Mr Malcom Lau, 23, recalls making frequent financial calculations as a child.

Should he save some money by skipping recess, drinking water to fill his empty stomach so he could "tahan" (Malay for "endure") until 1.30pm when he could go home for lunch?

Should he put the $10 his mother gave him every week into his piggy bank, in case she needed the money to buy groceries?

How best to say no to a $20 buffet lunch his schoolmates were organising, without being "lao kui" (Hokkien for "embarrassed")?

The National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate did not share any of his worries with his mum, a 50-year-old single parent who works as a Yakult promoter.

"My mum had to focus on work and make sure that my sister and I didn't go hungry. I try not to add to her burden," says Mr Lau, who is studying chemical engineering.

He started receiving financial assistance from The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF) in primary school in 2007, when he got $35 a month. In polytechnic, between 2014 and 2015, he received $120 a month.

His sister, now a 20-year-old polytechnic student, got $95 monthly from STSPMF during the same period, when she was in secondary school. During this time, the family were also supported by the Thye Hua Kwan Family Service Centre at Bedok North, where they live.

The pocket money he got from STSPMF helped him resolve his recess dilemma in primary school.

As a teenager, the extra money from STSPMF helped him gain independence. He bought eggs and other groceries to make his own meals like fried rice to save money.

During his O Levels, he studied till 9pm daily, hitting the books in the quiet backyard of a church in his Bedok neighbourhood.

He resolved to get a scholarship, which he eventually did from NUS.

He has been doing grassroots volunteer work in recent years. For the past month or so, he has been working with a charity to distribute meals to elderly residents in Bedok.

Mr Lau says: "So many people in the past have helped me, from STSPMF to donors, from social services staff to the teacher who filled in the form for me to get social assistance.

"If not for them, children like me may not have the opportunity to grow up in a more peaceful way."

His favourite kind of volunteer work is to hand out food rations.

"It resonates most with me. You've been there before and finally, you're in a position to give back to those who are in the same shoes as you were."