Colonel Hary was affectionately known as “the Indian pastor” at Balestier Corps’ Kallang Bahru outpost where he used to serve the predominantly Chinese community. He had a regular and enthusiastic group of Chinese elderly whom he interacted with in a mixed bag of English, Malay and Hokkien. It was a community he served with much love and dedication, often going out of his way to render assistance to especially the aged there.

“On Tuesdays, they would come to me with their problems and I would bring them to see the Family Social Services. Then I would gather those with medical issues, bring them to the hospital and speak to the social workers to try to get their bills reduced. On one Friday each month, I bring them out for outings around Singapore. Once, during the COVID-19 period, we received rice donation and I brought some packs to homes of residents who needed food. Their neighbours were curious and asked them which provision shop I was from, that did doorstop deliveries,” he shared joyfully before reiterating, “there is no barrier, just carry the love of God.” 

Colonel Hary’s service of love, which also included securing free tuition for children from low income families and accepting invitations from residents to pray for the children’s school examinations in their homes, was appreciated by the Kallang Bahru residents and many residents wanted to buy him a cup of coffee whenever they met him. “There was one day where at least 65 of them showed up with one coffee each for me! I had to ask the staff to help pour the coffee into big flasks for everyone to share,” he recalled.

Colonel Hary’s selfless acts saw him steadily rising through the ranks to take on the role of Chief Secretary in 2020, and subsequently promoted to the Army’s Territorial Commander of Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar in November 2022.

“We thank the pioneers for the hard work of laying a strong foundation of the Army, establishing a permanent presence here in Singapore. That’s the past that shaped today. We are continually adapting to ensure we are relevant,” he added.

One of the significant changes introduced in recent years was how help was rendered in the Children and Youth Group. In the past, the Army brought children and youth out of difficult situations, be it court protection orders, juvenile cases or poverty-related cases, and housed them together in one location and away from their families for extended periods of time. Presently, the Army focuses on the provision of professional help such as counselling and mentoring to work out any differences with their families, to reconcile the children and youth with their loved ones. For those under court protection orders, the Army will aim to provide the longer term assistance of connecting them to foster parents so that they can grow up in a homely and healthy environment.

“We have an interim placement assessment centre where we assess their difficulties within a short period while they’re under our care, and then put them into placements,” shared Colonel Hary.

Colonel Hary stressed that The Salvation Army must stay relevant to evolving needs such as mental health and resilience. In recent years, the Army also added new vulnerable groups to render care and support for, including the sizeable migrant workers population in Singapore and the growing number of single parents.

Even as The Salvation Army Singapore commemorates its 88th anniversary milestone this year, Colonel Hary was clear that there are much more work to be done. He and his team have mapped out a number of areas that must be looked into. Ranging from cyber-security and harnessing technology for better user experience to improving mobile and home-based services, and from increased engagement with donors, volunteers and caregivers to ensuring the productivity of its officers, the Army looks set to lend a helping hand and showing love, care and compassion to many more in the coming years.