How one woman gives children from low-income families a space to be themselves

SINGAPORE – Former freelance arts producer Lin Shiyun had initially thought she could enrich the lives of children of low-income families by bringing the arts to them.

But after spending almost every Saturday over three years at a playground with them, she realised they needed something else: a place where they could be themselves, without having to prove that they are good at something.

A place where the adults will consistently show up for them – listening to them and playing with them. A place that feels like home to them, said Lin, 44, who grew up in a stable, middle-class family.

That insight led Lin to set up 3Pumpkins, a community arts and development charity, in 2019.

“The children come from families where they don’t talk about feelings, and there is a lot of fighting. There are a lot of curveballs thrown at these families, such as job loss, family violence and illness.

“And the adults don’t talk to the children, except to scold them. So we listen to them and guide them,” said Lin, who is married to an artist and has a 13-year-old son. 

“The kids gave us our job description. They said: Play with us, watch us play, and be there for us when something goes wrong.”

3Pumpkins started its flagship project in 2019 – the Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC). Its Malay name means “no fear”, a reflection of Lin’s hope that children would grow more confident and face their fears, rather than avoiding it or expressing it through violence or depressive thoughts.

The club gives children aged seven to 14 a place to play, take part in art activities, express themselves and talk to adults they trust.

For some of the children, that trust takes a long time to build.

For instance, a 12-year-old girl took a year before she told a staff member that loansharks were harassing her family because her father was in debt. 

The TTKC staff worked with the family and a social worker from another agency to find ways to support the girl. This included filing a police report and being there for her throughout the process.

The club in Boon Lay operates from half a shop unit, and is open four days a week.

In January, the second club opened its doors at a unit in a HDB rental block in Lengkok Bahru, as the charity scaled up its operations.

At the second club, which is also open four days a week, children can drop in any time to draw, paint or build with cardboard and other materials, among other things.

Art is used as a medium through which they can express themselves at both TTKCs.

For example, a child once built a cardboard HDB block with a coffeeshop on fire, inspired by a fire that had burnt down a coffeeshop.

That led to a conversation among the children about fire safety: what makes them feel safe, or unsafe, in their neighbourhood, Lin said.

At the club in Boon Lay, Talent Time on Fridays gives children an opportunity to sing and dance.

The club even has its own dance group, which any child can join without fear of being judged.

Some of its members had been rejected by their school dance clubs for not being good enough. At the club, there is no such requirement.

For Lin, this matters because many of the children already struggle with the feeling that they are not good enough, given their academic performance and family background.

“A lot of their struggles is about their self-worth, their fear of being judged and not being liked,” she noted.

“They feel inferior, so we have to encourage them, to help them develop positive motivation in the choices they make.”

Over time, as they become familiar with the staff and realise they will not be judged, they begin to share what is happening in their lives, Lin said.

They open up about violence at home, struggles with studies and problems with friends.

Some have mental health struggles and have resorted to cutting themselves on their arms to deal with their mental anguish, she added.

When a child needs more help, the club’s social workers work with the school, family and other social service agencies to strengthen the support around the child.

3Pumpkins has grown from a ground-up initiative run by part-time facilitators and volunteers into a charity with 17 full-time staff, including social workers and community workers. The latter design and run programmes for children and others the charity serves.

It is funded by private foundations such as the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Quantedge Foundation.

The charity is also one of the grantees of the CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative 2025, which is a regional funding platform by CapitaLand Hope Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand Group.

About 30 children go to the Lengkok Bahru TTKC each day. One of them is 12-year-old Adele (not her real name), who calls it her safe place.

She lives with her father, stepmother and older sister in a rental flat in the area and is stressed by the upcoming PSLE.

The Primary 6 pupil said she used to be introverted.

But as she became more familiar with the staff at the club, she felt she could trust them and started to tell them about her life.

“I release my stress when I talk to the teachers (at the club) about my problems. Everyone here makes me feel loved, so I’m able to have fun and relax.”