Philanthropic support plays an important role to help bring hope into the lives of patients. It also drives advances in patient care, education and research that can translate into cures at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
It was the efforts and philanthropy of Singapore pioneers led by Mr Tan Jiak Kim that contributed to the establishment of Singapore’s first medical school in the current SGH campus in 1905.
In June 1952, Mr Navroji R Mistri, a Parsi philanthropist who made his fortune selling soda water in Singapore, donated a large part of his wealth towards an improvement in medical services that was close to his heart. That year, Mr Mistri was admitted to SGH, where he witnessed many sick children housed at the corridors of the hospital instead of wards. Determined to improve the conditions for the disenfranchised communities who needed medical care, he generously donated $950,000 for the building of a ward for non-paying patients.
Mr Navroji R Mistri
The foundation stone for the Mistri Wing was laid on 2 March 1954 by Mr Hormusji R Mistri. His brother, Mr Navroji R Mistri, was the original benefactor, but he passed away before the foundation stone was laid.
With his donation, the government built a four-storey Children's Wing which had two paediatric units, in 1956. It was named the Mistri Wing, which is the present-day Diabetes and Metabolism Centre at SGH.
These acts of kindness and generosity radiated and prompted staff at SGH to pool resources and raise funds to help patients in need at the hospital. In 2008, the SGH Needy Patients Fund was officially set up. To date, the fund has helped more than 18,000 beneficiaries in their journey to recovery and to a better quality of life. Currently, more than $1 million a year is needed to help the patients in need and their families.
Philanthropy will continue to play a crucial role in SGH, from helping patients in need to developing ground-breaking therapies which could potentially lead to the next medical breakthrough. Your gift will bring critical relief to innumerable lives, and sharpen our healthcare professionals' skills for a future-ready medical ecosystem for our society.
Thanks to generous donors like yourselves, SGH is able to help many patients and families who fall through the cracks and enable better patient outcomes through research and education.
100% of your donation will go towards your gift intent. Some donors prefer to leave their legacy with endowed gifts that can make a sustainable impact on many generations of patients and families while some prefer to make expendable gifts to achieve immediate impact. There is no amount too small. You can help create a healthier tomorrow for our nation, today.
