Poverty in Singapore

The poor in Singapore...

    In Singapore, it is unlikely that you will find beggars lining the streets or see starving children walking along the pavements, begging for food. The poor and needy in our society struggle with “relative poverty”, meaning that their financial resources fall substantially below what is needed to pay for the necessities of living in Singapore.

We think that it is due to various factors like health issues and family circumstances, they struggle to survive on a day-to-day basis. Moreover, they are caught in a vicious poverty cycle, with little or no means to make a better life for themselves. Their children are often not able to do better than their parents due to lack of knowledge and educational support. For example, the child would quit school to work and earn some money to support his family.

Is it possible to break this cycle?

While the factors impacting the poor’s plight are complex and often involve systemic issues like housing and employment, and it may take many generations to overcome, some concrete things can be done. One way is to focus on our younger generation. Programmes like money-management workshops allow children to grasp the concept of money and how to use it wisely. Upgrading of work skills also allow adults to gain a more competitive edge in the job market, while better coping with economic challenges.

It is critical that the young remain in the education system, and that they receive the best support they can to gain the knowledge and skills for a better future. 

What can we do to help these poor people?

As stated, the poor usually suffer as they do not have any children, or their children abandoned them for unfilal reasons. To add on, they lack education and they may be too weak to take on jobs to feed themselves, hence they resort to begging on the streets.

The Singapore Government introduced the ''FAS'' campaign ( Fanancial Assistant Support ) for families with rather low income, such that their children are still able to attend school and other school related activities without worrying the price they must fork out, as the money they give will be subsidised by the Singapore government. 

These people are not considered that poor, because at least they can maintain life without any problem and lead a normal life like anybody else. But what about those poor, who spend their lives sleeping on streets and collecting cans from filthy dustbins?

Study shows that poverty in Singapore has increases vastly over the years, with 16% of the population to 28% in 2013.

In our opinion, the Government hasn't put in enough effort in helping the poor ( did help, but not much ). Perhaps, in the near future, with the help from us and the government, the population of the poor in Singapore may decrease.

We can at least help these poor people by giving them some food or daily neccesities to help maintain their life. Setting up charity events in schools or neighbourhoods may benefit the poor too.

We believe that as we put in enough effort to help these poor people, we will see lesser figures sleeping on the streets...