Nicholas did not start out poor.
He had a job that paid $2,500 a month and was a strapping man until
he took ill suddenly in 2008.
"My potassium level had fallen really low a couple of times that
year, and I had to be warded and given potassium chloride from a
drip.
"The pain was excruciating," he recalls.
It was then that Nicholas was diagnosed with diabetes, a condition
that had gone undetected for two years.
By the time it was discovered, he had already suffered nerve
damage.
The chronic disease that cost him his sense of touch also took away
his confidence to teach and face the world.
"No one would give me, a sick man, a job. My self-confidence and
emotions took a tumble," he says.
"The condition got worse and I lost the use of my left hand. I've
no feeling in my hands - I can't retrieve coins from my trouser
pockets because I can't feel them."
Getting up from a chair or the toilet seat is a long-drawn-out
process.
STRUGGLE
"It takes me 10 to 20 minutes every morning when I go to the toilet
because I struggle to get up. The pain I encounter every day
cripples me, both physically and mentally," Nicholas says.
He could not work because of his condition, and it took a toll on
his mental well-being. He is also now no longer on speaking terms
with his family. Without support, Nicholas became depressed.
"I tried applying for a rental flat, and the Housing Board officer
advised me to approach the CDC (Community Development
Council).
"I guess I ticked all the boxes because I got on Public Assistance
without any hitches," he says.
Nicholas says that out of the $450 he receives a month, he has a
little more than $200 left after paying all his bills.
"It is still a struggle. I've to make sure I spend only between $7
and $8 a day to survive," he says.
"Every morning, Willing Hearts delivers food packs. I usually have
that for lunch - sometimes for both lunch and dinner. I add water
to make the food into porridge for dinner," he adds.
Willing Hearts operates a soup kitchen that cooks and distributes
about 4,500 meals to the needy every day.
Fully run by volunteers, its beneficiaries include the elderly,
people with disabilities, low-income families, children from
single-parent families as well as migrant workers here.
Nicholas says his Medisave ran out in 2013 and he now depends on
help from both Changi General Hospital and the CDC for his medical
expenses.
Every day is a struggle for Nicholas.
When asked what he fears most, he says: "Tomorrow."
----
Mr Willie Yeo, 65, is wheelchair-bound and needs financial and
medical help.
But his poor elderly neighbours are his priority.
"Whenever my friends, who remember me, take me out for a
scrumptious meal at a grand restaurant, I would tar pau (pack in
Hokkien) food back for my neighbours," he says.
It is no wonder that he earned the nickname "Robin Hood" among his
neighbours at the rental flats in North Bridge Road.
Mr Yeo, a divorcee who lives alone, says he lost his job because of
his many health problems.
"The bank foreclosed my flat in Yishun, and I was forced to sell
it. I made only $15,000 from the sale, which went to paying back
money I had borrowed," he says.
"I used to be a roving salesman more than 10 years ago, selling
beads for making jewellery.
ILLNESSES
"I would lug between 20 and 30kg of beads from one place to another
and travelling only by public transport," he says.
He believes that was the cause of his degenerative wear and tear of
his right ankle, which resulted in metal pieces being attached to
his right foot.
Mr Yeo has a litany of other problems.
"I have diabetes and hypertension, and I suffer from fatty liver. I
also have asthma and testicular cancer.
"I recently underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer. I go
to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a check-up twice a month. That's why
the nurses all know me well," he says with a chuckle.
He is also recovering from a fractured right shoulder - believed to
be due to osteoporosis - and suffers from pain in his knees.
While his medication is covered by Medifund and the hospital's
endowment fund, Mr Yeo is no longer on Public Assistance since he
started collecting his Central Provident Fund in 2013 after he
turned 62.
"So I withdraw $540 each month, and I sell tissue paper to earn
another $300 to supplement my income," he says.
Some people have rebuked him for selling tissue paper and that has
depressed Mr Yeo.
"I hope people understand that we didn't ask to be sick and to be
thrown suddenly into poverty.
"Who doesn't want to be healthy and earn a proper living?
"Perhaps that's why I throw myself into helping my neighbours out.
I feel happy when I see them happy," he says.
---
He was once a cook - and a good one too, he says.
Then the 54-year-old, who wants to be known only as Mr Lee,
suffered a heart attack and stroke six years ago.
He says he lost his job, his family and a roof over his head.
The bachelor was living with his mother in her flat in the east of
Singapore, but he felt like a burden as he was jobless and sick, so
he left.
"I felt that I was a disappointment to her. If I were not living
there, it would be out of sight, out of mind," he says, tears
welling in his eyes.
Homeless for the last three years, Mr Lee has been sleeping in
parks and sometimes at an uncle's place.
"He recently suffered from a stroke, so by staying over, I can help
to keep an eye on things," he adds.
Mr Lee gets his meals from charity Willing Hearts, which runs a
soup kitchen.
PHYSIOTHERAPY
"Previously I went to a Chinese temple in Geylang for vegetarian
food. Many homeless people I've met take their meals there.
"But I developed gout and have to stay away from bean-based food,
so I stopped going to the temple," he says.
For his daily hygiene, Mr Lee says he goes to a public pool for his
showers.
"I don't go in free of charge. I use the voucher given out by the
Government for SG50. I also swim once in a while as a form of
physiotherapy.
"I am hoping to get back my health so that I will be able to look
for a job," he says.
He told The New Paper on Sunday that his Public Assistance fund of
$400 a month "will dry up by the end of the month".
"I can't simply wait around for handout," he says.
He was advised to claim insurance as he suffered his heart attack
while still working, "but I don't want to, because that would mean
if I win, then I cannot seek help from any government agencies any
longer".
He does not have a clue how much money he can claim from his
insurance.
Mr Lee hopes to return to cooking for a hawker stall, even though
the stress may be too much for his heart to take.
"I am working on getting healthy because that is the only skill I
know, but I am worried no one will hire a sick man," he says.
"Then again, tomorrow is another day," he adds in a chirpy voice
before riding off on his bicycle, with his worldly possession
contained in the basket behind him.
About the study
To design solutions for the poor and get low-income Singaporeans to
help lead the study, the researchers formed an advisory committee
made up of 10 men and women from low-income communities.
The Centre for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation
then launched an online campaign to raise awareness on poverty
here.
Research assistant Naomi Tan says: "This is where we argue that the
community members, in this case the low-income, are in the best
position to identify and define the problems they face and the
corresponding solutions that would actually be impactful and
relevant to them."
What does it mean to be poor
The study found:
Low-income Singaporeans either live in interim or public rental
housing. Some are homeless.
They have a monthly household income of $1,500 or less. Some are on
Public Assistance, which ranges from $450 to $1,180 each month and
has a set of eligibility criteria.
They are unable to afford healthcare as they do not have enough
savings or do not earn enough.
Some of the elderly, despite having children, are struggling to get
by.
They suffer from food insecurity, so they eat cheap but
non-nutritious food.
They cut down on the number of hot meals a day, worry if there is
enough food in the house and are choosing to not spend their
limited cash on healthier foods
Challenges faced by the poor
Although the resources to help are available, the poor do not know
how to get information on what they are eligible for or how to get
to the relevant agencies.
Another significant hurdle is the submission of an application that
is according to the requirements set out by the agencies.
Many from the low-income group find the stringent conditions
tedious and frustrating.
Stigma and alienation from relatives and the community at large
hinder the poor from seeking the help needed.
The Government has set up safety nets, such as Medifund, for
low-income individuals who face health problems.
Despite these efforts, they still cannot afford healthcare due to
insufficient savings or a low wage.
