Lesson 2: A picture paints a thousand words

"POVERTY IN SINGAPORE"

Kai Ming: I think there isn't really a big problem about poverty in Singapore. Unlike America or other countries, we don't see many beggars in Singapore. This may be the result of our good government and ministers who aid in the economy and well being of the citizens, making sure that none of them get poor to the extent if having to beg for money. The poor or the less than average people are well taken care of in Singapore with many charities and other programs that help them so in my opinion poverty isn't such a big issue in Singapore.

Yixiang: My thoughts on poverty in Singapore is that it is very rare to see someone in poverty, as the Singapore government helps all the needy by subsiding most of their stuff. Worst come to worst, there are a few beggars on the street. I feel that the Singapore government really helped the poverty a lot, thus we don't see them often.

Gabbie:i think that there aren't many poor people in Singapore as everyone is well educated and can find a job, though there are some old people who are struggling to earn money. I feel quite sad to see some old people going around collecting drink cans or cardboards, i really wish they could earn money in an easier way. Therefore i think that there isn't much poverty in Singapore.

Petra : What i think about poverty in Singapore.

I think Singapore has very few beggars and poor people although i do see some around at MRT stations. It is sad. Most of them are very old people and i have never seen a young beggar. I wonder what happened and caused them to be in that state. They are also too old to work and support themselves. It makes me think if they have children and if they do where are their children and what they are doing. I won't judge them as they might be various reasons why they are poor and begging and living on the streets. Everyone has their stories and reasons. Many families also barely get by with the money they earn as the cost of living in Singapore is high. But i think the government is putting in effort to help them. For example, by having the financial assistance scheme for school students.Overall i don't have many opinions on the poverty in Singapore as in terms of really poor beggars, there aren't many. Probably because in, most people are educated thus able to hold up jobs to support themselves.:)  

Jean-
 I think that poverty is not common in Singapore and it is rare to see any starving beggars on the streets, with no place to live. Almost all Singaporeans are educated and so people could at least find a job and have a stable income. There are also many organisations that have volunteers to help tutor the children of poor families and every year the government will also give the families money. One common problem is that because there is only one working man in the whole family and the income is not much too. Adding on to that, the family has many children that they need to take care of, including the money for education and sometimes the grandparents need to be taken care of too. These families face 'relative poverty', in which their financial resources are not enough to pay for the necessities of living in Singapore. The prices of the things these days are not cheap either! Also, many charities have donation funds to help the poor and needy so overall I think that poverty is not a problem in Singapore.




These are pictures of an old lady I took of at outside Buona Vista MRT Station. She was spotted there every time I went there, selling tissue packets.

Jean: This is a sign of poverty in Singapore. Actually I do see many old people begging or selling tissues at mrt stations (e.g. buona vista, tiong bahru). They remind us of the poverty in Singapore and it's quite sad to see them look sad. *that picture is 100% original*

Gabbie: I feel very sad for the old lady as she looks quite old and yet she has to sell tissue packets to earn some money which is not alot. I feel that Singapore should help these old people as sometimes they may be abandoned by their families and have to live alone or do not have families and might not be able to earn enough money to feed themselves.

Lesson 1: Introduction

This is a group shot of our members~~~

(Left to right): Yi Xiang, Kaiming, Jean, Petra, Gabbie (a+ for colours)

Reflections on our holidays:

Yixiang: I went to Korea this holiday. I saw a lot of stuff in Korea and was fascinated by them. I went to a lot of places like a teddy bear safari, Lotte world, Everland amusement park. I also went to a famous street and ate a lot of things. For instance, Korean BBQ meat, spicy rice cake, BBQ black pork etc. I went to Seoul and jeju island. I really enjoyed my trip to Korea.

Gabbie: During the holidays, i went back to primary school for an alumni gathering for the basketballers. It was really fun as i met my teammates after a really long time and got to play together with them too, it was really tiring though the moment i got back home and ate my dinner i was hardly keeping my eyes open, it was really good exercise. I would definitely go again next year and have 

even more fun!!

Kai Ming: During the holidays, I was occupied with tons and tons of homework, facilitator training sand dance trainings. My facilitator trainings were fun yet tiring and it gave me a lot of experience. I had much fun while I prepared myself to be the facilitators of year ones. The facilitators did everything together, we played together, got scolded together and had fun together. This is something I will never forget!

Petra Ng ^_^ -
My holiday's were honestly plain and boring. The most part of my holidays were my Basketball training sessions. Training is tiring but it helps our team bond through the hardships. It makes my skin extremely tan and brown and tan and brown with all the tan lines, but maybe that isn't necessarily a bad thing, i used to be very fair though? It's tough to me but it helps me L - O - S - E  W - E - I -G - H - T, because i am so heavy, so that's the good part about it. It was also enjoyable going to the nearby mall after school to have dinner and watch movies after training, and sharing our problems we face during CCA and you know the common girl gossip and what not. 

I didn't spend my holiday very well. I spent most of my time lazing around when i could have completed my homework on time. INSTEAD i did it so last minute even when school started i was still struggling with holiday homework. I really need to work on my time management! I wished i spent my holiday more wisely. 

As for class outings, i attended a few and hosted my own. It was fun and memorable. I also gained experience by hosting a BBQ. It was my first time hosting something. It was kind of hectic, my main concern was if people would get bored and get left out. But i guess it was a success? So that pretty much sums up my holiday! :) 

Jean Low ^-^
~~During the school holidays, I was occupied with homework, cca and other things but one of my most favourite part of it was when I went on a vacation to Kyushu, Japan. I went there at the end of November during the autumn season so I got to see many colourful maple trees and definitely did not forget to snap many pictures!

One of my favourite places with the best scenery throughout the trip was Takachiho Gorge. So apparently the cliffs of the gorge were made from the slow forming of volcanic basalt columns. It's so geography-ish but it really is a wonderful place.

 I totally loved my trip to Japan, especially since I loved photography so much it's the perfect place with sceneries that can't be found in Singapore! I would want to go back there again!