Showing posts with label Volunteer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volunteer. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Social Conscience - Unlocking Our Positive Energy


These days, there isn't a day that passes without some tragic news. Terrorist attacks, mass killings and homicidal "lone wolves" are making newspaper headlines and every government is beefing up security measures to avert another tragedy. However, even the best security system cannot guarantee absolute protection against the fanatical forces that wreak havoc in the lives of ordinary folks and cause mayhem in peaceful societies around the world. Only recently, we were told to brace ourselves for the day when our security net may be breached (Read HERE). Besides concentrating our efforts on security measures and enhancing civil, police and military vigilance, we need to ask what else we can do in our struggle against the impact of ideological radicalisation and extremism.

In the deep recesses of our subconscious minds lie a powerful inhibitor of wrong-doings. Each time we are about to do something that we shouldn't be doing or hold back from doing something that we should, it makes us feel queasy. When this queasy feeling intensifies, we feel a prevailing sense of guilt or regret and then promise ourselves not to let it happen again. That natural inhibitory reflex inside us is our "conscience" and it also has the power to make us do good. In psychoanalytic theory, our conscience is identified as our "super-ego", that part of our subconsciousness that aims for human perfection.

As people live in communities sharing common values and aspirations, those innate feelings that restrain us from doing harm and spur positive behaviours in troubling situations, develop into a sort of social conscience. A moral compass that we rely upon to navigate through many moral dilemmas in our lives. This social conscience encapsulates social consciousness, the latter being a form of conscious awareness of our society's well-being that is merely knowledge devoid of the energising force of social conscience.

A strong social conscience will move us to respond to our sense of right and wrong. It makes us display our best human values, those that build the best traditions of a mature, peace-loving society. In one online dictionary definition, it is said that if you have a social conscience, you worry about people who are poor, ill, old, etc. and try to help them (Read More). It is more than that. Social conscience can be perceived as a form of positive energy that is sadly diminished in those of us who pursue selfish gains and fanatical idealism. The negative forces of greed, jealousy and hatred can only be subdued through unlocking that positive energy in each of us. In order to do so, we need to develop a strong social conscience that forces our humanitarianism to the surface. And the way to go about is to constantly learn and understand our own humanity and how decent human beings ought to treat each other.

Unlock that positive energy in you and help change the world for the better.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Troubled Souls


As our society learns to recognise that more could be done for those who are physically impaired, there seems to be a corresponding rise in social vigilantism that springs up quickly to condemn anyone who seem to show little consideration for the less able-bodied.

Not long ago, there was an impassioned plea in parliament for a better understanding of those who suffer some form of physical disability. There are many small voices that cry out to the able-bodied for more of their patience and understanding. It is important that we learn to hear these voices which are quietly tugging at our heartstrings as we strive to become a more compassionate society.


In sparing thought for those who are physically impaired, we need to realise that there are also many amongst us who do not suffer from any obvious physical impairment but need our patience and understanding no less. They are the ones suffering quietly from emotional distress who do not display the outwards signs of physical impairment that would have otherwise drawn to themselves the spontaneous help from concerned bystanders. Very often, these troubled souls are mistaken by social vigilantes as people who are cold and dispassionate in responding timely or appropriately to the needs of a less able-bodied person standing close to them. And they are caused to suffer from public ridicule and condemnation, adding on to their untold frustration and emotional torment and pushing them to breaking point.

Materialism and elitism have been the twin evils that have come to occupy our minds from the decades spent in a national pursuit for global excellence in every undertaking. Sky-rocketting property prices which are grossly disproportionate to the rise in income levels have shattered the dreams of many young Singaporeans and pushing them into migrating overseas. Keen competition with foreigners for jobs, housing and transport in our own land has displaced many individuals and families and severely dampened morale. Divorces are constantly on the rise and more children are left to the care of domestic helpers as dual incomes from their parents become indispensable. Rising business costs have closed the curtains on many local enterprises and constant skills upgrading have not brought about better jobs. Endless new legislations and regulations have raised the pressures of living in this small city-state and there are many people who look perfectly normal on a perfect day but are too stressed out mentally and emotionally. They are already at wits' end.


For all these troubled souls who appear as normal, healthy- looking people, they too have small voices crying out for patience and understanding as well.

"If I am not giving you my seat, it's not because I am unkind;  I am just lost in my thoughts."

"If I am not giving way, it's not because I don't care; I just do not have much time left."

"If I am not paying any attention to you, it's not because I am cold; I just don't know what I am going to do anymore."

"If I am going too fast, it's not because I am reckless; I am just worried that I may not make it."

"If I don't answer you, it's not that I want to be rude; I just don't know what is happening to me."

"If I don't see you standing in front of me, it's not because I am pretending to sleep. I am just very, very tired."

Let's all learn not to be too quick to point our fingers without sparing a thought for someone who may be one of these troubled souls. He or she needs our patience and understanding too.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Duck rice distribution at Potong Pasir on 4.08.2015

The duck rice stall at Blk 120 in Potong Pasir is relatively well known. The owner of the stall, Ah Seng, is actually a friendly man with a serious look. That evening, together with the volunteers from Project Awareness and Happy People, I visited a few blocks in Potong Pasir to distribute duck rice supplied by Ah Seng.
 

The rice was very well received and a few families told us of their problems. One resident needed a job and there are 9 people, including 4 young children, living in her 3 room flat. Another needed help to clear out their second-hand goods which were stocked up in their flat. They were dealing in second hand goods but their deteriorating health no longer permits them to do so. The husband has suffered a stroke and is semi-paralyzed whilst the wife has bent legs. Further, they could not sell their stocks at Sungei Road anymore. After the stocks are cleared out, they plan to rent out their rooms to receive some income.

One resident shared with us the plight of another resident who lives in a block that was not covered in our food distribution tonight. A father of 2 young children and a pregnant wife, this other resident recently landed himself in some trouble involving a foreign construction worker who had accosted his wife when she was alone in the flat. 


He had spent the day in court and I visited him in his flat. He told me what happened and looked deeply worried. I noticed that his house was in disarray and began to ask about his family situation. His two young boys, one in k2 and the other still in nursery, were bouncing on their rundown sofa as we spoke. He does not hold a steady job and works as a super-relief taxi-driver earning about $80 per day but he does not always get a taxi to drive. Previously he was working as a disaster relief cleaner with long irregular hours. These couple of days, he was not able to get a taxi to drive because many taxis are undergoing repairs. That means he has absolutely no income for the time being.

His pregnant wife was standing beside me as we talked and she brought their unpaid utility bills when I asked to see them. The flat belongs to his parents and his surviving aged mother was alone in a room. I enquired about her as I learned she suffered a stroke three years ago. He invited me to see her and I saw that her room was completely dark. He then switched on the room light and explained to me that his mother was born blind. Huddled in a blanket with a tube inserted into her nose, she was sitting at the edge of her bed and staring in one direction, constantly keeping her body in mild rocking motion. I greeted her and she responded.


He explains that he needed to bring his mother for physiotherapy everyday and she needs a certain medication and a special milk formula for her dyspepsia or a swallowing disorder due to her stroke. These items were costly. I could see that he was too embarrassed to ask for help and sensed his deep inner frustration. He seemed to me at the verge of breaking point, repeatedly trying to force back his tears. 

I arranged for some rations to be brought to his family immediately. A cash cheque for a sum of $150 was presented to him to help him tide over from the founder of Project Awareness Elson Soh. His smile on receiving the cash donation told me that a huge load has just been taken off his shoulders and that he has been pulled back from the brink of a nervous breakdown.


The volunteers will be back on another day to help him clean up his flat which was in a total mess. It was a distress signal that has gone unnoticed for some time and I was glad that we were there in the nick of time. Giving him more assurance that help is always at hand, I arranged for him to see me in my office so that I could help to look into to his legal trouble.

Everyone needs someone. There are people who are suffering quietly and dare not ask for help. Your timely gesture may just bring a ray of hope to someone in desperation.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Grand Old Dame of 100 Collecting Cardboards from Toa Payoh Lorong 8 to Potong Pasir

I saw her struggling to push her trolley of cardboards up the ramp at block 113 of Potong Pasir and moved to help her. In a jiff, she was rummaging through the dustbin behind the pillar in the void deck.


I squatted next to her as she was about to empty the contents of a paper box. I asked why she was collecting cardboxes. Her reply was that she needed to support herself. She lives alone in Punggol but collects cardboxes and old clothes from Lorong 8 Toa Payoh to Potong Pasir every day from morning 6am to night 9pm. When I asked her for her age, I could not believe her answer. She is 99 and turning 100 next April. She is undoubtedly the oldest collector of carboards in Singapore.


Her eyesight and hearing are still good but her body is permanently arched as a result of constantly bending down to collect cardboards. She has been doing this for many, many years. Her 3 children have left her and are no longer in touch with her. She has a grandson, abandoned by his parents and cared by her since young, who is in national service.


She makes about $20 a day, and sells about 150 kg of cardboards for a meagre $9. She is not receiving any financial help from the government as she finds it troublesome. She shares a one-room flat with a flatmate and pays her half share of the monthly rent which works out to about $200.


I shuddered at the thought that someone who is almost 100 years old, has to be collecting cardboards for a living and has not received any public assistance. My heart sank at the sight of her wrinkled hands and rugged fingers.


I asked for her permission to wheel her trolley around to get a feel of the weight of her trolley which was fully laden. When I pushed it back to her and asked where she will be wheeling it to, her answer startled me. She was going to wheel it to Lorong 8 in Toa Payoh and said that it will take her half an hour to do so.


Life has been really harsh to this grand old dame but she displays a resilience that puts everyone to shame. When she turns 100 in April, let's celebrate with her. Granny Chung Siew Ching. Meanwhile, if you get to see her around Lorong 8 Toa Payoh and Potong Pasir, do buy her drink and food. Thank you.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Food Distribution in Potong Pasir


The distribution of rations at Potong Pasir with Project Awareness and Happy People took place today. Coincidentally, Mr. Sitoh Yi Ping, the current MP of Potong Pasir SMC, was in the vicinity. We shook hands and had a photograph taken together. I invited him to join our volunteers for the distribution but he was unable to make it.




There were volunteers who were themselves residents of Potong Pasir. Our volunteers visited a few blocks and met many elderly residents. They were happy to see our concern for them and shared with us the issues that bothered them. A number of them were disturbed by the construction works and spoke about how their peaceful living environment has been disrupted. The cleanliness of the estate has suffered and their homes are dusty. 


We were invited into their homes to look at wall cracks, leaking pipes and creaking doors. These problems have led some of them to fork out extra money to pay for rectification work. There was a resident who renovated her flat after being tired of waiting for the upgrading works to begin and went ahead to renovate her flat. However, after her renovation was completed, the upgrading works began and caused repeated damage to her flat.

Residents spoke fondly of Mr. Chiam and how they miss his personal touch. There were requests for help during our visits and even after the distribution, there were telephone calls from residents for us to visit them again. We moved on to King George's for lunch and bought some more rations to distribute to the lonely elderly residents that we met.

Those in need will not be forgotten and we will continue to reach out to as many of them as we can.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Kindness beyond death

Madam Lim lives in Sengkang West and came to see me as I was having dinner at the coffee-shop in Block 120 in Potong Pasir. 


Her husband (Wong Wing Chun) has just passed away at the age of 49, leaving her and her 15 year-old daughter behind. She was at a lost as to how to handle his estate matters, including a car which he had just bought, and needed some advice. 

In the course of my conversation with Madam Lim, I learned that her late husband had consented to donate practically all his organs, including his bone and skin, before his death. He was working in a hotel and fainted at work. The doctors were unable to save him and he died on 23 July 2015 as a result of intracranial hemorrhage, a type of bleeding that occurs in the skull. 


His sudden death took her completely by surprise and she was devastated. When she found out that her husband's donation of his body parts had helped at least 9 other people or even more, she felt great pride and comfort in her heart. She wanted to me to share her husband's story which I believe should be told. 

When he was alive, he was always helping others and even when he died, he had not spared himself to do something that would benefit those that live after him, even when they were complete strangers to him. I am moved to share his story and to celebrate the extraordinary kindness of one ordinary man - Mr. Wong Wing Chun.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

My Days As A Museum Docent

Having lived in Singapore from the day I was born, I did not know how much I knew about my country's architecture, places of worship, landmarks and historical sites. 


In 2008, I decided to embark on a re-discovery of Singapore by setting myself the goal of obtaining a tourist guide licence from the Singapore Tourism Board ("STB"). Borrowing materials from a friend who had been through the tourist guide training course conducted by TMIS (Tourist Management Institute of Singapore), I set out on an intensive self-study of all the relevant materials and spent time visiting many interesting sites to familiarise myself with their history and importance.

When I thought I was ready, I booked a test date and succeeded in clearing the theory and practical tests set by TMIS at first attempt. I then went on to pass STB's practical test as a first-time candidate. This self-study pathway to a tourist guide licence was not commonly undertaken and I do not know of anyone else who has done so. I attributed my success to my deep personal interest in history and culture, a lot of hard work and of course, the useful tips that my tourist guide friend kindly provided me.



After obtaining my STB Tourist Guide Licence in 2008, I became inquisitive about the history and culture of the civilisations in Asia. I went on to sign up as a trainee docent with the Friends of the Museums ("FOM") and attended regular weekly classes, lectures and gallery visits for a few months. My fellow trainees were expatriate housewives and there were hardly any men. I had to pay for the training course but it brought me immense satisfaction. The course provided detailed information about archaeology, history and all the major cultural practices and beliefs in Asia. I finally completed the course to become a volunteer museum docent at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). In my batch, I happened to be the only thorn among the roses.

I guided at least twice a month, bringing visitors to all the galleries in ACM. I advanced to join the training team to mentor and assess new museum docents who were still mostly expatriate housewives. I participated in research work on new exhibitions and contributed an article to The Passion magazine in 2011 published by FOM (Friends of the Museums). I gave talks to trainee docents and did a two hour presentation on Chinese Ceramics which was open to public at the ACM.



I later decided to expand my knowledge of Malay history and their progress in Singapore. Joining the MHC (Malay Heritage Centre) gave me a deep insight into the history and lives of early Malays and I graduated as a MHC docent. I guided for a while in MHC and continued to do so in ACM as well until I finally stopped my docent activities in 2013.

There is no end to learning and we should never stop doing so. Learning is a source of life and life is about learning. Let's live to learn and learn to live.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Trolleys full of old cardboards


They have become part of our social landscape. They are seen pushing their trolleys full of old cardboards with their backs bent and attracting sympathy from onlookers. These rugged old folks have recently become the focus of a group of young people who are interested to know more about them.

Photo Credit: Tan Chuan-Jin

For years now, these old folks have been plying their trade, collecting cardboxes and selling them, and Why do they have to do it? Some observers speculate that these folks collect cardboxes just for the money. Others think they do it out of boredom. Well, they are all correct.

Photo Credit: Gilbert Goh

I have met many of them and spoken to them. There is a small number who do it out of boredom. These folks are already receiving some financial aid from the CDC or Comcare but would rather spend their time collecting cardboard. The majority, however, do it to make some money.



But there are many more old folks that I have come across who sit alone in the void decks and open spaces, often doing nothing at all. They are the lonely old folks who seem to have nothing to look forward to and wither their time away in loneliness. Whenever I stop to speak with them, they have so much to share with me and are happy to know that someone cares enough to listen to what they have to say.


We will all grow old one day. Then, will we also be pining for someone to talk to us like these lonely old folks?