Elderly folks collecting and pushing carts of cardboard is a ubiquitous sight in Singapore. When they have to move about with disabilities, it certainly adds to their burden.
On Sun (1 Nov), a deaf and mute rag-and-bone uncle – fondly called karang guni in Singlish – was spotted organising his finds at York Hill estate located in Tiong Bahru.
The charity Keeping Hope Alive then offered to declutter his bug-infested house, which was filled with things that he had collected and other household items.
They also gave him pillows and food rations so that he could lead life more comfortably. You can watch the video here.
In a Facebook post by the charity, it showed a karung guni uncle arranging a pile of cardboard boxes that he had collected at the bottom of a HDB block.
Upon meeting him, the volunteers decided to return to his flat to help him clear all the other recyclables he has collected.
They found many household things all around his house and outside his flat.
Bugs could be seen crawling on the walls and all over the household items.
The paint on his walls was peeling very badly and the ceiling was stained yellow.
The video states that the charity wanted to arrange for a painter to come back. However, it was going to be a challenge as the uncle was deaf and mute and does not own a mobile phone.
The volunteers then grouped at the lift lobby to be briefed on how to proceed with the decluttering and cleaning.
After that, they formed a human chain to clear the items outside his flat first. They passed one item at a time to each other to efficiently remove the boxes and red plastic bags.
Inside the flat, volunteers were seen scrubbing the bathroom, sinks, and window sills.
Others were assigned the role of discarding unnecessary items in the flat.
After the decluttering and cleaning was done, the volunteers passed the uncle some money in an angbao to help him with his finances.
He was given new pillows as well so that the uncle could have a better rest at night.
Finally, the volunteers also gave the uncle canned food so that he would have more than enough to eat.
Seeing how the uncle has been living is a heartbreaking sight. For some, this is what they call home and life due to the difficulties in making a living.
We laud charities like Keeping Hope Alive for lending their help to the needy and providing them with daily essentials.
Let us learn from this example and help the less fortunate whenever we can.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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