Volunteers clean unsafe & cluttered Punggol flats, help single mum & disabled father prepare for Chinese New Year

How two families in Punggol found renewal before Chinese New Year

Dust rises with every step. Under my shoes, grit crunches against cracked tiles.

Specks float through the afternoon light, and in one corner, a double bed slumps inward — its metal frame bent, its centre collapsed.

This was once where a Chinese single mother and her two young children slept. Now, it is unsafe.

Just weeks before Chinese New Year on 1 Feb, volunteers from Keeping Hope Alive stepped into two struggling households in Punggol — armed with gloves, trash bags, mops, and quiet determination.

Their goal was simple: help families reclaim their homes in time for the new year.

What they found inside told a heavier story.

A broken bed, and a mother running on empty

The single mother works long hours to support her children — one in Primary 6, the other in Secondary 2.

By the time she returns home each night, there is little energy left.

Cardboard boxes had piled up. Dust-coated surfaces untouched for months. Walkways narrowed, and the double bed had finally given way.

“It’s no longer safe,” said Fion Phua, the main organiser of the clean-up, who mobilised volunteers after assessing the unit.

When volunteers began clearing the space, they worked methodically.

They hauled out unusable furniture, swept thick layers of dust, and reopened blocked pathways.

Slowly, the flat began to breathe again. For Ms Phua, this pattern is familiar.

“When you’re busy surviving, cleaning becomes the last priority,” she said. “And then everything just piles up.”

The clutter is rarely laziness and more often, a product of exhaustion.

A disabled father prepares for his daughter’s return

In another unit, where spider webs clung to corners, and dust had settled deep into the shelves and floors, an elderly man sat quietly watching volunteers move in and out.

As he relies on a personal mobility aid to get around, basic cleaning was close to impossible.

His daughter is expected to return home soon from a drug rehabilitation centre, and he wanted the house ready.

“I’m thankful they helped,” he said softly. “I really cannot do it myself.”

Volunteers rearranged furniture so he could move safely. They also scrubbed the floors, cleared the walkways, and checked the unit’s light bulbs and water supply.

“Making the house safer also helps the neighbours,” Ms Phua explained. “When one unit is cleaned, the whole corridor becomes safer.”

Teens distribute pillows and fans

While some volunteers worked inside the homes, others — many aged just 12 to 16 — went door to door.

They knocked gently, offering residents the chance to swap old pillows or broken fans for new ones.

Some doors stayed closed. Some residents declined.

But when doors opened, the teens explained patiently.

Sixteen-year-old Eden said seeing different living conditions changed his perspective.

“It’s very different from my own lifestyle,” he said. “When I see their homes, it makes me want to help more.”

Twelve-year-old Valerie first joined because her mother brought her along to a clean-up. She stayed because she saw how it helped people.

Another volunteer, Gerald, said the first messy home he entered left him heartbroken.

“My house is clean. I feel comfortable,” he said. “I don’t think they feel comfortable in theirs.”

For these compassionate teens, even handing out fans felt meaningful.

“With Chinese New Year coming, at least they get clean pillows and working fans,” Eden said. “So they can live more comfortably.”

‘I want to assist them before they turn into the neediest’

For Ms Phua, this work goes far beyond spring cleaning.

She began volunteering at a young age, visiting nursing homes and orphanages. But over time, she realised something felt incomplete.

Helping only at the start or end of someone’s life wasn’t enough.

“I don’t want to wait until people become the neediest,” said the founder of Keeping Hope Alive.

Instead, Ms Phua chose to step in while families are still trying to cope — when they still have a chance to turn things around.

“I don’t want to only help them when they’re at the end point. I want to give them a new beginning,” she explained. “So they still have a choice.”

A choice to reset.

A chance to regain control of their homes, and sometimes, their lives.

That philosophy became the foundation of Keeping Hope Alive — meeting people where they are, before problems spiral beyond repair.

Many residents don’t know how to use apps to request repairs, some lack Wi-Fi, while others come home from night shifts too exhausted to seek help.

“These are things many of us take for granted,” Ms Phua said. “But for them, they’re barriers.”

So volunteers become bridges to connect residents to available resources and to restore agency.

“I don’t see this as helping people,” Ms Phua said. “I see it as thanking them for giving us the chance to be useful.”

Small changes that restart hope

Some volunteers have been doing this for years.

Ong Keng Guan, 24, started in secondary school and never stopped. House clean-ups can stretch seven to eight hours, demanding stamina and teamwork.

He even shared a story about how he encountered a house that the volunteers dubbed “the kingdom of cockroaches”.

“They just came out from everywhere,” he said. “The smell, the sight. We were so shocked we could not even scream.”

Over time, he learned to compartmentalise the shock — the smells, the clutter, the unexpected sights.

But the purpose keeps him coming back.

“For Chinese New Year, it feels like renewal,” he said. “They get a new chance. A cleaner house. New hope.”

Ms Phua believes a clean home does more than change appearances. It clears the air, creates space, and gives residents a psychological reset.

“When they see that their house can actually be clean, it helps them start their engine again,” she said.

And sometimes, these small changes such as a visible floor, a stable bed, and a safe path to the bathroom, is all it takes to help someone believe in fresh beginnings.

A quiet reset before the new year

By evening, both homes looked different.

Floors were visible. Furniture stood steady. Windows let air flow freely again.

The broken bed was gone. Pathways were cleared. Dust no longer coated every surface.

It wasn’t a makeover, it was a reset.

As Chinese New Year approaches — a season tied to renewal and fresh beginnings — two families now have safer spaces to return to.

And sometimes, that makes all the difference.

Also read: S’pore hoarder slept on newspapers for over 10 years, West Coast flat filled to ceiling