http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,176006,00.html?
CPF STAFF HELP NEEDY GET AID
But after six hours, only three sign up
By Tay May Ping
September 07, 2008
THREE low-income Singaporeans were up to $1,250 richer yesterday.
And they have this man to thank.
Mr Chong Kien Fah, 56, works for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. When he heard that it was doing a community service project at the Chin Swee area for the poor and elderly residents, he decided to take it one step further.
Mr Chong wondered if there were people living there who had not signed up for their GST credits and Growth Dividends – handouts given by the Government due to a large Budget surplus and to offset last July's hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
So, he got the relevant department to generate a list of names – and was shocked to discover there were 65 such people living in the two blocks they were visiting.
He and about 10 other volunteers from CPF then went door-to-door to the one-room flats at Blocks 51 and 52 Chin Swee Road yesterday to get the 65 people to sign up.
Another 50 volunteers prepared a buffet dinner, goodie bags and performances, and helped residents with other CPF matters in the activity hall at the same block.
Mr Soh Chin Heng, CPF Board's assistant CEO (services group), said this was the first time that the CPF had gone door-to-door to help residents sign up.
Mr Chong was so enthusiastic about the project that he showed up at the blocks six hours before his other colleagues. His wife Margaret, 54, who is also a CPF employee, said: "We woke up at 6am, and he said, ‘Let's go have breakfast and go there, I want to make sure we can reach out to them.'"
The couple was there at 9am, and knocked on doors starting from the 20th storey, the highest floor.
But "giving" money to the residents proved difficult though.
Mr Chong said: "A lot of these elderly folks are quite suspicious of strangers."
As The New Paper team followed them from floor to floor, a number of doors could be seen shutting swiftly and locks slapped into place, when the residents saw the group approaching. It was also time-consuming to explain the benefits in various dialects.
In the end, after some six hours of knocking doors, only about 10 households opened theirs. And just three people signed up.
Among them, Madam Lee Yuen Hoo, 78, a widow and retired sweeper who got $1,250 in GST credits, senior citizens' bonus and Growth Dividends. Another, Mr Sahabudeen Hussain Sha, 34, who became a Singapore citizen last year, got $575.
But to Mr Chong, these precious three were a "fruitful result".
He said: "These are people who haven't signed up in the past two years. By spending a few hours, we got three people who did and made their day. We must make the effort so that they don't lose out on this benefit."
Trying again
Because they didn't manage to reach all 65, they are now arranging to return next week to continue knocking on doors.
The community service project was a tie-up with the Central Singapore CDC, which has the highest concentration of elderly in Singapore.
Some 33 per cent of residents there are aged 50 and above, compared to the national average of 26 per cent.
Mayor of Central Singapore district, Mr Zainudin Nordin, said that elderly residents benefit the most from schemes such as the GST credits.
"But we find that very often, they are unaware about CPF matters in general. I applaud this effort by staff members of CPF to reach out to the community," Mr Zainudin said.
Central Singapore CDC's deputy general manager Angeline Cheong said that last year, grassroots leaders in the district did go door-to-door to encourage residents to sign up. But they did not have the means to help them sign up on the spot.
CPF Board's Mr Soh said that he found this exercise meaningful, and is looking at how to develop the programme from here.
CPF STAFF HELP NEEDY GET AID
But after six hours, only three sign up
By Tay May Ping
September 07, 2008
THREE low-income Singaporeans were up to $1,250 richer yesterday.
And they have this man to thank.
Mr Chong Kien Fah, 56, works for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. When he heard that it was doing a community service project at the Chin Swee area for the poor and elderly residents, he decided to take it one step further.
Mr Chong wondered if there were people living there who had not signed up for their GST credits and Growth Dividends – handouts given by the Government due to a large Budget surplus and to offset last July's hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
So, he got the relevant department to generate a list of names – and was shocked to discover there were 65 such people living in the two blocks they were visiting.
He and about 10 other volunteers from CPF then went door-to-door to the one-room flats at Blocks 51 and 52 Chin Swee Road yesterday to get the 65 people to sign up.
Another 50 volunteers prepared a buffet dinner, goodie bags and performances, and helped residents with other CPF matters in the activity hall at the same block.
Mr Soh Chin Heng, CPF Board's assistant CEO (services group), said this was the first time that the CPF had gone door-to-door to help residents sign up.
Mr Chong was so enthusiastic about the project that he showed up at the blocks six hours before his other colleagues. His wife Margaret, 54, who is also a CPF employee, said: "We woke up at 6am, and he said, ‘Let's go have breakfast and go there, I want to make sure we can reach out to them.'"
The couple was there at 9am, and knocked on doors starting from the 20th storey, the highest floor.
But "giving" money to the residents proved difficult though.
Mr Chong said: "A lot of these elderly folks are quite suspicious of strangers."
As The New Paper team followed them from floor to floor, a number of doors could be seen shutting swiftly and locks slapped into place, when the residents saw the group approaching. It was also time-consuming to explain the benefits in various dialects.
In the end, after some six hours of knocking doors, only about 10 households opened theirs. And just three people signed up.
Among them, Madam Lee Yuen Hoo, 78, a widow and retired sweeper who got $1,250 in GST credits, senior citizens' bonus and Growth Dividends. Another, Mr Sahabudeen Hussain Sha, 34, who became a Singapore citizen last year, got $575.
But to Mr Chong, these precious three were a "fruitful result".
He said: "These are people who haven't signed up in the past two years. By spending a few hours, we got three people who did and made their day. We must make the effort so that they don't lose out on this benefit."
Trying again
Because they didn't manage to reach all 65, they are now arranging to return next week to continue knocking on doors.
The community service project was a tie-up with the Central Singapore CDC, which has the highest concentration of elderly in Singapore.
Some 33 per cent of residents there are aged 50 and above, compared to the national average of 26 per cent.
Mayor of Central Singapore district, Mr Zainudin Nordin, said that elderly residents benefit the most from schemes such as the GST credits.
"But we find that very often, they are unaware about CPF matters in general. I applaud this effort by staff members of CPF to reach out to the community," Mr Zainudin said.
Central Singapore CDC's deputy general manager Angeline Cheong said that last year, grassroots leaders in the district did go door-to-door to encourage residents to sign up. But they did not have the means to help them sign up on the spot.
CPF Board's Mr Soh said that he found this exercise meaningful, and is looking at how to develop the programme from here.
