Volunteers given awards at HDB Community Day event for bringing people together
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Residents from West Terra @ Hong Kah North (from left) Mr Daryl Lim, Ms Chen Lingjie, Ms Zhou Shan Shan and Ms Yenny Lee at HDB Community Day on June 30.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE – Designing murals that help the elderly find their way around, group dog-walking and communal storytelling sessions were among residential activities initiated by volunteers in Housing Board communities over the past year.
On Friday, outstanding volunteers received a total of 76 awards during the annual HDB Community Day celebration for their efforts to enliven spaces and bring people together.
One of the awards, Singapore’s Friendly Neighbourhood Award, was launched in collaboration with the Singapore Kindness Movement to celebrate the efforts of neighbours who support and care for one another in HDB communities.
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who was the guest of honour at the award ceremony at the Flower Dome in Gardens by the Bay, said that nurturing a strong community spirit goes hand in hand with infrastructure and housing policies in building strong and cohesive neighbourhoods.
“Our children don’t have to go too far to have fun at a playground... and many opportunities are available to connect with neighbours who come from all walks of life,” he said.
Twelve neighbourhoods from both HDB and private housing estates received awards for encouraging the spirit of neighbourliness through activities like joint fitness sessions and grocery distribution.
A group of residents at West Terra @ Hong Kah North started a weekly storytelling session at a nearby residents’ committee (RC) centre in June 2022 to encourage children in the precinct to improve their public speaking and Mandarin skills.
These sessions – with a weekly turnout of around 30 participants – also helped to foster deeper relationships between parents and children, as families read together to learn more about Chinese cultural heritage.
One of the volunteers, 34-year-old financial adviser Yenny Lee, said: “It’s great that parents can gather at the storytelling sessions and share parenting tips with each other... I also learnt new Mandarin phrases from these sessions.”
West Terra is also home to another tight-knit community: dog owners.
Besides nightly dog-walking sessions, these neighbours also share dog-rearing tips and celebrate their dogs’ birthdays, fondly termed “bark days”, by exchanging presents.
Volunteer Daryl Lim, 32, a technology manager, said dog owners have also helped to bring good energy to communal spaces in their estate, as elderly residents and children in the area often join their gatherings.
The Lively Places Challenge award was given for initiatives that enlivened neighbourhoods in nine HDB towns and estates.
The Queenstown Stirling View Residents’ Committee was one of the winners for designing murals with nostalgic and familiar images – such as those of childhood games – to help senior residents find their way around the estate.
In consultation with the Agency for Integrated Care and Dementia Singapore, more than 110 residents – including some dementia patients and their caregivers – painted 10 captivating murals over six months from November 2022 to April 2023.
Communications specialist Jerica Owng – who has been a community volunteer for eight years – said she was surprised to receive the award, and was especially glad to know that the murals had a significant impact on her community.
Ms Jerica Owng and Mr Randy Tan’s wayfinding mural project at Queenstown was awarded the Lively Places Challenge award.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
“I hope this breathes a new way of life into one of the oldest estates in Singapore,” said the 24-year-old.
A total of 1,284 individuals and 15 schools received recognition for their contributions to HDB’s volunteering network Friends of Our Heartlands (FOH) – launched in 2017 – and their community-building efforts over the past year.
Facilities management consultant Tan Kim Chwee was one of them. He received the Friends of Our Heartlands Silver award for his unwavering contributions as an eco trail guide in Punggol and a guide for new home owners at HDB’s MyNiceHome road shows.
Facilities management consultant Tan Kim Chwee received the Friends of Our Heartlands Silver award for his unwavering contributions as an eco trail guide in Punggol.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The 73-year-old said: “I enjoy relating stories about Punggol’s eco-features and heritage to students and residents... If we don’t point these features out to them, they often go unnoticed.”
To find out more about the inspiring stories in the heartland, visit the digital exhibition on HDB InfoWEB
