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- Aug 14, 2009
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I just got back home and my heart is very heavy.
Driving back, I heard the news that my old colleague had just passed away. He had gone jogging. RIP TL.
The evening had started off well. Visited my residents at Blk 36. It was a good visit. Had pleasant chats with those who were in except for an aunty who was lying on her sofa watching TV...she shooed me away...Must have been a very good program
Had some interesting conversations with my residents at the coffee shop downstairs. One phoned his boss to tell him that I was having coffee with him. I ended up speaking to his boss, who lived in Chai Chee as well, as he did not believe his staff. It was one of those very encouraging conversations that you sometimes get that reminds you to just keep going. Thank you for bothering to share those kind words.
There were 2 instances where I was very moved by the dignity and stoicism I saw. One resident and his brother (who wasn't in) were jobless. They owed money and you could see that he was struggling. He could not bring himself to ask for help and you could sense that he wanted to try and make it on his own. Another elderly gentleman and his wife had some, but insufficient support from his children. I asked if they had enough to eat. He smiled and waved his hands...its ok, no problem. But you know they did not have enough. We will provide some free meals and arrange for jobs if needed. My grassroot leaders said that they will follow up.
As we were about to go off, we received a call that there was a homeless mother and her two children at Blk 26. Some of us went over. It was a troubling scene.
The lady was sleeping on a mat with her two teenage daughters. They had some push trolleys filled with their barang barang. I woke them up and spoke to them. The mother insisted she did not need help. She just got divorced and left home. They had walked from Yishun (!!?!) and were tired. She wanted to find her cousin who lived somewhere in Tampines.
She was 46. Her older daughter was 16 and was taken out of school about a year or so ago. Her younger daughter was 14 and was taken out of school since Primary 2. This young girl was a mother and had given birth when she was 13. It was very disheartening as the story unfolded.
I thought we should try and get the social services involved. I was not sure if the mother could look after her children even though you could see that she was protective. Her daughter was an under-aged mother.
We called the police from Bedok South NPC. We had much difficulty persuading the family to stay. We had no right to detain them and they quickly got up and started walking off. It would have been a funny scene if it was not so tragic. We walked with them along the main road for a few hundred metres as they tried to shake us off. The Police got there and took over, and drove them to Tampines (Tks for going the extra miles literally!) And they did find their cousin who took them in.
I hope we can get the social services to follow through as I am worried for the vulnerable kids.
We need to get training on the ground so that our grassroots can learn more about watching out for danger signs and to prevent incidents from reaching this stage if possible. It is a structural problem and I fear that for some of these children, their future is already written off before they even start. We must do what we can to change this and provide them a fighting chance.
Driving back, I heard the news that my old colleague had just passed away. He had gone jogging. RIP TL.
The evening had started off well. Visited my residents at Blk 36. It was a good visit. Had pleasant chats with those who were in except for an aunty who was lying on her sofa watching TV...she shooed me away...Must have been a very good program
Had some interesting conversations with my residents at the coffee shop downstairs. One phoned his boss to tell him that I was having coffee with him. I ended up speaking to his boss, who lived in Chai Chee as well, as he did not believe his staff. It was one of those very encouraging conversations that you sometimes get that reminds you to just keep going. Thank you for bothering to share those kind words.
There were 2 instances where I was very moved by the dignity and stoicism I saw. One resident and his brother (who wasn't in) were jobless. They owed money and you could see that he was struggling. He could not bring himself to ask for help and you could sense that he wanted to try and make it on his own. Another elderly gentleman and his wife had some, but insufficient support from his children. I asked if they had enough to eat. He smiled and waved his hands...its ok, no problem. But you know they did not have enough. We will provide some free meals and arrange for jobs if needed. My grassroot leaders said that they will follow up.
As we were about to go off, we received a call that there was a homeless mother and her two children at Blk 26. Some of us went over. It was a troubling scene.
The lady was sleeping on a mat with her two teenage daughters. They had some push trolleys filled with their barang barang. I woke them up and spoke to them. The mother insisted she did not need help. She just got divorced and left home. They had walked from Yishun (!!?!) and were tired. She wanted to find her cousin who lived somewhere in Tampines.
She was 46. Her older daughter was 16 and was taken out of school about a year or so ago. Her younger daughter was 14 and was taken out of school since Primary 2. This young girl was a mother and had given birth when she was 13. It was very disheartening as the story unfolded.
I thought we should try and get the social services involved. I was not sure if the mother could look after her children even though you could see that she was protective. Her daughter was an under-aged mother.
We called the police from Bedok South NPC. We had much difficulty persuading the family to stay. We had no right to detain them and they quickly got up and started walking off. It would have been a funny scene if it was not so tragic. We walked with them along the main road for a few hundred metres as they tried to shake us off. The Police got there and took over, and drove them to Tampines (Tks for going the extra miles literally!) And they did find their cousin who took them in.
I hope we can get the social services to follow through as I am worried for the vulnerable kids.
We need to get training on the ground so that our grassroots can learn more about watching out for danger signs and to prevent incidents from reaching this stage if possible. It is a structural problem and I fear that for some of these children, their future is already written off before they even start. We must do what we can to change this and provide them a fighting chance.
