Once uninterested, he wants to make his clan relevant again
As a child, Mr Stanley Ng dreaded the clan activities his father would "drag" him to.
Today, over two decades later, Mr Ng, 32, is the secretary-general of the Huang Clan Association's youth committee.
His job is to convince the younger generation - those like his younger self - to be interested in the clan.
The legal executive told The New Paper: "I want a continuation of the clan association, which stems from good intentions.
"I want to ensure that people continue to have an avenue to understand their culture."
Mr Ng, whose father is now the clan chairman, rediscovered his roots through the clan four years after returning from Australia with a law degree.
The seven years spent abroad sparked a desire in him to further understand his identity and culture.
He said: "I had been meaning to look for ways to give back to the community. The clan, in my opinion, provides a good place."
Then, Mr Ng found out that the clan house will be redeveloped this year.
"There was a question of passing it on. When this place is done, it is going to be a new building. But who is going to take over?" he said.
The median age of the clan members is 50. Out of over 700 of them, only 50 are aged 40 and below.
Mr Ng's aim is to bring the median age down in the next few years and to make clans relevant to the young again.
One way he is hoping to achieve this is through social causes, which stays true to the clan's mission while also resonating with the younger generation.
The first activity the clan is organising is an evening of yusheng, steamboat and karaoke on Saturday.
Supported by the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) and led by the Huang Clan Association and social enterprise Love Action Project, the dinner will be for the migrant workers MWC has helped and the members of MWC's migrant worker grassroots community.
Love Action Project co-founder Joe Tan, 34, said the collaboration with Mr Ng is the first of many to come.
"The plan is to continue working with Stanley," said Mr Tan.
"Our vision is to create a space where we can generate conversations with the young, and create a regeneration of the effort of not just volunteering but understanding that giving is also part of life.
"I think we are in a society that is so overly competitive, we forget that having compassion is important as well." - FOO JIE YING
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