Taxi driver shares pitiful sight of elderly woman picking up cardboard boxes on CNY Eve, says ‘this just breaks my heart’

[Fitvip]

This Kind Hearted Abang Needs Not Have His Heart Broken If Only He Realises Seniors Need To Exercise Too!🤐

Taxi driver shares pitiful sight of elderly woman picking up cardboard boxes on CNY Eve, says ‘this just breaks my heart’

Taxi driver shares pitiful sight of elderly woman picking up cardboard boxes on CNY Eve, says ‘this just breaks my heart’© The Independent Singapore

SINGAPORE — A taxi driver, Ghazali M Sadip, shared a picture of an elderly woman collecting cardboard boxes on the eve of Chinese New Year at Bukit Merah Central. He said on Facebook, “it’s 7pm on the eve of Chinese New Year and seeing this just breaks my heart.”

Most Chinese consider the reunion dinner the most important part of the Chinese New Year celebration. The Reunion Dinner is an annual feast where family members reaffirm the love and respect that binds them together as a unit. It is also known as tuanyuan (or weilu) to mean “gathering around the family hearth.” This event is of sociological significance as it is a means to ensure the solidarity of the family and its cohesiveness. It is unclear if the elderly women had anyone to celebrate Reunion Dinner with on Chinese New Year.

taxi-driver-shares-picture-of-elderly-woman-picking-up-cardboard-boxes-on-eve-of-chinese-new-year© The Independent Singapore

Nafiz Kamarudin, leader of a community group, Happy People Helping People, said a few years ago that the number of elderly cardboard box collectors seems to have grown in Singapore. His group provides monthly meal vouchers and provisions for elderly box collectors struggling to get by.

Speaking to The Pride, Nafiz felt that the ageing population and outsourcing of low-wage jobs to foreigners were contributing factors.

He said: “Most of (the elderly) are financially unstable because they don’t have jobs. There are those who have children, but unfortunately, Singapore’s cost of living is very high, and some are not earning enough to support their elderly. So these elderlies will find ways to make their own living.”

In responding to a question by Singapore Democratic Chairman, Dr Paul Tambyah, at the Singapore Perspectives 2023 conference organized by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that the majority of workers in Singapore want to work longer, as long as they are healthy.

Dr Tambyah has asked if the Silver Support scheme could be more universal to avoid a huge drop in income when they stop working. The scheme provides lower-income senior citizens with a quarterly cash payout during their retirement.

He touched on the age of retirement in Singapore and asked, “Would anyone actually want to be operated on by a 70-year-old neurosurgeon? Or ride in a bus driven by a 70-year-old bus driver?”

He added, “The basis of this question is the narrative seems to be that we need to keep working. And if we are unable to do a particular job, we’ve got to retrain.”

The post Taxi driver shares picture of elderly woman picking up cardboard boxes on eve of Chinese New Year appeared first on The Independent News.

Edited January 28 by Fitvip

[Inlinefour]

pappies claimed that doing exercises 

 

nothing to do with earning living 

 

must be fake news 🤐🤐🤐

[RadX]

10 minutes ago, Inlinefour said:

pappies claimed that doing exercises 

 

nothing to do with earning living 

 

must be fake news 🤐🤐🤐

Yah lo

 

Is exercise

[Heartlander]

It would be wonderful if the taxi driver stopped and give a token gesture of say $50 to the old woman instead of just stopped at sharing this. We do not know the background of this old woman and how she ended up in this state, but we can definitely provide some comfort by whatever little that we can share. But do accept that there will always be poor people lah. Is how we react that is important.  In case anyone want to accuse me of NATO, I ever did that hor.

[Windwaver]

Think she has a medical issue looking at her back.

Medical issue means need $$$.

[Playtime]

too many FT lowering wages... especially for those in the lower tier, its simply hard to retire.

but there are too many in govt who knew nothing but smooth sailing and good life, how can high flying geese understand chickens cannot go as far? 

[Mkl22]

9 minutes ago, Playtime said:

too many FT lowering wages... especially for those in the lower tier, its simply hard to retire.

but there are too many in govt who knew nothing but smooth sailing and good life, how can high flying geese understand chickens cannot go as far? 

We have an example in our midst……… 🤣

[Abracadabra]

47 minutes ago, RadX said:

Yah lo

 

I sexercise

*@hem* 😂

[RadX]

6 minutes ago, Abracadabra said:

*@hem* 😂

Go wash ur clothes la😂😂

[Sosaria]

Quoted from article:

Speaking to The Pride, Nafiz felt that the ageing population and outsourcing of low-wage jobs to foreigners were contributing factors.

He said: “Most of (the elderly) are financially unstable because they don’t have jobs. There are those who have children, but unfortunately, Singapore’s cost of living is very high, and some are not earning enough to support their elderly. So these elderlies will find ways to make their own living.”

It's very easy to shoot like that lah, but look deeper and often some of these elderly are not staying with or supported by their kids due to anti-social issues or they don't have kids in the first place. Divorced, estranged, etc.

Not everything simply lump on "outsourcing low-wage job to foreigner" - in fact, it is these low-wage job that needs more FW; jobs that locals shun.

Even if miraculously can find locals to staff all these low-wage job, some elderly will still be out there collecting cardboard if they have no supporting family members or their anti-social tendencies make them unable to stay with their family members or relatives.

A cautionary message for our Millennials and Gen Z who are on the way to middle age, on why despite the challenges and sacrifices that have to be made to get married and have a family, it is still an important preparation for the future! You can have all the money and savings but no one willing or feel obligated to care for you, also die!

Edited January 28 by Sosaria

[Starry]

Life is a series of trade-offs and goes in a cycle.

Some people will have good life at the beginning, but will have to suffer later in elderly stage.

Some people suffer early, but have a good life in later stage.

Whatever happens to us now (rich/poor, healthy/not healthy, happy/not happy) , it is often a consequence of past behaviour/attitude towards ourselves and others.

[Atonchia]

One more year their life should get better right?

Gov said 8% then next year 9% GST, these increase is to help the poor and old people

[Sosaria]

9 minutes ago, Starry said:

 

Whatever happens to us now (rich/poor, healthy/not healthy, happy/not happy) , it is often a consequence of past behaviour/attitude towards ourselves and others.

Exactly! But what is true is that there's lack of social workers/orgs to handle these issues. Maybe in the past, SG did not have such glaring problem of drastic poverty and homelessness, but it is growing now and needs to be supported.

Edited January 28 by Sosaria

[13177]

17 minutes ago, Starry said:

Life is a series of trade-offs and goes in a cycle.

Some people will have good life at the beginning, but will have to suffer later in elderly stage.

Some people suffer early, but have a good life in later stage.

Whatever happens to us now (rich/poor, healthy/not healthy, happy/not happy) , it is often a consequence of past behaviour/attitude towards ourselves and others.

But some people will have good life for their entire life lo. And some people have to suffer for their whole life.

[PSP415]

And I have to meet 2 elderly couple who did it for exercise. 

Staying landed behind then Hotel Windsor. Early morning start, lunch break at home and finished night 8ish. Say good for health otherwise stare at 4 walls daily. 

Spoil market. And they collected alot of cupboards and happy as larks with the money collected. Can keep. 

Tmd. 😁😂😅😅😅 True story ya. 

Stay safe all 

Cheers 

[Starry]

7 minutes ago, 13177 said:

But some people will have good life for their entire life lo. And some people have to suffer for their whole life.

That's only on the surface my friend.  For those who had a good life all the way, you didn't see their suffering and sacrifices.  And for those who seemed to suffer all the way, you didn't see their blessings  and opportunities.

This is why, never compare with others.  Compare only with our ownselves.  We will never know enough about others.

[Inlinefour]

33 minutes ago, Atonchia said:

One more year their life should get better right?

Gov said 8% then next year 9% GST, these increase is to help the poor and old people

not only gst 

 

importing FT also creating jobs for all sinkies 🙈🙉🙊

 

Basically people living in the ivory tower will never understand what is happening on the ground

 

🤐🤐🤐

[Jellandross]

Don't worry help is always available