The volunteer work that Mr Chandran Nantha Kumar has been doing for 15 years received due recognition on Oct 29, when he received the Public Service Medal from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Mr Kumar, 53, chairman of the Simei East Neighbourhood Committee, has actively contributed to organisations such as Hindu Endowment Board, People’s Association, Singapore Indian Association and Tamil Language Council.
“Volunteering at the different organisations gave me a sense of purpose,” he said.
“When my daughter was 15, I took her to an old folks’ home for the first time to show the hardships the elderly face when their families are not with them. I cultivated the spirit of volunteerism in her and now, at 25, she is an active volunteer.”
Mr Kumar believes the young should start volunteering early, and the encouragement must come from the elders. “It is the parents’ duty to instil the importance of volunteering in their children and educate them,” he said.
The chief sustainability officer and vice-president of global operations at Ennovi Holdings has to travel for work half the time but still makes space for activities such as outreach programmes, organising events for the neighbourhood and integrating foreigners into the local community.
He credits cricket for teaching him the right values and the essence of proper time management.
The former national player said the sport demands endurance and good mental strength, and teaches leadership skills. He has kept wickets and opened the batting for various teams, captained the Singapore Recreation Club and Singapore Indian Association (IA) teams and mentored several youngsters when IA won the local league titles.
“Dealing with people from different backgrounds, managing them and bringing them together as a team to excel are what I love the most about the sport,” said Mr Kumar, who stopped playing 13 years ago but still keeps abreast of the developments in local cricket.
