..... Singapore also have a very famous idol/icon. When you go overseas and speak to the locals in their country, they might not know where is Singapore, but they knew who is this man. Unfortunately, this man had outstay his welcome
To be fair, many Singaporeans have contributed their time, energy and money to many poorer parts of Asia to help the people improve their life. Many are young Singaporeans from secondary schools, polytechnics and universities which made it as part of their social obligation to the world community.
Together with the students, there are also many working adults who contributed their time and money in building better homes, clearing polluted canals, digging wells, teaching and healing - and bonding with the local communities. These are the unsung and unpublicised local heroes. It's not a ONE MAN show, but a collective shared effort by these young Singaporeans. They don't go about consciously getting the media to publicise their contributions.
I am not talking about the Singapore government, SIF or Singapore Red Cross helping with money, medicines, food - but ordinary citizens, our own children. May be
RAIDERS are unaware of such efforts, or have never experienced any such volunteer work before.
As Singaporeans and as parents of these volunteers, we should be proud that our fellow citizens are playing a very responsible role in their growing up process. As a quote from the 2nd video so humbly puts it :
"We went to India to build a house, but realised that we were the ones that were build up instead."
GVGT, here is one example randomly taken from
Youtube - ordinary secondary school students helping to make life better for residents in a
leprosy village (in Chinese). (Here in Singapore, there are some who do not want elderly studio apartments built close to their block!)
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ixa8mk8yEMw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another student volunteer group helping out in an Indian village (Habitat for Humanity) :
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-D2USXrUcH4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As to the famous icon, I have expressed about that before long ago in this forum - he is more famous than Singapore is as a country. Even American and the European CEOs and statesmen that I encountered never failed to admire him.
"Overstay his welcome?" It would be very foolish for anyone to think so when many statesmen of far larger countries and renowned international organisations are still tapping his brain for ideas and opinions. It would be foolhardly to think that the stones out there are better than the gem in our own house or backyard. Some young or unenlightened children at one time or another think that their father and mother are stupid.
How are we going to face the world when we do not recognise - or worse - despise the value of our own family members or people?