HealthServe's 3rd Anniversary

It's about a year since I've first heard about such an organization. A place that tries to fill a small bit of the gap where society has otherwise overlooked. Think we don't claim to come close to solving society's problem, but whatever/whenever we can we strive to try to help/hear those whose voices have been ignored. It's a humbling place to be in. The more the organization tries to help, the more I see that there's so little we can do.

The anniversary was a time of celebration (more about the event here), where all the different groups came together for a meal and the directors once again cast the vision of where we're headed in the coming year. For me I felt, it was also a time of reflection to see how much/little I've come along the way. The things overwhelm me at times. The problems, the plight of the people I meet. It always reminds me of this prayer that we put into the orientation for new people who'd like to work with us.

May God bless us with discomfort…
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger...
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears...
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them, and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness...
to believe that we can make a difference in this world,
so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

Migrant Voices Exhibition

In my time here, I've had the privilege of meeting some very artistic, socially aware people. People who have been challenging the norms of society, voicing the issues of injustice in the governing system in place. It's opened my eyes to what social activists actually do to change the face of society. I don't know if I'll ever learn to attain that kind of guts and influence, but I am motivated to be more involved and concern about the world on the social front.

I visited the exhibition they held in Little India - talking about the lives of different migrant workers and what they faced during their time in our country. There was installation art, poetry, videos etc. really good exhibition. Insightful and intimate.

Story of a girl

One of the installation pieces

Poetry by Xu Yue Ming, read by a doctor friend of ours

Short write-up about it from HS newsletter:
HealthServe’s Chinese migrant friends were part of arts group Migrant Voices’ Migrant Tales: Life Stories of Migrant Workers In Contemporary Singapore, an exhibition featuring installation art, photos and audio interviews done with male migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand, and female migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines. Migrant Tales, which opened on Dec 11 and had a 10-day run, was held in line with International Migrants’ Day on December 18.

Some of the displayed works include Yuan Yixin’s photos, each with a story to tell of the various stages of his life and Xu Yue Ming’s self-penned poem about his work and life in Singapore. ~Jacqueline Tan~