For 12-year-old Xiangyu, this year is critical. He is sitting for his PSLE examinations yet acutely aware of the financial difficulties that he and his family faces. His family owes $7,993.35 in school fee arrears, and they cannot afford to pay for the remaining 4 months of school fees. Without urgent help, he will be asked to leave school.

A boy with strong academic and positive character traits

Xiangyu has lived in Singapore since he was five. Today, he is a Primary 6 student in the top class of his school. Bright and hardworking, he excels in Science and dreams of learning coding when he enters secondary school. He is also part of the school basketball team and enjoys playing this sports with his friends after class.

Teachers and community members describe him as cheerful and kind. He has also received the Outstanding All-Rounder Award two years in a row. 

Outside of school, he looks after his younger siblings and helps his grandmother with chores. “My grandmother is very tired and must work. I want to offload Ah Ma,” Xiangyu said quietly during a session with Ray of Hope’s caseworker.

Despite his positive attitude, the mounting school fees are far beyond what his family can manage. As a foreign student, he pays $999.17 in school fees every month. However, Xiangyu does not qualify for financial assistance schemes due to his nationality; and an application for Permanent Residency has already been rejected. Efforts made by his community social workers to appeal to waive his school fee arrears have not been successful. 

Grandparents stepping up with love

Most of Xiangyu’s upbringing has been under the care of his grandparents, Mdm Shi and Mr Chin. Mdm Shi is the only one working, while her husband cannot hold a job after a fall last year left him with chronic back pain. Her income barely covers their daily living expenses.

His mother, though she has remarried, tries her utmost best to financially provide for her son. However, with the full time demands of caring for two young toddlers, she has not been able to obtain employment. 

To ease her daughter’s burdens, Mdm Shi and her husband chose to provide for Xiangyu, even though it meant sacrificing their own rest and financial security.

How they have been trying

Mdm Shi has borrowed more than $6,000 from friends to cover Xiangyu’s school fees over the past few years. The family eats simply so that Xiangyu can have enough. His grandfather frankly shared “I give him money to go school to eat breakfast, then I eat maggi noodles at home can already. [sic]”

Even Xiangyu thinks about how to lighten their load. When he received a one-off $200 reward for his good grades, instead of spending it on himself, he divided it between his mother and  grandfather and gave the rest to his grandmother for safekeeping. 

What your gift will cover

The next few months will shape Xiangyu’s path to secondary school. Without help now, his family may not be able to keep up with the costs of his education, and he risks falling behind during this critical stage. We are raising $11,990.03 to protect Xiangyu’s education:

– $7,993.35 to clear arrears owed to the school

– $3,996.68 for school fees from September to December 2025

Keeping a child’s future secure

With your support, Xiangyu will be able to sit for his PSLE without fear of being removed from school. 

Your gift will not only clear the debts but also give this bright, kind-hearted boy the stability to focus on his studies and look ahead to secondary school.