Monday, November 24, 2008
One of the shows I've always used as an 1 hour break during my revision for the exam was this channel 8 show called "Life Transformers". Co-hosted by Christopher Lee and Quan Yifeng, they go around helping to improve the lives of the needy and poor in Singapore. To be honest, when I saw Chris on the show, I was abit sceptical in the sense that I expect him to just be lending his star appeal to the show only, not really getting down and dirty. Well,getting down and dirty was exactly what he and he impressed me together with Yifeng.
Some of the families they helped included those whose parents are too poor to afford giving their own house a makeover, an old lady who has a mentally unsound son and today's show - helping this mother who has to raise 5 sons on her husband's $800 monthly income. I do have friends who are surviving on up to $2000 a month as their spending month for university and they complained that they do not have enough. Sometimes, we just don't know how fortunate we are sometimes and it was this show that kept me going throughout the tough exam period. I was telling myself "No matter how tough my papers can be, it cannot get tougher than the lives of these needy people and what they are going through". It gave me the motivation to go on.
It just goes to show how unkind some Singaporeans can be when they steal 30 cans of food and a gas cylinder(items that were donated) belonging to a poor family. This is indeed a moving show and for once, you get to see the hosts themselves being moved to tears. There was this poor girl whose father cannot afford to get a pair of replacement spectacls for her, she ended up wearing it for quite a long time. Imagine you're short-sighted by around 250 degrees and your spectacles only can cater to 75 degrees. The one thing that left me puzzled and grateful for that pair I'm wearing right now. How can one be wearing a pair that she can barely see and to even use it to study? She obviously can't do a good job with that pair but she's so sensible and know that her father won't be able to afford a new pair for her.
One thing I noticed about these poor and needy families is something that all Singaporeans can learn from. They may not be well-off in terms of material needs but the happiness comes from the warmth and love with their family. They always carry that smile on their face and sometimes, you can't tell they need our help. Like in today's episode, this young lady, aged 36 years old, is suffering from the post-liver operation blues and she's too sick to find a part-time job to help supplement the household income. She takes all the pain and suffering she's going through in her stride and refuse to tell her husband about it. She's worried that she will only cause unnecessary worries for her husband when he's already so tired from work. When asked by Yifeng whether she's afraid to die, her reply was "No, I live for my 5 kid and husband and I'm worried about them if I'm gone".
Recently in the Straits Times forum, there have been numerous posts regarding whether Singaporeans should head overseas to engage in community work when there are so many needy people out there in this small little island that needs our help even more. Well, a diplomatic answer would probably be the fact that you cannot stop people from heading overseas and it's not wrong to do so. Personally, I would say that if given the choice, I definitely will not head overseas when it comes to community work. This show on channel 8 had given me new insight into the hard life that some of my countrymen are going through. Many people see Singapore as a country that has a wealthy and efficient economy. Sad to say, it's not completely through because it's just like what I've learnt in human geo back in sec 1, there's always a rich-poor gap that causes people to lag behind as the rest of the country moves forward.
Respect to those teenagers today from the Singapore Poly Welfare Club who devoted their time and perhaps weekends(if I'm not wrong) to go around helping the poor and needy. Restless they are certainly not but their level of organization was superb. The 1 room flat today was seriously in a bad shape and condition and it did not fazed the girls in the team one bit and one even took the initiative to clean the toilet on her own (the toilet bowl was so yellow that it beats even the worst toilets you can see in the hawker centres). There was even an ants nest right in the kitchen below the sink. Living conditions were pretty bad.
I would say that this show has plenty of living implications for my future career as teacher next time. Take for example with reference to today's show, the eldest son who was only 15 years old and in sec 3, he's probably a good student at heart with no ill intentions. However, he may have no interest in his schoolwork and neglected his schoolwork due to disturbing conditions at home. In situations like these, I would have to consider the underlying factors before I can even blame my students for not giving their all or not doing their homework. It's a learning curve for new teachers like me.
Graduation seems like a long time from now but time passes by so fast that i'm be out in the schools working with students 2 years from now. Not every student is going to as fortunate as those studying in acs(I). Being in a neighbourhood school means that I would be facing problems from all areas. It's how I handled it that can make a difference.
That's why I've chosen teaching.
