<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - 154th New Spin: U Can Live On $1 A Day</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">SGNEWSALTE <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">Oct-30 5:03 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 20) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>1959.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>As times are getting from bad to worse, look at the latest 154th spin that you can survive for $1 a day, how the poor are very happy with their poverty and do not want any welfare. To add to the spin, they show a picture of this poor elderly lady smiling away. Why don't the PAP MPs or Ministers try living on $1 a day for a week and tell us how joyful and easy it is?
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20081030-97288.html
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3> She lives on $1 a day <!-- TITLE : end--></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=15></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
A dollar a day, that is how 83 year-old Wen Liu Fang has survived for the past ten years or more.
She told Lianhe Wanbao that she came to Singapore from China 61 years ago, and worked as an amah (domestic helper) for 30 years. Amahs or majie then had to take a vow of celibacy, and she has remained single till now. About 10 years ago, she had to retire from her job as a cleaner due to arthritis.
With no family in Singapore, Wen Liu Fang and her friends rented a one-room apartment in Chinatown and they do their own household chores including the laundry, sweeping the floor to cooking and boiling water.
She has to wash her clothes by hand as they have no washing machine.
On weekdays, breakfast, lunch and dinner are at the Kreta Ayer Seniors Activity Centre located at Banda Street, Chinatown where they provide seniors in the area with three meals for $1 a day. During weekends, she does her own cooking.
"When I cook, I will usually have simple fare like fish cakes, vegetables and potatoes." She told Wanbao in Cantonese.
She seldom eats out, "A cup of coffee at a coffee shop costs 80 cents - I can make eight cups of coffee at home for that amount!"
She does not want welfare
While some may feel sympathy for her, Mdm Wen has a cheerful and resilient attitude to life, and maintains that she does not want to rely on others.
With her savings that she accumulated through years of hard work, she pays her monthly rent ($26), public utility bills (about $30 a month) and medical costs.
Even though she qualifies for social welfare, Mdm Wen insists on living on her own savings. She says she will ask for help only when she does not have enough for food and shelter.
"One dollar a day is enough." she says "I can survive as long as I am fed and clothed."
Making do creatively
When reporters visited her flat, they saw that her bed frame had no mattress - the bed planks were covered with a thin cotton cloth; while her "pillow" was a thick Chinese almanac wrapped in a towel.
She cheerfully said that she had back pains, and it was more comfortable to sleep on the hard planks than on a soft mattress. As for the pillow, the towel was easier to wash than a pillow and pillow case.
She also props up her bed with wooden blocks so that she can store her belongings under the bed in lieu of a proper cabinet.
Wanbao reporters wondered whether her "innovations" were bourne out of necessity.
She walks to see her doctor
To save on transport expenses, Mdm Wen walks to Singapore General Hospital whenever she has a doctor's appointment. At her age, and with her arthritis, the going can be slow, but she insists that even taking the bus is a luxury.
"When I get tired I will stop and rest. Taking the bus there and back costs at least a dollar, I will try to save whenever I can."
She cannot remember the last time she takes a taxi.
"I have taken a taxi before, but fares kept increasing, so I stopped. I can't remember how long ago that was."
<HR SIZE=1>Edited 10/30/2008 8:06 am ET by SGNEWSALTE</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20081030-97288.html
A dollar a day, that is how 83 year-old Wen Liu Fang has survived for the past ten years or more.
She told Lianhe Wanbao that she came to Singapore from China 61 years ago, and worked as an amah (domestic helper) for 30 years. Amahs or majie then had to take a vow of celibacy, and she has remained single till now. About 10 years ago, she had to retire from her job as a cleaner due to arthritis.
With no family in Singapore, Wen Liu Fang and her friends rented a one-room apartment in Chinatown and they do their own household chores including the laundry, sweeping the floor to cooking and boiling water.
She has to wash her clothes by hand as they have no washing machine.
On weekdays, breakfast, lunch and dinner are at the Kreta Ayer Seniors Activity Centre located at Banda Street, Chinatown where they provide seniors in the area with three meals for $1 a day. During weekends, she does her own cooking.
"When I cook, I will usually have simple fare like fish cakes, vegetables and potatoes." She told Wanbao in Cantonese.
She seldom eats out, "A cup of coffee at a coffee shop costs 80 cents - I can make eight cups of coffee at home for that amount!"
She does not want welfare
While some may feel sympathy for her, Mdm Wen has a cheerful and resilient attitude to life, and maintains that she does not want to rely on others.
With her savings that she accumulated through years of hard work, she pays her monthly rent ($26), public utility bills (about $30 a month) and medical costs.
Even though she qualifies for social welfare, Mdm Wen insists on living on her own savings. She says she will ask for help only when she does not have enough for food and shelter.
"One dollar a day is enough." she says "I can survive as long as I am fed and clothed."
Making do creatively
When reporters visited her flat, they saw that her bed frame had no mattress - the bed planks were covered with a thin cotton cloth; while her "pillow" was a thick Chinese almanac wrapped in a towel.
She cheerfully said that she had back pains, and it was more comfortable to sleep on the hard planks than on a soft mattress. As for the pillow, the towel was easier to wash than a pillow and pillow case.
She also props up her bed with wooden blocks so that she can store her belongings under the bed in lieu of a proper cabinet.
Wanbao reporters wondered whether her "innovations" were bourne out of necessity.
She walks to see her doctor
To save on transport expenses, Mdm Wen walks to Singapore General Hospital whenever she has a doctor's appointment. At her age, and with her arthritis, the going can be slow, but she insists that even taking the bus is a luxury.
"When I get tired I will stop and rest. Taking the bus there and back costs at least a dollar, I will try to save whenever I can."
She cannot remember the last time she takes a taxi.
"I have taken a taxi before, but fares kept increasing, so I stopped. I can't remember how long ago that was."
<HR SIZE=1>Edited 10/30/2008 8:06 am ET by SGNEWSALTE</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
