The ‘Be With Me’ Scholarship Fund which will be administered by AWWA TEACH ME Services is a fund that will provide educational scholarships to physically disabled youths attending polytechnics or universities here in Singapore. It will take care of the students’ school fees, transport costs, school text books and related educational expenses. The scholarship will be open to all physically disabled students in Singapore who have been performing well academically, show potential in terms of their future contributions to society, and are in need of financial assistance.

“The life of Theresa Chan as depicted in ‘Be With Me’ not only shows how disabled persons can live independently and with dignity but also how they can contribute to society in a real way. The ‘Be With Me’ Scholarship, in similar spirit, will provide opportunities for other disabled persons here in Singapore to make their mark. This is indeed a significant step to towards further inclusion of the disabled into mainstream society and we are grateful that Warner Bros. Picture Singapore and Zhao Wei Films have initiated this cause”, said Anita Fam, Chairperson of AWWA TEACH ME Services.

'The Be With Me scholarship is inspired by Theresa Chan Poh Lin, a courageous deaf and blind woman who appears in our forthcoming movie of the same name.   The objective of the "Be With Me" scholarship fund is to aid in providing tertiary and polytechnic education opportunies to persons with physical disabilities in Singapore.  We hope that every Singaporean should have the chance to maximize his or her potential, regardless of family background.   Hopefully, disability should not mean that an individual should set his or her aspirations any lower than a fully abled person. ' Jacqueline Khoo, Executive Producer, Zhao Wei Films.

AWWA TEACH ME (Therapy and Educational Assistance for Children in Mainstream Education) Services is an integration program that caters to the educational, rehabilitative and social needs of children who, but for their physical disabilities, are no different from their peers in mainstream education. It is one of the programs initiated and run by the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA).

‘Be With Me’ opened in the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in France in May this year, and has been picked up for distribution in most of Europe. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film in Singapore on 8th September 2005. ‘Be With Me’ is a tapestry of 3 stories woven around the themes of love, hope and destiny and is inspired by the life of Theresa Chan, a 61 year-old deaf and blind woman.

Donors may contact Mr Raymond Chow, Director AWWA TM Integration Services, at 6511 5210 to pledge their donations, send their cheques or to make any enquiries.

For further information, please visit www.awwa.org.sg