This picture shows the HDB flat of a poor family. This family has 5 children, 4 of them visually-impaired. This is just one of the many families in Singapore who aren't as fortunate as the rest. Although poor, they are still not the poorest as they can afford a shelter whereas some of the poor families in Singapore do not even have a place to stay.
Singapore is one of the countries with the best living standards, however, even in such developed countries, poverty still exists, and close to us. We often see handicapped or old people around in Singapore trying to sell tissue papers in coffee shop or sing dialect songs in underground passes, trying to make ends meet. We often neglect them as we rush to our destination, or get too engrossed in our business to care.
What is poverty? Have you ever asked yourself this question? And how extreme it is in Singapore? Singapore is a modern country where there are statistics for everything and a solutions for every problem, but when it comes to poverty, the government hesitates to lend a helping hand. Fair enough, poverty is a problem everywhere, even in first world countries like Singapore. But in Singapore, the gap between the haves and have-nots is far and wide.
Nevertheless, Singapore did make efforts to bring the gap between poor and rich closer. Singapore initiated campaigns to raise public awareness on poverty, and the government also sends money on anti-poverty measures, in 2012, Singapore spent $100m to help the poor.
Overall, Poverty is not obvious in Singapore, and efforts are made to lift the weights on these families. Singapore is progressing rapidly, and one would wonder if the country can make enough effort to address the issue. Will poverty ever exist in Singapore in the future? Only time will tell.
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