Doing good – Hokkein style!

This year, The Frou is the company’s community ambassador. That means I have to help organize an event whereby the whole office will go out and do good. A do good outing. Initially, I asked if they can come help clean house. Apparently that is not doing good. So we settled for cleaning old folks’ houses instead.

So bright and early, we all trooped down to a block of 1-bedroom HDB flats somewhere in the east of Singapore with our mops and mould killers. We divided ourselves into 4 groups. Some will do the house cleaning, some will entertain the old folks, some will bring the old folks for health check up and some will feed them. Because I am ambassador, I get to do ALL of that plus more… including communicating with the old folks.

The old folks speak Malay, Mandarin and Hokkein. I can deal with the first two, but not Hokkein. But I was prepared. The night before, I approached The Toe for some Hokkein lessons. She thought about it and decided that I only need to learn 4 essential Hokkein phrases:

"Hou bo?” = “Are you good?”

“Jiak ba ba” = “Please eat until you’re full”

“Mai Hiam! Mai Hiam!” = “Never mind, never mind!”

“Wa ka kee tiao” = “I ownself jump”

Believe it or not, the above 4 phrases actually go me through the whole thing fine.

Frou: Ah Mah. Hou bo?
Old Lady: (yabadee yabadoo in Hokkein. I think she said she is not good. She is hungry.)
Frou: Jiak ba ba! * points at buffet table and make eating gesture”
Old Lady: (yabadee yabadoo in Hokkein. I think she is asking why are we feeding her crap. Where is the Buddha Jump Over the Wall?)
Frou: Mai Hiam! Mai Hiam! Wa ka kee tiao!

Alternative reply: Wa mieh si The Frou, mm si Buddha! (“My name is Frou, not Buddha!”)

Jest aside, our community event turned out to be a really fun yet humbling experience. Many of my colleagues are foreigners so it was an eye-opener for them to see the poorer side of Singapore, particularly what a 1 bedroom flat looks like. While we had some difficult home owners who were scolding and instructing us to do this the whole time, we also had home owners crying and thanking us after we are done – because they are so appreciative of our help. Many of the old folks also joined us in our songs and games, despite the language issues, because they enjoy human interaction and attention - which were lacking in their everyday lives.

I had a chat with our Vice President afterwards to ask him about his thoughts on the event. He told me that he was cleaning the house of an old couple who was very happy to chat with him. They told him that their monthly flat rental is $45 and their daily allowance is only $8 for 2 persons. Their average annual spending is less than $5,000. Though they live such a frugal life, they lack for nothing. The old man was brimming with pride when he told our Vice President that his son is now earning $2,000 a month and is paying for their rental. The old man looked at our Vice President thoughtfully and said, “You probably earn about $3,000 right?”

This conversation really struck a chord in me. I have lived in Singapore for nearly a decade now but I only had a fish eye view so far. To me, everything about Singapore is sparkling clean and efficient. I have only seen the big condos, nice restaurants, LED lit malls, happening clubs, etc. Shame on me, but I rarely eat at hawker centers so paying $10 for a sandwich is something I never thought twice about but now I know $10 is more than what 2 old folks survive on daily. And while I don’t do it myself, I know many of my peers will have absolutely no qualms spending $5,000 on a handbag but now, every time I see a $5,000 tag on a bag, it reminds me that it is somebody’s annual living expenses.

So folks, if you have a chance and would like to have a better appreciation of what you have, do go out and see how others live. You don’t even need to get out of the country to do so!