Final Thoughts

Coming to the end of our research study, all of us learnt a lot from the participants. The ten weeks journey from brainstorming the topic to approaching the participants for interview, interacting with them and coming up with solutions together. Even though it has been a really challenging journey, it is a rather fulfilling one for all of us. Some of the takeaways each of us had towards this project:

“Interacting with the participants and learning from their stories is one memorable takeaway that I gained from this journey. I stepped out of my comfort zone to ask the uncles and aunties sensitive questions relating to our project, interacting with them and making sure that it is not too invasive to them because of our sudden approach. It is very heart-warming to receive care, advice, encouraging words and concerns from all the participants towards us, as students stressed out by studies, despite their own difficulties. We don’t usually go out of our way to listen to stories from strangers, but from the participants’ stories, I have learnt a lot about appreciating what I have. I am glad that they are willing to share some stories with us and wanting to help us to complete our project.” Li Jun

“Throughout these 10 weeks, I have learnt so much from the stories our participants have shared with us. It is great that we are able to share these stories and issues that are normally neglected in our society. The content we have shared could hopefully clears up some of the misconceptions people might have of residents staying in a rental flat and allows the public to gain a better understanding of these residents. Like what our blog theme suggests, Behind Closed Doors, I have learnt that many things are not what we assume it to be, until we really take time out to hear the voices of each individual." Shi Yi

“I came into this module hoping to work on issues related to mental health and single parent families. But through the course of the project understanding the problems of our participants, I realised that the problems they face are such common narratives that they become issues that get brushed aside. I would think that one way to address these issues to the general public would be to capture the lives of these average Singaporeans in real time and present it in front of the audience so as to create discomfort in the audience, allowing them to come to realisation that these seemingly average footages themselves contain greater problems that we never ever questioned.

Real change makers take many years of effort to build rapport with their community and continue to make changes to their initiatives to constantly help out their beneficiaries. It is a pity that our project is just a semester long, but I do hope that this project can be continued by the next batch of students, to see through the process of change.” Joo Hwee

“Before this project, I knew about the existence of rental flats but I have never had the chance to uncover issues beyond the poverty faced by these residents. Through the many door-to-door and in-depth interviews with the participants, I was exposed to many different stories that they have gone through, and many valuable lessons that they have learnt from their experiences. Through this, I have learnt to look at things beyond their surface, but to go in-depth to find out what truly lies within." Li Ting

“This project has taught me to become a more effective researcher when engaging with community members in a co-creation setting for bringing about social change. I have learned the importance of working with the right communities, that are of 'relevance' to the social issue being studied, in order to generate solutions that are not only useful in addressing the social problem, but are also responsive to the needs of the affected community. In doing so, it is important that the researcher demonstrates 'responsibility' throughout the whole research process, not once forgetting to create spaces for participatory dialogues with the community members, predicated upon mutual 'respect' and 'reciprocity'. I’m so glad to be introduced to the participatory approach involving the 4Rs framework through this project, as it had not only allowed me to engage in real-life issues, but also partner with local communities to move Singapore towards a truly inclusive society with no Singaporeans left behind.” Cindy

“Throughout this project, I have gained insights of the various issues that local Singaporeans face in their lives. Although I faced some language and cultural barriers from them, their advices and past experiences were indeed worth and meaningful. Not only our participants, but everyone has own stories and all they need is someone to listen them. It is a small, but not easy. I hope our findings can contribute to increase awareness of social problems to others and wish our generation could solve in future. I really appreciate our participants who willingly shared their stories with us, as well as group members who made this journey possible.” Jeong Soo

We hope that this blog helps you to understand more about the plights of low income Singaporeans aged 65 and below moving towards old age as much as we do. Let us play a part to spread awareness about this group of audience, allowing their voices be heard and executing solutions that they deserve.

#reflection