Mr Ng Ser Miang, IOC Executive Board Member

Ms Sum Chee Wah, Director, Education Programmes,

Mr Goh Ek Piang, Deputy Director, Co-Curricular Activities,

Mrs Pauline Wong, Principal, St Theresa’s Convent,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Boys and Girls.

1.         It is my pleasure to join all of you this morning at the Singapore Schools Sports Council’s (SSSC) ‘GIVING IS WINNING @ SSSC – A CAMPAIGN FOR HUMANITY’ Send-off Ceremony.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) is proud that our schools are doing their part to support the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC)  “Giving is Winning” campaign  in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

2.         Today’s event follows a successful earlier send-off on 19 December 2007 where 50 of Singapore’s South East Asian Games athletes and sports officials showed their Olympic spirit when they donated 39 boxes filled with 500 polo shirts, 200 track suits and 50 sports bags to the Giving is Winning campaign.

A total of 725 kg of sportswear and bags were sent to refugees in Moldova in time for Christmas.

You can read more of our athletes Giving is Winning contribution in IOC’s website www.olympics.org or SNOC’s website www.singaporeolympics.com.

3.         Through the enthusiasm and efforts of the students and teachers, our schools have also worked hard to pack 6,528 donated items into 120 boxes.

This time the destination for the donations will be Bujumbura, Burundi with DHL once again as the official logistics provider.

4.         In a new global survey there were 11.4 million refugees outside their countries and 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007, contributing to an unprecedented number of uprooted people under the care of the UN refugee agency.

In recognition of World Refugee Day celebrated last month on 20 June our schools are also doing their part to help the refugees in Bujumbura, Burundi through the International Olympic Committee-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (IOC-UNHCR) Giving is Winning Campaign.

5.         Sport is not just about competition and the pursuit of excellence.

The IOC and the UNHCR have worked together since 1996 on sports projects for refugee camps and resettlement areas around the world.

Basic sports equipment and recreational activities are offered to these deprived populations, composed mostly of children and young people who are particularly in need of leisure activities to overcome the idleness of their life in a camp.

Sports activities are also organized to facilitate dialogue between refugees and local communities surrounding the camps.

It is most heart-warming to learn that our young Singapore Schools’ athletes and schools have been forth coming in supporting the campaign by making their contributions.

They have raised their awareness of how sports can be used as a tool for humanitarian development and for bringing people together. Through their actions, they are demonstrating that the true spirit of sports and sportsmanship is not just about winning, but also about compassion and caring for your fellow man.

6.         Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the 27 schools and the Singapore Schools sports team athletes who have come forward willingly to go the extra mile for such a worthy cause. With the Asian Youth Games in 2009 and the Youth Olympics Games in 2010 it is indeed encouraging to see our youth entering the global stage by joining the international sporting community for the final stage of the “Giving is Winning” campaign in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

7.         Thank you.