Ramblings

My $2 Pledge

By Veron Ang

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I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t think twice about wading through a dirty swamp. I even arm-wrestled with guys in my younger days. By all standards, I’m probably the most un-girly girl you can find. Being in the company of guy friends...

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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67 responses

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Aristocrat
December 7, 2006

@”Anonymous aka Beni?”

I knew I was inviting comments/trolling when I said that. Lol. No worries about the “holier-than-thou” offence. I see where you are getting at. It’s a cliched way of saying it but still I wouldn’t put it past myself to give two dollars to everyone who’s collecting drink cans. Really, I don’t think I am that social-minded. And I’m sure it’s not a matter of seeing something that’s discomforting or letting light into my eyes, to speak metaphorically. I think there are more things discomforting than that.

But certainly I do not mean to put down Veron’s effort in any way.

*Looks around for lightning to strike him*
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KeOn
December 7, 2006

Marvelous entry blog i ever read ! I shall say the pledge with my fist on my chest ! Salute. =)
my exam is over!! Chicken rice?? haha.. shall wait for yr sms! tata
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hiro nakamura
December 7, 2006

you’re a hero in ur own right veron ^_^

“save the cheerleader, save the world”
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Veron
December 7, 2006

Whoa so many comments! I can hardly keep up :)

Cheer: My heart really goes out to those elderly parents whose children refuse to work. It makes me fume at the same time. In our society any young and able person has no excuse to be jobless.

Lain: I’m glad you buy those tissue packets from elderly sellers! I see 9 out of 10 people rejecting them and it’s pretty sad. Many thanks for the thoughtful little card! Love the purple and the flower. Everyone should be able to admire your artwork so here it is:

Keropok Man: The whole idea behind my $2 pledge is to help these elderly people who make only a pittance amount of money from selling cans. 1 kilogram of cans earns them just $1.50. Do you know how many cans that is? Giving them more cans and newspapers to sell is a nice gesture, but it wouldn’t benefit them as much as directly giving them enough money to buy a warm meal.

As for TV Mobile, I apologise if I got my facts wrong. But I find it hard to believe that with the fare hikes we have had to put up with in recent years, none of the money went towards installing two TVs on every bus.

Jing Quan: Oh yeah, ’tis the season to be giving! I may be wrong but it seems the typical Singaporean is not exactly generous with his money even if he can well afford it as compared to the needy. I really hope people would start being more giving and charitable.

Aristocrat: Not sure who posted the previous anonymous comment. But I appreciate that you can be so forthcoming in voicing your honest opinion, and it probably represents 99.99% of what our fellow countrymen are thinking. My $2 pledge is not something that I expect everyone to adopt, because I don’t expect anyone to conform to my ideals. At the end of the day, I am only trying to appeal to those of us who are better off, to help those who are worse off. Everyone deserves a little pick-me-up no matter how poor they are.

KeOn: Sure! Chicken rice! I’m absolutely thrilled that you have taken the pledge too!

hiro nakamura: I ain’t no hero. Just doing what I can :) It’s nice to be called one though! Hiro was totally adorable in this week’s episode by the way!
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Beni
December 7, 2006

@Aristocrat
No point masquerading around as Anonymous anymore, I guess :)
Yeah you’re correct in saying that we can’t start giving away money to everyone who’s collecting cans. That’d be overkill, and at that rate, very soon we’ll end up as one of them. Unless of course if you own a diamond mine or something!

And yes these problems are miniscule in the larger scheme of things. We’ve got wars, riots, racism, communalism, global warming, pollution, blah blah blah…

I am not at all trying to start a flame war, or to impose my opinions on others (which is an impossibility anyway) by responding twice to your comments. Rather, I am somewhat in agreement with your views. Except maybe I am a tad more “social-minded” than you are. No offence meant!
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James
December 7, 2006

Yes, there is a lot of poor folks out there who do need our sympathy and charity (be it in kindness or monetary means).

Btw, you got a great a blog! Liked the previous post about you requiring protection, to safeguard yourself ;P
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Veron
December 7, 2006

Hey Beni,

I don’t think it’s that infeasible an idea to give money this way. I’m talking about giving $2 to every elderly can-collector that I see. How many would that be? Some days I may come across 2 or 3 of them. Other days I don’t even come across any.

But for the purpose of illustrating, let’s say I help an average of one person a day. We’re talking $2 a day, $60 a month. It’s just a few percentage points off my daily income. I think I would still be living a much more comfortable life than the people I have helped, and far off from having to collect cans myself.

Right now I am still a fresh grad holding my first job. I can safely say that my monthly salary is lower than the majority of the working people here that have left comments. If I can well afford to spare $60 a month to help people this way, I don’t think anyone should really be playing the “I want to but I can’t afford it” card.

That said, I have to emphasise again that I’m not imposing my views on anyone. Perhaps I am not empathetic enough and have overlooked certain things (to which anyone is free to voice out). The amount $2 is an arbitrary value and it would be just as nice if it’s 50 cents or a packet of food. It’s great to hear that you are making little sacrifices such as giving up that weekend beer for someone else :)

The grand idea is to make someone’s day (I dare not say “life”) a little better.
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Beni
December 7, 2006

Veron,

Err.. I think there’s a slight confusion here. Maybe there was some ambiguity in what I said. Or maybe I exaggerated when gave that instance of owning a diamond mine. Let me defend my case please.

About feasibility, I completely forgot that I am in a different geography altogether and we were talking about needy people here. The place where I come from, you will encounter beggars, homeless people, and what not, in every corner of the street. Say you take out your wallet to give away some money. In no time, a whole troupe would be hounding you down for more cash. It’s a very common sight to see beggars actually clinging onto some well-dressed person until she parts with some money. And then the next beggar would start the same thing, and so on until she escapes in a taxi, or some cop/blessed soul comes to her rescue. And sometimes they wouldn’t let go of you for anything less than say, 10 bucks. Now you fret not, as this is not the case all over the place, but only in bigger cities where business/economy thrives.

Only when you mentioned about meeting 2-3 needy people, or none everyday, did realization dawn upon me that things are very different here. Firstly, there is no concept of begging. If someone’s needy, she will sell paper napkins, or pick up a guitar and sing besides bus/MRT stations. Now that’s called dignity and self-respect!

Ok. Digression is becoming second nature to me. Coming back to your example of $60 per month, it is indeed a very feasible amount. It can in no way lead us to our financial downfall, as I had previously (wrongly) suggested. And yes, it is less than my weekend beer cost :) So it’s very much doable as long as I am here, and maybe once I am back in my country, I can carry this forward in some way or the other.
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juhi
December 7, 2006

hey there….
i am a regular visitor of ur site…u have done an incredible work alwz. wud like to know as how do u create such ideas of gesting up the thots on ur space. i have even put ur website link in my buddies in the website link i have specied. do visit by ma space…wud like to know more abt ya. i am a 24 yr old gal from india.
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chillycraps
December 7, 2006

I’m just curious, have you met any can-collector who has so much self-respect that he/she refused your $2?

I think your action beats any charity organization in Singapore. =D
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Veron
December 7, 2006

Beni: The situation you described is one that I have heard many times before from other travelers. It’s sad that so many people turn to begging to make a living. Those that demand at least $10 makes me think that they are part of some syndicate. Begging is probably a lucrative business for some.

In Singapore most of the needy seem willing to work to earn their keep. If I’m not wrong, begging is considered illegal here. View all comments by Veron

juhi: Thanks for your kind words. For some reason I can’t seem to access your page.

chillycraps: So far I have given money to just two can-collectors. Both were very grateful for it. But I have to say that each time, I did fear the possibility of getting a scolding, should the person think I’m somehow looking down on him/her. But that isn’t the case and I hope they would understand my intentions.
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pkchukiss
December 8, 2006

The New Paper did a scoop on beggars in Singapore some time back, and apparently, some of them are earning enough from begging to surpass even some professional jobs!

Now if only I can find the article again…

That aside, while being charitable is a noble activity, there should be a need to exercise discretion, so that we do not let those whom do not need it take advantage of the donations.

The NKF saga is a very good lesson for us to reflect upon.
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Veron
December 8, 2006

Hey pkchukiss, I think you might have missed the point.

While I do agree with you that begging is probably a lucrative business for some, I must highlight the fact that can-collectors are *not* beggars. They are literally working for every cent and not asking anyone for money. Please do not classify them in the same league as beggars.

Like I said in comment #10, the NKF saga is precisely the reason why I am giving money *directly* to the people in need. That is the premise of this pledge.
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tinkertailor
December 8, 2006

if there were more people like you, the world would definitely be a better place to live in.
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Veron
December 8, 2006

The truth is, there CAN be more people doing the same thing, no?
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wY
December 8, 2006

your kind acts will deserve good karma!

my lecturer once told us that one elite thought there were no poor people in our society.

sad to say, that’s how most people think. despite the GINI index to be relatively lower than some developed countries, it doesn’t mean that there are no poor people in our society.

i too cannot understand how the GST hike will help the lower income group. will it be true that they will not spend so much money on non-essential items so they won’t be as affected as the middle and upper class?
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Wei Zhong
December 8, 2006

“As for TV Mobile, I apologise if I got my facts wrong. But I find it hard to believe that with the fare hikes we have had to put up with in recent years, none of the money went towards installing two TVs on every bus.”

With regards to TV Mobile, The Straits Times published a forum article by SBS Transit Corporate Communications Director Ms Tammy Tan on 2 November 2006 entitled “TV Mobile Gets Thumbs-Up from Riders”. In her letter, she commented, “We do not pay for TV Mobile. Instead, it provides a revenue stream for us like bus advertisements. This is important to help us defray the high costs of running a nationwide public transport network and keeping fares affordable.”
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nartz
December 8, 2006

its a wonderful idea. and i’m willing to try it!

also timely cos christmas is coming and its good to further stretch our ‘charity’ to beyond the shopping centers. :)
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Aristocrat
December 9, 2006

*another deluge of comments!*

None taken Beni ;) We just have our different ways of making someone’s day, that’s all. =)

edit: no wonder, someone tomorrow-ed your post!
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Quah
December 9, 2006

Dear Veron,

Hi! You have set a good example by putting in action to help the poor directly as well as encouraging others to do the same.

I believe in God. Surely God will bless you for your kindness that comes sincerely from your heart. Yes, give out of love to others and expect nothing in return. It could be money (give within your means), food, clothings and a simple prayer or even a sincere smile.

Keep up your charitable good works from your heart. Whatever we do in our daily living, God is always there watching.

God Bless you and your family in great abundance!
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