According to a 2019 study, Singapore has about 1,000 homeless people, most of them elderly Chinese males. (Photo supplied)
No matter whether it is the cold winter, hot summer or wet monsoon season, a group of volunteers venture out on the streets of Singapore every Friday evening and look for homeless people sleeping rough in the city-state.
The volunteers from Catholic Welfare Services (CWS) provide the poor souls with snacks — a soft drink and a bun — and then walk or sit with them for a conversation to learn about their painful life stories.
Days before Christmas, volunteers met with dozens of homeless in various places in Singapore to offer a bag with gifts that contained among other things a T-shirt, masks, biscuits and daily essentials.
“The volunteers don’t judge them or seek to solve their problems, but with a compassionate and open heart they listen to their stories of suffering and joy,” said Victoria Lim, one of the volunteers.
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