Right to a Home

Hi, it's Sangeetha! I just returned from a work trip and badly need to express my thoughts, on a topic very close to my heart.

Most of our friends and family in Singapore know I worked for the Housing & DevelopmentBoard (HDB) which is the public housing authority and key target of any political discussion or coffeeshop whinge in Singapore. 

Key facts on Singapore's public housing, for non-Singaporeans : 

(a) about 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing 

(b) about 90% of public housing is owned and the remaining is rented 

(c) HDB delivered our 1-millionth flat in 2010

My main portfolio in HDB was the delivery of new flats. In my nearly eight years in HDB, about 25,000 sets of keys were issued out each year, by the amazing team I was part of. I’ve made many friends who worked tirelessly to, and still continue to, play a part in every Singaporean’s right to a home. Here are some photos of the awesome people I've worked with and have been missing quite a lot, especially during my last work trip.

About half the team at our farewell

Farewell lunch with colleagues from the Building Group

My last day at work, and in my large, private workstation. Chocolate cake from my lovely ladies!

My Keys team and reinforcement. Grumpy Derrick, as always.

Doris, head of all the aunties - fed us and helped us clear our work!

The ladies always ready with a smile, and a chat!

The Man - given me thousands of keys and LOTS of CHOCOLATES!

Probably never going to get the 4 of us in one pic again..

It wasn’t all about the happy stories, I’ve met and learnt (from colleagues) of many Singaporeans who have difficulty securing a flat due to various circumstances. Many people seek help for housing following relationship breakdowns, retrenchment, elder abuse and demise. But none of these prepared me for what I was to witness in my current job in Darwin.

I am now, Policy / Projects Officer at NT Shelter (not an animal shelter). This is an NGO that advocates for appropriate and affordable housing for the people of the Northern Territory. (For the benefit of non-Territorians, the NT has a population of about 223,000 people over 1.421 million km². That’s about 1/25 of Singapore’s population in about 1970 times the size of Singapore. There are about 10,000 public housing units in the NT and just under 16,000 homeless people)

As part of my job, I travel to regional towns in the NT, such as Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek to learn from people delivering housing/homelessness/social services, of ongoing issues and trends in housing and homelessness. I’ve been learning about how people live and the various models of housing assistance given to people with a range of needs. In stark contrast to Singapore, the NGOs and private sector play a significant role in the provision of essential services and infrastructure. This arrangement has its proven advantages and disadvantages (which I don’t want to spend time discussing in this post) But the ONE major difference I have to highlight is that here, people celebrate when 3 or 5 new homes are built (not take the 25,000 for granted).

In my past eight months on the job, I’ve visited housing estates with no electricity or water because the nearest plumber or electrician is stationed 200kms away and only visits once a week. Many houses have 20 people sharing a 3 bedroom house with one toilet/shower and the original occupants cannot ask their long stayer relatives to leave as they have no where else to go. People who have never seen a stove, sink or garbage bin before, all completely clueless about how to live in homes that we would never take a second look at. Homes with broken doors and windows and holes in walls - evidence of family violence and abuse of drug and alcohol. Children are exposed to drug and alcohol abuse and family violence from very young, resulting in poor school attendance, poor literacy and trauma that affects their mental health and general well-being. Often these are inter-generational, and families continue to be trapped in their cycle of poverty and varying forms of abuse and disintegration of the family unit. These topics get deeper as we go - their causes and effects, history and politics which might never end, so I should stay on track to the aim of my blog post.

A couple of photos of luxury landed houses, with large yards, pretty landscaping and outdoor living areas. NOT!

My friends in HDB have often teased me as being “CEO” or “Miss Ambassador” of HDB as I have always been proud of the work HDB does and am always ready with my defense when critics have a go at HDB. While there are a number of shortcomings in the Singapore system and instances of human error that have occurred, my exposure to systems outside of Singapore have only made me realise how near-perfect we are - not just relative to the Northern Territory, but in comparison with housing systems in other parts of Australia and even internationally, in towns in countries such as Canada, the UK and Finland. I wish for Singaporeans to appreciate what we have and how much progress has been made in housing our people, and keeping Singaporeans responsible for their homes, well-being and their future. Not implying that Singapore is free of homelessness or poverty or that our new city is hopeless, just wishing we stop judging based only on what's apparent to us and learn to appreciate the effort that goes into providing a service and the countless challenges that come with it. (By the way, I've lately been following a Singaporean NGO that helps and advocates for homeless people in Singapore, Homeless Hearts of Singapore. Do check them out if you're interested, not sure why I can't attach the link..Grrr...)

I'd like to make special mention of the extremely passionate people I've met in the past eight months, many who have dedicated their lives to making a difference to the less fortunate. I admire them for stepping out of their comfort zone in more posh parts of the country or the world to spend years in remote communities several hundred kilometers away from the rest of the population, where groceries cost atleast double that in urban centres, homes that can be broken into, and wages that barely cover their high expenses. Many endure rejections from people who refuse to engage, critics who label them with sarcasm ("do-gooders" and "saviors") and have helplessly watched people return to their sad situations because of family and culture. 

This post is dedicated to my friends in the Sales Department (HDB) and Building Quality Group (HDB) who I miss dearly, as well as the people I’ve met in the last eight months, who have dedicated their time on Earth to help the people who need it most. No amount of thanks, praise or reward can measure up to your dedication!