Today when I am at Causeway Point, before and after my driving lesson... I was surrounded and "attacked" by students and volunteers everywhere I go... they were doing a flag day charity donation drive for the Salvation Army. Every weekend.. Causeway Point is always very happening.. with donation drives and insurance people waging a war with the huge crowd of shoppers and residents....
Frankly speaking.. it is not that I do not have any sympathy for the people that Salvation Army is helping.... you cant say I am totally hard hearted for not giving a cent to those people..I seriously sympathise those people that Salvation Army is helping (whoever they are) and those volunteers and students who work hard to do their part... after all during my school days, I am also one of those being forced to go out with a can and approach people for donations in order to complete my 40hours of social work... but after the NKF incident.. I totally dun trust these donations anymore... and I am sure I am not the only one.... you dunno where the money is going through.. how many people really receive help from ur donation... and how much of the money actually went into the pockets of the management and staffs working in there.. and the worst of all, there are bad people out there who fake donation drives to earn easy money... wah piangz... making it so bad until now you will have to check if those students and volunteers hold on to a pass or something to prove that they are really representing the organisation they are doing a donation drive for... tell me.. who will really go and check??
I went down from the MRT station level to the bus interchange level and there was this familiar face... the blind uncle who plays very good music.... and I took out my wallet and dropped in all the coins I have....at least this is somewhere where I think it is worth donating to... uncle is blind... but he works hard to earn a living despite his disabilities.... he is not like one of those useless people who sit by the streets, looks perfectly ok except for torn patches on their clothes here and there, begging for a living.. hoping for some easy money....why cant you look for a job..??? if you dunno any language, go be a sweeper.. you have legs to walk and hands to use... why?? because by begging, they really earn easy money .. last time before the ugly NKF incident, it came out in the newspapers that those "beggers" can at least earn 50 - 100bucks a day... that is even better than what I am earning loh...
I remembered I saw before a brother and a sister in the news... they speak english but somehow they lived in the void deck of a block with no proper housing... both of them are perfectly healthy and normal with no major illness... except of coz the clothes that they worn are dirty and torn... they said they tried to look for a job.. but becoz of their age nobody wanted to hire them....and when they went up on the news, they got the help of the statutory board governing their area... I SO TOTALLY LOOK DOWN ON THEM LO... they are the pests of the society.... they can speak english, they can read english newspaper... they are not half as old as those uncles and aunties working in Macdonalds or KFC.. AND THEY SAID NOONE WAN TO HIRE THEM??!!! they just wanna free help, free money from the government without even working a bit for themselves la pls...why would people go and pity them.... THINK!!!! they can easily find a job.. just a matter of how much the pay is and the working hours... i am sure Macdonalds, Delifrance and KFC will welcome them to join their labour force... and I am sure if they are willing to work hard, with the money... they are able to pass a living.. maybe not as good as anyone else.. but at least you will survive.... the auntie in my block is 80+ and still working as a sweeper.... my ex staff in Delifrance is 60+ and still working as a cleaner.... lots of places are hiring lo....
Now the government is emphasizing more benefits for the lower income group... after some sad news of people committing sucide blu blu blu... For people who are really sick and bed ridden, they cant work.. i can understand.... there are families out there where the husband take home a pathetic $1000 a mth and have to support two children with low mentality and a wife who is sick and have to go in and out of hospital mthly.. those families really need help... no fight about that... but how can the government gurantee that those people like the brother and sister who can work but dun wan to work.. do not also enjoy the benefits of thw lower income group..?? Based on housing requirements, based on salary requirements, they matched every single criteria of the lower income group but that is just becoz they are lazy......
After seeing all of the above... I think I am now kinda of immune to donation drives... Ren Chi Charity Drive is coming up again this year... you see the same stunts, the same tricks.... after so many years of people complaining and giving feedbacks on how bad the show is... they never stop... in the end I dun even know I am donating becoz I support my idol in the show, becoz I think the stunt is really worth it after so much hard work and effort that the performer put in or becoz I really pity the people in Ren Chi Hospital... after all the show is done up for the poor people in Ren Chi Hospital.. not for anything else... why not forego all the stunts, forego all the tricks and show us two hours of the true life encounters of the people..... let us cry for their sad encounters and their misfortunes... and I am sure people like me will volunteer to donate... duun need for the performers... dun need for the dangerous stunts.. dun need for the dance and singing performances... just pure feelings from the heart....
