NEW YORK – Singapore has been ranked the 26th happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2017 produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative launched by the United Nations in 2012.

The Republic fell four notches from 22nd in 2016, but was still the top-ranked country in Southeast Asia, and second in Asia after Israel (15th).

The Nordic nations are the most content, with Norway displacing Denmark as the world’s happiest country, according to the report that called on nations to build social trust and equality to improve the wellbeing of their citizens.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, along with Syria and Yemen, are the least happy of the 155 countries ranked in the fifth annual report released at the United Nations.

“Happy countries are the ones that have a healthy balance of prosperity, as conventionally measured, and social capital, meaning a high degree of trust in a society, low inequality and confidence in government,” Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the SDSN and a special advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General, said in an interview.

The aim of the report, he added, is to provide another tool for governments, business and civil society to help their countries find a better way to wellbeing.

Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden rounded out the top ten countries.

South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Central African Republic were at the bottom.

Germany was ranked 16, followed by the United Kingdom (19) and France (31). The United States dropped one spot to 14.

Sachs said the United States is falling in the ranking due to inequality, distrust and corruption. Economic measures that the administration of President Donald Trump is trying to pursue, he added, will make things worse. “They are all aimed at increasing inequality – tax cuts at the top, throwing people off the healthcare rolls, cutting Meals on Wheels in order to raise military spending. I think everything that has been proposed goes in the wrong direction,”he explained.

The rankings are based on six factors – per capita gross domestic product, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support and absence of corruption in government or business.

“The lowest countries are typically marked by low values in all six variables,” said the report, produced with the support of the Ernesto Illy Foundation.

Sachs would like nations to follow United Arab Emirates and other countries that have appointed Ministers of Happiness. “I want governments to measure this, discuss it, analyze it and understand when they have been off on the wrong direction,”he said.

Grocery shopping may seem like a harmless routine process. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and it’ll be evident that this routine can be the setting for lots of bad habits that burn up the money in your wallet quickly. Grocery stores are infamous for their huge colourful palette of temptations, so it’s easy to spend a lot more money than necessary. Try to figure out what bad shopping habits you may harbour and counter them. Your budget won’t regret it!

Bad Grocery Shopping Habits #1: Not Preparing Yourself

It is critical that you’re prepared when you set foot in a grocery store. You’ll need to make a shopping list beforehand as well as a detailed plan of the meals you’ll be preparing. If you don’t do this in advance of shopping, you’re going to waste your time, energy and money.

If you forget to buy a crucial item or purchase an insufficient amount of anything you need, you’ll need to run back to the store several times during the week. Several visits will rack up your travel expenses and drain your time and energy. This is why it’s best to plan out the meals you are going to be serving up each week.

Preparing ahead of time will also prevent you from purchasing unnecessary items. Some experts maintain that combing through shopping flyers may be detrimental because they entice you to spend money on products that you would not usually purchase. However, some people believe that advertisements like flyers can actually support you in making wiser purchases.

You can plan your meals beforehand by focussing on ingredients that are on sale. You can also sometimes find coupons with the flyers. Such discount coupons can assist you in saving money when you do go to buy. So, the main thing to remember in order to use circulars to your advantage is to follow strictly the list that you created.

Bad Grocery Shopping Habits #2: Using a Shopping Basket

Logic suggests that picking up a shopping basket when you enter a store would support you in making smarter purchases with more financial consciousness. Do you honestly like carrying multiple overweight baskets? According to recently published marketing journals, shopping baskets cause customers to overstrain their hands.

Consequently, these shoppers become tired and irritated, leading them to make unwise financial decisions. You might well buy more small items, the ones that you’d more than likely purchase to satisfy your sudden cravings to indulge yourself. These small items are often found close to the checkout line. Given your overburdened hands, you’ll be feeling relieved that the ordeal is over and you’ll be happy to shop close to the checkout counter.

Buying such small items can lead you to exceed wildly your shopping budget. Moreover, you will end up passing up all the essential items on your list and need to return to the store yet again, which is another big waste of your time, energy and money. It follows that the better decision would be to use a shopping trolley instead. It will help you collect your necessary items and support you in making financially wiser choices.

Bad Grocery Shopping Habits #3: Choosing the Attractive Products

Grocery stores do their utmost to make products attractive to consumers. They mostly do so by offering sales or discounts. However, buying discounted items may not always be a good idea, especially when purchasing fruits and vegetables. Sometimes it turns out that these are or that they have come from a bad pile. This means that they may not taste as good or aren’t as healthy as you might have expected.

This is especially common in the evening at the farmers’ markets when you may be offered produce for less than half the price of what it was early in the morning. You should not buy out-of-season fruits and vegetables either, even if they are available at a very good price. These will likely either be old. Scientific experts from Albert Einstein College of Medicine strongly suggest spending money on fruits and vegetables that begin with the letter ‘C’ such as cabbage, citrus fruits, carrots and collard greens. These are relatively inexpensive, highly nutritious and easy to prepare for meals, snacks, desserts or refreshments.

Bad Grocery Shopping Habits #4: Avoiding Products from the Store’s Periphery

Grocery stores habitually arrange their products in such a way that there’s a high probability they will be sold. Ever notice that the fresh, healthy food products are mostly located around the outer edges of the store? For instance, the dairy and meat products are located at the back, on the periphery. Some of the other healthy items like rice or pasta are often located in the midst of processed, unhealthy foodstuffs.

This is a usual arrangement designed to attract you to the pricey processed foods while you’re searching for your essential healthy items. You will also soon realise that the less expensive brands are higher up on the shelf. Stores want you to purchase the most costly products, so they display them right in front of you.

It makes sense to learn to scan up and down on every aisle. Also, make it a point to enter an aisle only after reading the category of items available there. This methodology may help you rein in your temptations.

Bad Grocery Shopping Habits #5: Shopping on an Empty Stomach or in a Sleep-Deprived State

You should always go grocery shopping when your energy level is high and you have a full stomach. This is because scientists have recently discovered that hunger and fatigue can impede your ability to judge whether it’s a good idea to make a particular purchase.

An empty stomach sways you towards buying fancy, luxurious food items that you would otherwise only occasionally splurge on, inevitably causing you to exceed your grocery budget.

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Anyone who thinks clowns are scary has not met these guys.

With their red noses and white face paint, rainbow-coloured outfits and oversized shoes, the Caring Clown Unit (CCU) has brought nothing but love and laughter to the sickest children at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

This group of volunteers, formed in 2004, visits the paediatric wards every last Saturday of the month to sculpt balloons, perform magic tricks and basically be silly, to try and make a child smile.

With ages ranging from 26 to 62, the 11 active members are a motley crew, with different personalities and from various walks of life, counting among them a policeman, vehicle mechanic, handyman, polytechnic lecturer as well as two housewives, three retirees and two business and marketing executives.

They believe that care clowning is a form of diversion therapy that can help heal one’s body and spirit, especially if a person feels trapped in a predicament and loses the joy and happiness of living.

Housewife Ellen Toh, who has three children, is one of the four pioneer clowns in the group. The 61-year-old former teacher is “Tellie”, a clown who tells stories and carries a rubber chicken as part of her signature act.

Raed also: Terminally ill Sunderland fan, 5, wins goal of the month

The pioneer clowns met 13 years ago at a local clown camp and discovered they shared a desire to bring cheer to patients. Thus was the CCU born, available to organisations that need their special brand of TLC.

“After more than a decade of walking the wards as a clown, I have come to realise it is not a one-way traffic of dispensing cheer,” said Madam Toh.

Seeing the children’s steely resolve in times of great discomfort, their innocence and smiles despite their pain, as well as the unconditional love of their caregivers, inspires the volunteers and constantly reminds them to count their blessings.

“Life is a two-way carriageway of give and take, hope and despair, joy and sadness, laughter and tears,” Madam Toh added.

Caring for a mother with dementia, she understands the challenges of a caregiver and being a clown reminds her to face each new day with humour and courage.

Besides its KKH gig, the group also does clowning at birthdays, a tie-up with Star Pals (Paediatric Advance Life Support) – a palliative service dedicated to improving the quality of life for seriously ill children in the comfort of their homes.

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2017-03-20 15:18:20

Photo Gallery

Volunteer clowns bring joy to sick kids at KK Women’s and Children Hospital

Source:

The Straits Times

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A child with a terminal illness is sometimes not even aware of what is going on, so it is often those around them who draw comfort from the clowning.

“It’s sad to know that the child may be celebrating his or her last birthday, but I try my best to sing, dance and bring colour to the party and smiles to the caregivers. I hope our presence will give the families some nice memories,” said Ms Tan Shumin, who at 26 is the youngest member of CCU and the one who handles administrative matters.

CCU has also worked with The Boys’ Brigade, Institute of Mental Health, Melrose Home Children’s Aid Society, Society for the Physically Disabled and Saint Andrew’s Community Hospital, among other groups.

Where CCU does not clown about is in its conduct and training. Because the unit’s work concerns mainly children, senior members take great care in running background checks on interested applicants, observing them for at least a year before they are allowed to become an official member.

Read also: A mother’s story with daughter’s terminal disease: ‘I couldn’t accept this’

They are conscientious about adhering to the rules and regulations of the facilities they visit, and members take maximum precaution to minimise the risk of spreading disease. For instance, they are not allowed to take up assignments if they are not feeling well or suspect they may have a virus.

It is the member’s responsibility to attend all training conducted by CCU and be committed to practice. Everyone must be able to perform a minimum of five magic tricks with a selected theme or storyline, produce a minimum of three balloon figures within 10 minutes and juggle a minimum of three objects for at least a minute. Members are also expected to conduct their own research and practice in addition to the official training.

To hone their skills, seven of them are headed to Bangkok for an international clown convention organised by the World Clown Association at the end of the month.

Because they just had to, the group came up with “the 10 Clownmandments” when they first came together. Pinned to the noticeboard in the volunteers’ room at KKH, members read each statement aloud before they go to the wards. The first Clownmandment declares “I clown because I care”, and – in their firm conviction that laughter is the best medicine – they seriously do.

VIDEO

The Caring Clowns from Through the Lens on Vimeo.

This article was first published on Mar 20, 2017.
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