Given up for adoption at birth, Anita Fam found her life's purpose in social service

Anita Fam, the president of Singapore's National Council of Social Service (NCSS), will step down from her role on July 31, 2026, concluding a significant chapter in her life dedicated to social work. Fam's journey into social service was deeply personal, rooted in the discovery of her adoption documents in 2014. While she had known she was adopted since childhood, seeing her original birth certificate for the first time revealed details about her birth mother, a young, unmarried woman from Johor, Malaysia, and that her birth was registered "Care of Salvation Army Singapore."

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I've known I was adopted since probably the age of five. I vaguely remember my mum coming to my bedside and telling me.

This revelation brought Fam's life full circle. She learned that her origins were intrinsically linked to the very organizations she would later help lead. "When I shared my birth story with The Salvation Army folks, they said that my roots are in social service – I was literally born into it," Fam shared. Despite growing up in a privileged and loving adoptive family and becoming a lawyer, Fam found her true calling extended beyond her legal career.

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When I shared my birth story with The Salvation Army folks, they said that my roots are in social service – I was literally born into it.

Fam's involvement in social service began in 1994 when she joined the board of the Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA) for pro bono legal work. After becoming a mother, she initially transitioned to a part-time role at her law firm but ultimately resigned in 1999 to focus on her family. However, her passion for social causes soon led her back, volunteering to help children with physical disabilities integrate into mainstream schools. This marked the beginning of her extensive career shaping Singapore's social service landscape.

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I didn’t even look at it (on my birth certificate). It didn’t matter to me.