In summary of the article, it is part NTUC's social enterprises' Pioneer OK! Package whereby mobile trucks containing NTUC goods will be making its way around Singapore to provide services to the residents. The rationale being that not every area has an NTUC outlet, thereby bringing NTUC to them instead. This is specially targetting elderly or the pioneer generation. The Pioneer OK! package is a 15 month package with discounts and preferential treatment for the elderly according to the NTUC webpage. NTUC has also launched a new social enterprise, SilverACE senior activity centre which aims to reach 500 seniors, especially those who do not have access to social networks and little family support. Therefore, they have the best interests at heart and also want to allow those who may feel neglected or cut off from the outside world to feel more included and appreciated through these measures.
In my opinion, I think that this package might be able to benefit many people and might also be successful in portraying gratitude towards the elderly. As the elderly are one of the groups in Singapore that require constant attention and care due to ageing population.The idea is rather good and creative and something that is not done very often. It also requires a lot of effort and time to plan.They also have catered to what kind of things the elderly may want such as health supplements. Free health screening is also provided for the elderly. They have put in much effort to collaborate with others in order to make this work going down to places whereby elderly frequent, an example would be the Thye Hua Kwan Seniors' Activity Centre in Ang Mo Kio. They also have themes that vary monthly to incite interests and make it more attractive for the elderly. These could allow to elderly to also bond and meet new people as they may feel lonely and out of place. Some may even feel under appreciated in their own ways. This could be a platform for them to brighten their moods and also make them more positive.
However, I also feel that constraining showing our elderly appreciation only for 15 months is not a very feasible plan. Although it has goodnatured thoughts behind it's production. Gratitude and appreciation are not things that can be portrayed within a short amount of time alone by certain people. It has to be a combined effort, whereby even the smallest things add up with consistency. However, these are just my own personal opinions and others may have different thoughts on this matter. I also do not have an established level of expertise, therefore i may be unaware of additional efforts that are taken for the elderly in a continuous effort. Our elderly get much special privileges and discounts.I feel it is not going to be well appreciated as it came out of the blue. Also, I think that this could have been done in conjunction with SG50, thus making it less sincere or either more depending on personal view. It could be less sincere because it could be used to hype up the atmosphere along with other SG50 privileges. As, through SG50 many seniors are also benefitting. I read another article from Channel News Asia which stated that 700,000 elderly have gotten the Seniors Package goodies. The Pioneer OK! Package may also be one of the specialties about SG50. However, It could be viewed as a sincere gesture, because as it is commonly stated our pioneer generation have played a key role in building up Singapore to what it is right now.
In conclusion, I think that although the package may be able to help the people and also reach out to some people to make them feel appreciated. Others may feel as though it is not very sincere due to it's inconsistency and also it's clashing with SG50 which may lead people to think that it is just a part of promoting SG50 and efforts done by Singapore. However, a good deed is a good deed and should be credited for it's efforts and thoughts to make it happen. I think that Singapore is trying to reach out to it's people more and also leave a personal touch through these ways and we should try to appreciate them. I have mixed feelings about this article which leads me to sound rather contradictory. In short, I appreciate the help they are trying to offer the elderly, but i also question their motives and fail to understand fully understand their rationale.
References:
Anon. (May 2015) " More than 700,000 to get SG50 Seniors Package goodies" Channel News Asia Retrieved from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-than-700-000-to-get/1864984.html
Anon. (April 2015) "NTUC 'roving truck' for elderly making its rounds" Channel News Asia Retrieved from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ntuc-roving-truck-for/1801480.html
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