Poor People in Singapore

There are poor people in Singapore.  The poor are really poor and the rich are really rich.  And the divide is probably getting larger.  The median monthly household income from work amongst resident employed household for year 2012 was S$7,570.  This includes employer Central Provident Fund contributions.  Based on statistics, there are 9.2% of households with no working persons, of which, 6.0% of these are retiree households.

I have become more aware of the poor around us.  At least to me, I have been noticing that there are more and more people walking (or standing) around selling tissue papers.  Well, they are not really selling tissue papers are they?  Some of them just place the tissue papers on your table while you are eating and ask you for money.  They are almost literally begging for money.  The selling of tissue paper is just a "cover".  After all, begging is illegal in Singapore(?).

One also notices that there are people who are selling tissue papers outside supermarkets, grocery stores, etc.  Anybody in need of a tissue paper can easily pop into one of those stores to buy themselves all the tissue they need.  But yet, it is not uncommon to see people stopping to buy tissue paper from these poor people who peddle their wares.

It is also increasingly common to see homeless people sleeping around in the void decks or at various places in Singapore.  Well, these people might not be homeless.  But nobody really knows.  And nobody bothers to ask.

Just today, I witnessed a woman go up to some diners to ask for money to buy food.  It might come as a surprise to some but I have actually seen people eating left over food on the tables as well as from the dustbins.  Yes, we can dismiss them as perhaps mentally unsound.  But perhaps the reason is that they are really poor.

There is also this struggle within me about how to help the poor.  I struggle with it every now and then.  Surely change must begin with me.  But there are limits to how much I can do.  Or perhaps, these are just my excuses.

Poor People

Some time ago, I wrote about the poor people around us and also some reflection on helping the poor. This message struck  me again even as I was out having dinner today.

After dinner, while I was walking around, I saw a middle-aged man staring intently into a rubbish bin.  At first, I thought he was just rummaging through to look for empty cans which old people often collect to sell for money.  But to my horror, I saw him staring at a plastic plate which had some food left over in it.

He then proceeded to eat the leftovers from the bin.  I was quite shock and taken aback that I was actually witnessing such a scene in front of me.  At the same time, I did not know what to make out of it as he was holding a cigarette in the other hand even as he was eating out of the bin.

Just a few seconds.  But it left a lasting impression on me and will probably haunt me.  I have always known that there are poor people but to witness such a sight is quite heart breaking.  And that is to know that I frequently waste so much food myself while there are actually people who are hungry enough to eat out of the rubbish bin.

How To Help the Poor?

I just watched the show where Christopher Lee and Quan Yifeng (two Singapore based presenters) visit really poor people in Singapore and give their homes a complete makeover.

The episodes are always so heart wrenching.

Today's episode was about an 81 year old granny who had children who had various mental illenesses and sickness.

She has been eating leftover rice for God knows how long, often keeping the left over food in the fridge for days at end. All her children do not work and she has to support all of them. I can really feel the pain in her as she is the sole breadwinner of the family and has been suffering all her life.

Her family also lived without lights for close to 15 years because her daughter set fire to the cables and burnt it.

This TV episode reminds me that there are still a lot of poor people in Singapore whose stories are probably untold.

How can we help the poor? Is the solution simply donations or do they need more support and help from society?

When I think about the money that I spend on a single meal and how that money could actually tide this poor people through, it makes me feel ashame of myself for spending that kind of money on frivolous stuff.

Yet at the same time, I don't see how I can contribute as my income is simply too little.

Conversations With The Poor

The poor people in Singapore really have sad stories to tell. While I am striving for financial freedom here in Singapore, there are actually poor people all around me who cannot even dare to dream of such an end goal.

Their lives are tangled in an unending cycle of debts, medical bills and other payments that they must make to simply survive. They have simply no savings at all.

Sometimes, one can really wonder whether it is due to their own efforts or pure misfortune that they end up doing what they are doing.

We can see the poor all around us in Singapore if we open our eyes. They are there begging on the streets, collecting soft drink cans, selling tissue paper, lottery tickets and stuff. Some of them have a sad story...some of them just have themselves to blame.

However, I don't think that one should judge them and not give them any money just because they are poor.

You never know all the sad stories behind their lives and how some of them were just like you but due to some family problems (usually illnesses and hospital bills) that they end up where they are.

As our society gets significantly older, many people might not have done the necessary financial planning to make sure that they are insured and saving sufficiently for future unxepected events. I guess that is the government's concern and it's also why they are encouraging people to save more and setting the retirement age much higher.

This video shows a sight of Singapore that is not commonly seen. I have personally seen some of these sights before and it saddens me.

The Poor Around Us

Lately, I have become more aware of those who are poor living in our midst.

Yes! There are actually poor people around in Singapore.

At a food center near where I live, I always notice a old couple (in their 50s?) occupying a table during the late nights. Whenever I go there for breakfast early in the morning, I see them there with the wife still sleeping and the man looking a toto tickets. I have seen them there countless of times and they seem to be oblivious to the people around them. The wife just sleeps while the unshaven husband flips through lots of toto/4d (?) tickets.

It makes me wonder... what are these people up to with their lives? Did something happen in their family that resulted in them being homeless? Or are they renting out their homes to gain income so as to buy Toto tickets. I seriously don't know.

Another incident took place the other day too. My wife was waiting for me while I was buying some groceries downstairs. There was an old woman standing near the exit too. Later, my wife told me that the old woman had actually asked for $2 from her to buy food to eat.

" So did you give her the $2??" I asked.

" No lah...what happen if she goes and use it to buy cigarettes or stuff?" replies the wife

At this point, I told my wife: " Why do we always assume that poor people are always going to use the money we give them to buy drugs/beer/cigarettes? Perhaps they are really poor and need food to eat?"

The wife felt bad afterwards..

But of course it is a common misperception. We always think that the poor are poor because they gamble, smoke and drink. We tend not to give them money because that's what our parents told us to not to do! We always hear from them how people who beg for money always use the money to buy cigarettes and stuff.

Hmmmm...I think the poor are poor because they are caught in this poverty cycle. There is simply no way out for them unless someone helps them.