Stories of Kindness

Description

In 2020, Singapore, with the rest of the world was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a difficult time. People stayed at home for extended periods as students adopted distance learning and adults started working from home. The new normal also brought the need for new skills and introduced new terms like front-liners, circuit breakers and safe-distancing measures. Stories of Kindness is a compilation of articles from The Pride that celebrates individuals and organisations that showed graciousness during a time of need. These stories feature those who have gone above and beyond to help fellow Singaporeans who face physical and financial challenges as well as those who battle mental wellness issues. Inspiring and heart-warming, this collection of 39 stories reminds us that there is kindness in everyone and finds a silver lining in a global pandemic - that in times of trouble, instead of stepping away, people will step up to show charity, compassion, and consideration for others. About Singapore Kindness Movement:Kindness is in everyone. The Singapore Kindness Movement wants to encourage everyone to start, show and share kindness. We aspire to inspire graciousness - one kind act at a time. By sparing a thought for the people around us, we hope to create a gracious society, and make life better for you and me. SKM is a non-government, non-profit organisation, as well as a registered charity and Institution of Public Character.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Assertiveness
• Popular psychology

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 14 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814974783
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Text The Pride
2021 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Published in 2021 by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Name(s): Lim, Solomon, editor.
Title: Stories of kindness : how Singapore came together to battle a pandemic / edited by Solomon Lim.
Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2021.
Identifier(s): OCN 1247401922 | e-ISBN: 978 981 4974 78 3
Subject(s): LCSH: Kindness-Singapore. | COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-Social aspects-Singapore.
Classification: DDC 177.7-dc23
Printed in Singapore
Contents
Message by Mr Edwin Tong
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Foreword by Mr Koh Poh Tiong
Chairman, Singapore Kindness Movement
Introduction by Dr William Wan
General-Secretary, Singapore Kindness Movement
Battling Covid-19
My friend, the frontliner
I survived Covid-19, now I want to help others through tough times
I was stuck overseas after I flew home, away from home
My Stay-Home Notice in a five-star hotel showed me a different side to myself
Covid-19: How I survived a 14-day Stay-Home Notice
No one is really safe until all of us are safe
I got married during Covid-19 and it was everything I expected and not
Finding mental wellness
Covid-19 made me relive my years of struggling with depression
Toxic masculinity needs to stop, and it starts with us
Let s flip the script when we talk about suicide
It s okay not to be okay, so let s talk about it
Parenting our children
Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn. And students who aren t, come to school to be loved.
A couple s kind act helps Primary 6 pupil reach school in time for PSLE exam
Do our grades define us? Learning more about ourselves from our O-Level results
How do you talk to your child about their grades?
OKLETSGO made me pen a letter to my daughters
Raising interracial children: Parents share challenges and opportunities
The meaning of Christmas: A family that volunteers together gets the greatest gift of all
Being a good neighbour
How do we stop fuming over our neighbour s smoking habit?
Would you invite a homeless person to stay in your home?
What would you do with crying kids while working from home?
I discovered the kampung spirit in an online gathering with total strangers
Coming together to help others
Childhood cancer survivor works two jobs during Covid-19, volunteers to help the needy
Would you like to learn how to cook from this 85-year-old great grandma?
Animal lovers come together to rescue hamsters, guinea pigs and chickens
Couple grows community of volunteers to sew clear masks for the deaf
These special needs dancers set the stage for more inclusivity and diversity
Inclusive caf prepares meals for low-income families with special needs children
He gives old books and young children a second chance at life
She sets up online business to help single mums remember how strong they are
Appreciating our migrant workers
A learning journey showed me the harsh realities migrant workers face every day
He searches for foreign workers in forgotten dorms
We spend our best years in Singapore I don t want us to feel scared of Singaporeans
Celebrating the Singapore spirit
What makes me a Singaporean?
For Singaporeans living overseas, is Singapore really home, truly?
193 countries in 17 years: Lessons this Singaporean learnt from visiting every country in the world
Let s celebrate racial harmony during the Festival of Lights
Racism coloured my childhood and I still fight against stereotypes today
Can a UNESCO listing keep Singapore s hawker culture alive?
Do you want to know who I voted for in GE2020?
About Singapore Kindness Movement
About The Pride
Message
by Mr Edwin Tong
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
2020 will always be remembered as the year that the world came to a standstill because of Covid-19. Singapore was not spared either.
Yet, in spite of the acute stress and concerns from facing an uncertain future caused by an unknown virus, many Singaporeans and members of the community stepped forward to assist and uplift one another. They volunteered their time, skills and resources to care for the vulnerable, and offered mutual aid and support to those around them.
By capturing their stories, this book reminds us that times of crisis are also opportunities to forge a sense of unity, resilience and care for others.
The stories of how people from all walks of life responded to the needs of others - from organising aid and distributing food to migrant workers to creating a platform to match volunteers with elderly and vulnerable residents - show us that regardless of our age, backgrounds or nationalities, we can make a tangible difference to the lives of others. They reaffirm the duties and responsibilities we have to each other and to the common good.
Second, the examples in this book emphasise how we each have a part to play in building our community together. Through actions big and small, we can all contribute to fostering a gracious society where everyone feels a sense of belonging and dignity.
Third, this collection illustrates our individual and collective resolve not to let the stresses and challenges of Covid-19 overwhelm us, and that by reaching out to others and supporting them, we can emerge stronger as a community and society.
I hope that the stories of some of the heroes in our midst will serve as an inspiration and catalyst for all of us to take active steps to Be Greater - and Kinder - in our everyday lives.
Foreword
by Mr Koh Poh Tiong
Chairman, Singapore Kindness Movement
2020 is a watershed moment not just for Singapore but for the world.
In the years to come, people will talk about life before and after Covid-19.
At Singapore Kindness Movement, we have always aimed to inspire graciousness through spontaneous acts of kindness and to make life more pleasant for everyone. Our goals are simple: To encourage all Singaporeans to be kind and considerate, to create public awareness of acts of kindness, and to influence and raise the standards of social behaviour and responsibility.
These goals are simple, but they are not always easy.
During times of crisis, we tend to look inward rather than outward. This is human nature, to protect what s our own first. There are opportunities to be greater, but we don t always take them.
But I m proud to say that while many things have changed in the new normal, some things haven t. People are still kind and stories of goodness and positivity are still being told.
If anything, we have had more reasons to recognise kindness in 2020, as Covid-19 has made Singaporeans relook their priorities as they deal with their new uncertainties.
That is why I m so pleased to see that people in Singapore - local and foreign alike - have risen to the occasion. This book of stories, compiled over a year of articles from The Pride, SKM s own content platform, show how we have, in times of trouble, opened our doors and our hearts to those who needed help.
These stories are a celebration of the good we can do, and an inspiration for how much greater we can be.
Introduction
by Dr William Wan
General Secretary, Singapore Kindness Movement
Why call it The Pride?
That is a question I am often asked about the moniker that we gave to our digital content platform!
Well, blame it on Singa. He is a lion after all, and his family is called a pride of lions .
Not only that, we are enormously proud of Singa s tireless efforts in fostering kindness and graciousness since the early days of the National Courtesy Campaign, launched in June 1979.
Now, there is a difference between pride and arrogance, and I daresay as inhabitants of our precious little red dot, we have much to be proud (not arrogant!) of.
For instance, we are the only country in the world to go from third-world to first in one generation. No wonder we are often called a miracle nation .
We are proud of our airline and our airport. We are proud of our CBD skyline, our manicured garden city, and not to mention our Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
More recently, our hawker culture was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Like that, how not to be proud of Singapore?
Add on our first-class civil service, top universities, impeccable healthcare, efficient public transport, modern infrastructure... and the list goes on.
Oh, so many reasons to be fil