Ex-offender works to give others like him a fresh start

Mr Anil David did three stints in prison for fraud and criminal breach of trust.

The last time he was sentenced, in 2004, he ended up spending eight years behind bars.

But he managed to find a new lease of life after completing his sentence, and now works to give other former offenders a chance for a fresh start.

The 52-year-old Singaporean runs social enterprise Agape Connecting People, a contact centre which employs those who, like him, have paid their debt to society and are eager to start contributing anew.

It was the chance to work in a call centre during his third stint in jail that gave him the needed wake-up call.

“I had never worked in a call centre before. When I went there, I was thinking, who knows, maybe this is something that can help me shape my future. If I succeed, I could get a job when I am released,” said Mr Anil.

The chief executive of the call centre also inspired him to dream big, he said.

“He told me this: ‘Dreams with goals are possible. Dreams without goals are useless’.”

Mr Anil then took out his Bible and wrote down 42 dreams and goals in it. He still has the book today, at his office in the contact centre in Tai Seng.

Thirty-eight of his listed dreams have come true, he said.

One of them was to set up his own call centre.

• Nominees and judges

• A former offender who set up a call centre to give others like him a second chance; twin brothers who set up a boutique PC builder company that has expanded overseas.

  These are the latest nominees for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award, presented by investment bank UBS Singapore.

  Three other nominees were announced last month: retired factory worker Lim Ee Chin, 81, who helped put out a fire in her neighbour’s flat; social entrepreneur Cai Yinzhou, 30, who helped migrant workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic; and retired cleaner Zulkifli Atnawi, 60, and the Project Hills initiative that helps rental flat residents.

  Other partners for the award include Singapore Airlines and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

  THE JUDGES

  •Mr Warren Fernandez, The Straits Times editor and editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings’ English/ Malay/Tamil Media Group

  •Mr Edmund Koh, president of UBS Asia-Pacific at UBS Group and UBS

  •Mr August Hatecke, country head for Singapore and co-head of wealth management Asia-Pacific at UBS

  •Ms Low Khah Gek, chief executive of the Institute of Technical Education

  •Ms Saleemah Ismail, executive director of New Life Stories

  •Ms Lee Wen Fen, senior vice-president of corporate planning at Singapore Airlines

  ALSO FROM ST

  •Ms Sumiko Tan, executive editor

  •Ms Helen Chia, associate editor

  •Mr Rahul Pathak, associate editor

  •Mr Zakir Hussain, Singapore editor

  •Ms Susan Long, Life editor

  •Mr Wong Kim Hoh, deputy Life editor

  •Ms Karamjit Kaur, news editor

About a year after his release, in 2012, Mr Anil started Agape with his wife.

Today, the contact centre employs nearly 150 staff, some of whom are still serving out their sentences. Others are former offenders and senior citizens. Yet others are experiencing various challenges in their lives.

Said Mr Anil: “We have placed almost 600 individuals in our programme. Some have gotten good jobs elsewhere, some have remarried, some have reintegrated back into society.”

This year, the company was given one of its biggest projects – manning the National Care Hotline, which was set up by the Government to offer psychological aid and emotional support to those who needed it amid the pandemic.

Staff from Agape have been the “first-level triage” for distressed callers to the hotline since it was rolled out in April.

They help to calm callers down before channelling the calls to the hotline’s trained professionals, who include psychologists, counsellors and social workers.

Mr Anil said the project was the breakthrough he had been praying for, and it affirmed his belief that work could be a platform for former offenders and others to redeem and prove themselves.

For his work with Agape and helping former offenders, Mr Anil is one of those shortlisted for this year’s The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award.

He said he is grateful to his wife Sangita Devi, 51, and two daughters, now 18 and 25, who love him unconditionally and have stood by him over the years.

His advice to others: “We cannot undo a lot of wrongs that we’ve done. I’ve done so many wrongs.

“If you have done something that hurts someone, be patient.

“Start seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. We don’t need to make enemies in this world.”