Poverty in Singapore

 

In 2012, Singapore was the world's 6th most expensive city to live in. Also, in 2012, more then 100,000 Singaporeans and PRs earned less than $1000 a month, despite working full time. Still the overall price of goods and services in Singapore increased by 13.1% over the last three years. The price of a bowl of fishball noodles shot up to 20% in just one year from 2011 to 2012! As a result, Singapore is ranked as 26th out of 136 in the world for income inequality. In other words, while the island got richer, the poor got poorer.

 

The poor had no place to share the success of the country. The fact that many needy residents live in the shadows of a rich society prompted a new campaign known as Singaporeans Against Poverty, that was launched in October, about two years ago and organised by Caritas Singapore. Its aim is to raise the awareness of poverty in Singapore while sharing stories, that touches the hearts of many people, such as that of Vincent Thor, a visually handicapped man, and encouraging people to help break the poverty cycle.

 

Singapore's poor are often seen spending the night on benches near their jobs to save the transport fare home or even collecting empty soft drink cans out of trash bins. Sometimes also seen, selling packets of tissue, playing instruments such as a harmonica or a guitar in the public to earn a living. They are commonly seen around hawker centres, near MRT stations and bus interchanges. Besides them, there are also the foreign workers who live in slums, that has recently gained the attention of the government due to the riot in Little India.

 

Singapore- Foreign workers living in cesspool basement

 

Poverty in Singapore is gradually increasing and that those who are of a higher rank should help them out, such that Singapore will no longer have income inequality and everyone would be able to afford their basic necessities. Such as being able to send their children to school, being able to afford three simple meals a day, public transport, etc, If there are schemes to help them to live a better life, then the government should find ways to ensure that they are well informed too. That said, as majority of us Singaporeans are enjoying a better life, we tend to complain about trivial matters, such as "I hate school. Why must I got to school?", "It is so unfair, why can't I have an Iphone when all my friends have one?". But before complaining, we must always remember that there are those who are more needy then us and that they would gladly swap their problems with us.