connector and collaborator to organisations that are building Compassionate Communities. Through education, advocacy, and sustainable partnerships, we unite to embrace, support, and honour both living and dying in Singapore.
