Lend A Helping Hand

The Singapore government has come up with a campaign, ‘Vertical Kampung’, to promote informal volunteerism, where people help each other when the need arises.

According to National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) 2010 study of individual giving behavior, only one in three people offer a helping hand when they see someone in need in Singapore.

This may be the reason as to why the government wanted to launch the above campaign. It is indeed a worrying situation in Singapore. Since young, we are inculcated with the value of ‘lend a helping hand when someone is in need of help’. However, the surveyed results showed that only minority practiced what they were taught.

The purpose of the campaign is to spread the message that everyone can do good deeds in his community. But will it be an effective measure? I feel that it does serves as a reminder to people but there are people who choose to ignore despite the ‘reminders’. Take the reserved seats in Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) for instance. Many people choose to disregard the big blue signage that says ‘reserve seats’ - which are for the needy, elderly, injured and the pregnant – and feel free to take up those seats. The worst scenario is that one pretends not to realize the existence of the needy and elderly people. I feel that this is a very shameful act. This may be partly why the reserve seats posters are almost everywhere to remind people.

In conclusion, I feel that the ‘Vertical Kampung’ campaign is effective to a large extent if everyone play their parts. Even a simple act such as helping an elderly lady down a flight of stairs is playing a part already. As the saying goes, ‘treat others how you want to be treated’. When you are in need of help, you may need other’s people help. So start by helping others in any ways you can and make Singapore a better place to be in! (:     

Credits:

(News Source)

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2011/01/25/reviving-the-kampong-spirit/, 25 Jan 11

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling

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