A Facebook post from Tuesday night by user Ashley Chen has garnered over 176 shares at time of writing:
In it, she shares a recent encounter she had with an old lady who collects cardboard for a living, and how in spite of her cramped living conditions and exhausting cardboard-collecting job, her positivity in life and generosity shines through.
The invisible generation
Among the 5.5 million people living in Singapore, an estimated 440,000 are aged 65 and above, and the problems that come with an ageing population are prevalent.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was even quoted saying, “Based on trends, if we project into 2050, even with immigration, the population pyramid will be inverted. We are going to be growing old faster than any society in the world.”
In spite of the numbers, the elderly remain largely an ‘invisible’ generation, with many either staying indoors due to a lack of mobility or working low-wage jobs that we often overlook.
A recent opinion piece on The New York Times sheds light on the writer’s observation of the similarly ageing workforce around her, usually working in low-paying jobs. After speaking to them on why they’d rather work than enjoy their golden years, most cited not wanting to be a burden, keeping active and wanting to contribute to society as reasons.
The Straits Times, The New Paper, The Business Times
In our busy lives, we tend to neglect the elderly around us and the lessons they can teach us from their years of experience.
The Facebook post comes as a call for us to look out for not only our elderly parents and relatives, but also those we encounter in our daily lives – from the ones who restock our supermarket shelves, to the ones who lug around our discarded goods to sell for a meager amount.
While as individuals, we might not be able to alleviate all of their problems, we can make their days brighter by giving them a warm smile, or even a heartfelt “thank you” when they clear our bowl-ridden tables.
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