This ITE CC student deserve a recognition for his kindness.
On a very heavy rainy day opposite ITE central he stood at the entrance of bus 72 and held an umbrella up for everyone else to get on to the bus.
Like an overhead bridge if you will. On behalf of everyone Thank you.
Source: Anaid Quinn
SDP launches We Are One, We Are Bukit Batok, a social programme for the SMC should SDP get elected in the by-election.
The SDP’s mission is not only to manage the housing estate well, we also want to cultivate a successful town.
But what is a successful town? It is one where the pavements and lift-landings are not only kept clean but also where residents develop a unique sense of belonging. It is a place where members of the community and the town managers put our minds together to make the estate a real home – a home where neighbour greets neighbour, the better off lend a hand to help lift up those in need, and friends look out for one another.
Dr Chee said: “I don’t want to be just an MP, I want to be that spark, that catalyst that brings out the best in the people of Bukit Batok, to inspire everyone to reach for their best, to appeal to the better angels in all of us and to discover that side of our community that we didn’t know we had so that we can build a compassionate town, a town that will, dare I dream, become the model and one day spread to all of Singapore.”
The programme includes the following initiatives the SDP has spelled out for Bukit Batok:
Hearts for Bukit Batok
This project endeavours to create a caring community for our elderly and low-income residents. Under this programme, households in Bukit Batok will be encouraged to adopt a needy family in the community by contributing their time and/or resources to the family’s well-being. This will bring the Bukit Batok community closer together and forge strong bonds between fellow residents. It will enrich the lives of both the receiver and the giver even as we recognise that our humanity is inextricably bound together.
The SDP will also set up and manage a trust fund that will raise funds to assist Bukit Batok’s elderly poor with monthly stipends or food vouchers. If elected, Dr Chee will use his MP’s allowance to assist 10 low-income families.
Wong Hwee Lin is presently a Private Tutor, who has extensive experience in teaching. She possesses a Master of Arts in SocioCultural Anthropology and was nominated for a Teaching Award in 2009.
Ms Wong will coordinate Hearts for Bukit Batok.
Pathfinder
This project aims to create an environment conducive for students to build confidence and develop their potential. It is a place where students come together discover themselves, explore their interests and talents, or simply find someone to listen to them. Pathfinder will also provide subsidised private tuition for students from lower income families.
Rajakumari Ashukumar (Kumari) is presently an allied educator and pursuing a degree in biomedical science.
Ms Kumari will coordinate Pathfinder.
Dollars and Sense
This initiative assists residents who are facing financial difficulties and are looking for advice in resolving their financial problems. Financial experts and planners will meet with residents either individually or in small groups.
Mr Tan Kin Lian is currently the President of the Financial Services Consumer Association. A qualified actuary, Mr Tan was the CEO of NTUC Income from 1977 to 2007.
Mr Tan will facilitate Dollars and Sense.
Legal Lifeline
Staffed by lawyers, the Legal Lifeline provides the first step of assistance to low- income residents who are in need of legal advice. We have at least 7 lawyers who have volunteered to run the legal clinic at this point in time.
Source: http://yoursdp.org
Masjid Al-Falah yang menjadi tumpuan ramai pengunjung Islam yang bekerja dan membeli-belah di kawasan Orchard Road, selesai menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan selama setahun.
Selain menyediakan ruang solat yang lebih luas dan selesa, masjid yang terletak di aras bawah Bangunan Cairnhill Place itu, juga dilengkapi dengan pelbagai kemudahan baru serta ciri-ciri yang lebih mesra warga emas dan keluarga.
Antaranya – sebuah lif baru bagi para jemaah yang memerlukan bantuan khas untuk ke tingkat atas, bilik air bagi golongan kurang upaya, bilik menyusukan bayi untuk kaum ibu serta beberapa tanjakan di kawasan masjid bagi kemudahan para pengguna yang berkerusi roda.
Bagi menandakan selesainya kerja naik taraf di masjid itu, Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, mendedahkan sebuah plak sebelum menunaikan solat Jumaat.
“Saya bersyukur dan berterima kasih kepada masyarakat kita kerana sumbangan mereka yang membolehkan kita menjalankan program-program peningkatan masjid demi memenuhi keperluan masyarakat kita,” kata Dr Yaacob ketika ditemui pihak media.
Beliau juga percaya setiap masjid perlu diubahsuai mengikut keperluan para jemaah yang berbeza-beza.
“Untuk golongan dewasa, mereka yang ada anak kecil, untuk para ibu bapa dan sebagainya. Jadi lif, tanjakan dan sebagainya yang diperlukan akan disediakan. Tapi pada masa yang sama juga, kita renung kembali apakah keperluan masjid itu dari segi demografik,” ujar beliau.
Turut hadir – Ketua Eksekutif Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), Abdul Razak Maricar, Mufti negara, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, Pengerusi Eksekutif Masjid Al-Falah, Encik Yahya Hashim serta Mantan Mufti Negara, Encik Syed Isa Mohamed Semait, yang memimpin solat Jumaat.
Ia disertai lebih 2,000 jemaah yang memenuhi kedua-dua dewan solat lelaki dan wanita yang kini lebih selesa dengan pemasangan sistem hawa dingin serta permaidani baru.
Ruang ibadah masjid juga lebih luas dengan tambahan ruang lantai lebih 500 meter persegi. Ia kini mampu menampung 2,000 jemaah, berbanding 1,500 sebelum ini.
Golongan belia juga tidak dilupakan. Sebuah bilik khas disediakan di tingkat dua bagi para belia menjalankan pelbagai kegiatan, ataupun sekadar untuk beristirehat dan berinteraksi.
Pengerusi Eksekutif Masjid Al-Falah, Encik Yahya Hashim, berkata: “Mereka dahulu mendapat bilik kecil sangat, daif sangat. Tapi sekarang pihak lembaga fikir, untuk menyahut seruan MUIS, kita harus melakukan sesuatu yang lebih proaktif. Pihak lembaga sangat menggalakkan belia-belia ini untuk bersama-sama dengan ahli lembaga, bekerjasama dengan kita dan boleh menjalankan apa aktiviti atau program yang mereka perlukan.”
Menurut anggota kumpulan belia di Masjid Al-Falah, Filzah Hanani, kewujudan bilik khas itu dapat memudahkan mengendalikan pelbagai program.
“Bagi kami, susah untuk mencari untuk berdiskusi untuk membuat program ataupun mengendalikan bengkel dan sebagainya. (Dan) Sekarang kita mempunyai bilik sendiri maka ia memudahkan kita untuk mengendalikan program dan sebagainya,” kata beliau.
Bahagian luar masjid turut diberi nafas baru dengan reka bentuk yang menggabungkan unsur moden dan tradisional – sesuai dengan kedudukannya sebagai satu-satunya masjid di bandar komersil Orchard.
Kerja-kerja peningkatan ini adalah sebahagian daripada Program Peningkatan Masjid (MUP) Fasa Kedua. Ia menelan belanja $2.6 juta – $750,000 daripada jumlah itu dibiayai Dana Pembangunan Masjid (MBF).
Ini merupakan kali pertama Masjid Al-Falah menjalani kerja peningkatan besar-besaran sejak dibuka pada 1987.
Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg
A day after the writ for the Bukit Batok by-election was issued, the two men vying to represent the constituency — barring any last-minute surprises come Nomination Day — were out and about on Thursday (April 21), pressing palms and knocking on doors.
Lawyer Murali Pillai, 48, the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) pick to defend the ward in the May 7 polls, visited the homes of residents and went on walkabouts around the constituency, away from the media glare.
His Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) opponent, Dr Chee Soon Juan, 53, was also seen pounding the pavements. Speaking to the media at the Bukit Batok MRT Station in the morning, the SDP chief reiterated that, if elected, his party would inject “transparency and accountability” in the running of the town council.
Apart from the “hardware” in the single-member constituency (SMC), the party will also look into making a “real tangible difference” to the “heartware” — residents’ quality of life, he stressed.
On what distinguished him from Mr Murali, Dr Chee had just two words: “PAP, SDP”. Noting that poverty issues have been “ongoing”, he asked how Mr Murali could make a difference in Parliament on this problem, since he would be another PAP MP in the House.
The “crucial difference”, Dr Chee said, is that he would continue pressing the Government to ensure it is “sensitised to … the plight of Singaporeans”.
He added that while his team has achieved “quantity” in its outreach — it has covered the whole constituency — the party now wants to reach out in a “qualitative” way, by explaining to voters why it is important to send another Opposition voice into Parliament.
On its Facebook page on Thursday, the SDP also posted a new video on the Bukit Batok by-election, as part of a drive that, it said, is “motivated, driven and funded by you, the people”. It called for support and “all the help that we can get”.
The SDP will hold a press conference on Friday to announce details of its social programmes for Bukit Batok residents.
At the Singapore Elections Department (ELD) headquarters at Prinsep Link on Thursday, only one independent hopeful turned up to collect the nomination papers. Neither representatives from the PAP nor the SDP were seen.
Soft copies of the forms can also be downloaded from the ELD website. Nomination Day has been set for April 27.
Private taxi driver Shirwin Eu, who arrived at the ELD about 3.20pm to collect the forms, told reporters that he would “most likely” run in the by-election. It was called after incumbent Member of Parliament David Ong resigned over an alleged extramarital affair.
In the 2015 General Election, Mr Eu, 32, had attempted to contest the Bukit Panjang SMC, but was disqualified after he failed to garner the required signatures to support his candidacy on Nomination Day.
Source: TODAY Online
Devoted mum has been main caregiver of quadriplegic son for 17 years. Every day, she talks to him, says dad. She has to tube-feed her 38-year-old son, change his diapers, and turn him over every two hours to prevent bedsores.
If you think life is tough for Madam Maznah Sharipan, 59, think again.
Her husband had his foot amputated because of diabetes, and is on dialysis.
So when it comes to physically turning her son to ease his bedsores or putting ice packs to bring down his frequent fevers, Madam Maznah has to manage all on her own.
Her son, Mr Yuri Dahlan Ismail, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him bedridden when he was 21.
While on a work assignment, the car he was driving was involved in an accident. The front seat passenger did not survive.
Madam Maznah, a housewife who has been her son’s main caregiver for the past 17 years, is responsible for tube-feeding him, changing his diapers and sponging him daily.
Speaking to The New Paper in their four-room flat in Bukit Panjang, her husband, Mr Ismail Shahul Hamid, 62, said she is devoted to their son.
They have a younger son, 36, who does not live with them but visits every week to help bathe Mr Yuri.
Mr Ismail said: “She will talk to him all the time, telling him to be patient and to endure. Even if he can’t respond, he can still hear her voice.”
Despite the challenges, Madam Maznah manages to keep going with strength, humour and faith.
During this interview, she broke into laughter when her husband said in jest that she neglects him despite their 40 years of marriage.
But she does admit that her son is always on her mind.
“When I’m not at home, I’m always wondering about him. I feel relieved and happy every time I see him.”
Her son’s condition – he is a quadriplegic and is unable to communicate in any way – was hard for her to accept at first.
“I used to cry and had trouble sleeping after his accident,” she said.
Mr Yuri – named after Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to travel to space – had just graduated from Singapore Polytechnic when the accident happened in 1999.
He had serious head injuries and was hospitalised for six months. He then had to stay at a rehabilitation home for another six months before returning home.
Over the past few years, Madam Maznah has managed to care for her son, but her biggest challenge involves moving him frequently to reduce pressure on his bedsores, which have worsened over the years.
Mr Ismail, who has Type 1 diabetes and kidney failure, has been going for dialysis three times a week since 2008. The former driver was forced to stop working after his foot was amputated in 2014.
After that, his wife had to wheel him to the dialysis centre, but he now relies on a motorised wheelchair.
The family lives on a monthly payout from Mr Yuri’s former employer, Mr Ismail’s CPF payout and financial assistance from a family service centre and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).
HOME NURSING
Since June last year, Mr Yuri has been a recipient of non-profit organisation Home Nursing Foundation (HNF), which provides home care services.
Staff nurse Hong Jia Wei, 27, visits their home twice a week to attend to his bedsores.
The family is part of Portraits Of Love, a photography project featuring patients and their caregivers, families or loved ones.
Ms Hong told TNP that Mr Yuri’s bedsores were very serious at first but his condition has improved slightly.
She said: “The mum is not young any more and it is difficult for her to turn him over every two hours.
“But they are very loving towards him and always telling me that he is a good son.”
She added that she was impressed by their tenacity.
“They are a very simple and humble family and always joking around.”
Mr Ismail said they have learnt to accept their fate.
“The reality is that life has its ups and downs,” he said.
Madam Maznah added: “I just feel lucky that I’m still able to embrace my son. I’m always praying for him and I have never given up hope that he will get better one day.”
Portraits Of Love is a project where patients are presented with a photograph taken with their caregivers, families or loved ones.
Between August and November last year, 50 Home Nursing Foundation (HNF) patients were photographed. The photographer, accompanied by a make-up artist who also served as a stylist, went to each home for the photo shoot.
A framed A8-size photograph was given to every participating patient.
The foundation’s spokesman said: “We noticed that our patients tend to have one thing in common: blank cold walls in their flats. Whatever photos they have are greatly treasured by them.”
The Portraits Of Love exhibition, which runs from tomorrow till Sunday, is the first of a series of events organised by HNF to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year.
The exhibition will showcase a series of photos and short write-ups of HNF’s beneficiaries who have received support through its home healthcare services.
The aim is to raise public awareness of home healthcare services and to educate the public about available care options and support services in the community.
The exhibition will be officially launched tomorrow by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health and Environment and Water Resources, at Raffles City Shopping Centre.
Source: The New Paper