We care. I am sure we all do

The volunteers arrived in groups. There were friends, couples, parent and child, and even individuals who were alone, who decided to do some good on a Sunday morning yesterday.

They had come to help distribute bread, biscuits, cooked rice and roti prata to two blocks of 16-storey high rental flats in North Bridge Road. They knocked on the doors, talked to the residents and helped to note down the living conditions of the flat dwellers, who were mostly living alone or with someone else. 

The oldest resident we met today was a 93 year-old grandmother who was dressed in her black buddhist robes. She was about to start her prayers when we visited and was happy that we had come. She was a little hard of hearing and lives all by herself. Her only daughter is apparently suffering from a weak heart and I gather they hardly see each other and communicate only through the telephone.

At the end of the distribution, I spoke to the volunteers who had joined us for the first time in such kind of work. Some found it hard to express what they had seen and they were surprised that there were such needy people in affluent Singapore. They are saddened by their encounters today but their spirits are uplifted by the sight of so many fellow volunteers who came to show they care.

We care. I am sure we all do. And as we count our blessings,  let's continue to show those less fortunate than us a little kindness whenever we can.

The Boy From Trengganu - A New Start

The happy news came earlier than expected. The police have finally closed their investigations and returned the passport to him.

When I met him this evening, he was overjoyed. He never expected his life would return to normalcy so soon. Just a week ago when I found him shelter at volunteer Lella's place, he was preparing to wait for months before he could live a normal life again.

We adjourned to the East Coast Lagoon Food Village for him to break his fast and have a dinner celebration. I asked for his plans. He said he was going to visit his good friend in Johor Bahru before returning to Singapore to look for work again. He wants to be able to earn some money to give his parents when he sees them. His dream ambition is to work in the airlines as he has completed a course in Malaysia to equip himself.

He had a good appetite and was all smiles throughout. A good samaritan has given him $300 for him to start afresh. As I passed him the money on behalf of the anonymous donor, tears welled up in his eyes.

The boy from Trengganu will be leaving Singapore tomorrow. As I bid him farewell and wished him well, he hugged me and thanked me profusely. He has indeed found friends in Singapore when he was down and will never forget the many helping hands that were stretched out to him in this foreign land. Lastly, thank you Lailan for bringing him to Project Awareness.

THEME - Housing: $28,000 3-room HDB flat comparing to $350,000 similar flat nowaday

He was standing there as though he was rooted to the ground. 71 year-old Mr. Sia suffered a stroke in 2008, just before he retired as a PUB technician. He still has difficulty walking and tries his best to move about as much as he could everyday.

We spoke after I gave him a packet of vegetarian beehoon. He told me he had seen his Member of Parliament but was not happy with the outcome. He then went on to share with me some of his deepest concerns. When he bought his 3-room flat in which he still lives, he was drawing a salary of $1,600. His flat cost him $28,000 and he was able to pay off his mortgage in 10 years. He laments that his children will not enjoy the same comfort level that he had. Even with a salary of $3,000, his eldest daughter is unable to buy a similar flat, which now costs almost $350,000.

His 3 children, all daughters, are living with him. Owing to the high costs of living, they are not able to give him much monthly allowance. He regrets having given up his pension scheme when he was a civil servant. He puts it down to not having been given a choice at all and even then with the CPF route , he has monies retained in his CPF account which he could not withdraw.

He also talked about how some people would take advantage of do-gooders in his neighbourhood. Once he wanted to help someone who asked for money. When he took out $2, the man refused to accept and demanded for $10. He was completely disheartened by the experience which was echoed by another elderly man whom I spoke to earlier.

Mr. Sia tried to move his legs after talking to me and found them immobilised. After taking my advice to do some leg stretching, he was able to stagger slowly in the direction of his flat. Watching him walk, there is no doubt that good health is afterall, one's most precious possession in old age.