Issue 23 Jul/Aug 2019
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ISSUE 23 JUL/AUG 2019 HAPPY FACES, LIVELY SPACES Sights and Scenes of HDB Community Week 2019 00 HDB Newsletter Cover July2019 V1.indd 7 5/8/19 6:23 PM EDITORIAL ADVISERS ISSUE 23 JUL/AUG 2019 Eileen Neo, Shivvonne Wong, CONTENTS Tan Xiao Rong, Peh Yang Yu, Keegan Lim Dear Readers, PUBLISHING AGENT Welcome to a brand new edition of Life Storeys! We have revamped the ThinkFarm Pte Ltd publication as part of our continued efforts to bring you better content. Taking centre stage this issue is the annual HDB Community Week. In Managing Director Talk of the Town, look out for the event highlights, which included Christopher Tay fascinating exhibitions and community-bonding activities held islandwide Editor for residents to enjoy. Dang Hui Ling Around the Block shines the spotlight on long-standing and new establishments in Ang Mo Kio, as well as noteworthy street art in the area. Designers Also in this section, find out more about how Temasek Polytechnic students Lee Lily, Melissa Poon organised the inaugural Silver Fitness and Wellness Carnival as part of HDB Community Week to promote active ageing! Contributors Ahmad Iskandar, Fiona Chen, Be inspired by stories of our Good Neighbour Award 2019 recipients in Audrina Gan, Justin Loh, Kelly Loh, Our Life Stories. Check out the record-breaking collage jointly completed Eddie Teo, Cheryl Sim by both the young and old at this year’s Broom It! Day! Singapore’s “Spice Queen” Chef Devagi Sanmugam shares cooking tips and endearing traits of Client Relationship her neighbourhood in Yishun. Jessie Kek In Livin’ It Up, we introduce the key differences between the two most Life Storeys is a quarterly important Islamic festivals celebrated in Singapore, Hari Raya Puasa and community publication by the Hari Raya Haji. Housing & Development Board, Last but not least, stand a chance to win shopping vouchers by participating bringing you stories and happenings in our Readers’ Quiz at http://hdb.gov.sg/lifestoreys! from your neighbourhood. Join us in creating a gracious and harmonious We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Life Storeys. living environment for all! You can The Editorial Team also access the electronic version at http://hdb.gov.sg/lifestoreys or scan the QR code below. TALK OF THE TOWN 01 Building Bonds, Sharing Joy 01 Copyright ©2019 AROUND THE BLOCK 06 Out and About in Housing & Development Board All rights reserved. No part of Ang Mo Kio this material may be reproduced 08 Getting Seniors to or transmitted in any form or Embrace Active Ageing 08 by any means. OUR LIFE STORIES 10 Sparking Joy This publication is printed on 12 The Spice of Life FSC™-certified paper. The paper 14 Extraordinary Spirits choice and printing methods are green and environmentally friendly, leaving behind a smaller LIVIN’ IT UP 14 carbon footprint. 16 Hari Raya Celebrations Printed by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd 00 IFC Content v2.indd 14 6/8/19 3:22 PM Talk of the Town BUILDING BONDS, SHARING INTO ITS EIGHTH YEAR, HDB COMMUNITY WEEK 2019 CELEBRATES THE EVER-GROWING SPIRIT OF NEIGHBOURLINESS Building Bonds, Sharing Joy AND VOLUNTEERISM IN THE HEARTLANDS. Joy Themed “Celebrating LIFE in the Heartlands”, HDB Community Week 2019 was held from 25 May to 2 June. Being in a This year’s event showcased the rich tapestry of local heritage, modern kampung residents’ contributions towards improving their living spaces like this goes and the lives of others, and the strong community spirit of volunteerism that prevails in the heartlands. well beyond having facilities To reach out to communities across Singapore, the HDB at our doorsteps. Community Week kicked off at Kampung Admiralty in It is really all about Woodlands on 25 May, before bringing its activities to various towns including Bedok and Punggol. Guest- relationships — the people, the of-Honour Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and friendly neighbours and the Family Development and Second Minister for National warmth of the community. Development, praised Kampung Admiralty as a choice – MR DESMOND LEE, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL AND location due to its comprehensive range of facilities that FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AND SECOND MINISTER FOR promotes active ageing and intergenerational bonding. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 01 01-05 Talk of the town v3.indd 1 6/8/19 2:43 PM 02 01-05 Talk of the town v3.indd 2 5/8/19 6:21 PM Talk of the Town Partnering The Community To foster gracious and harmonious living in the neighbourhoods, HDB has been championing All smiles for the Build-a-thon winners volunteerism and community partnerships under its Friends of Our Heartlands (FOH) network since its launch Building Bonds in 2017. As part of the Community Week festivities, the Another highlight of HDB Community Week was the FOH Appreciation Ceremony was held to honour over prize presentation for the winners of Build-a-thon (BAT) 760 volunteers as well as 33 schools and organisations that 2019, an ideation challenge involving the community have played an active role in enlivening community spaces to propose and co-implement innovative solutions to and building neighbourly ties over the past year. create friendly and lively neighbourhoods using the HDB Friendly Faces, Lively Places (FFLP) Fund. This In addition, seven local companies under Project year’s BAT saw the largest participation yet, with 80 SPHERE (Students, Singapore Pools and HDB Enriching participants comprising residents from Sembawang and and Reaching out to the Elderly) were accorded Woodlands, and students from Republic Polytechnic. certificates of appreciation for their generous funding of Project SPHERE initiatives, such as spring cleaning of The three winning groups, Team Hydroglen, Team rental flats [see page 10]. Konnectorize and Sembawang Rangers, received $2,500 each, while Team Hydroglen also won the “Best Social Among the volunteers honoured was Mr Pradip Media” award for their success in engaging young Mandal, 45. Despite his busy schedule as a project families through their social media page. For manager, Pradip has always found time for volunteering. Sembawang Rangers, their BAT project transformed His volunteering stints include organising events at an underutilised Residents’ Corner into a vibrant HDB’s Town Squares for residents’ enjoyment and community venue that can nurture stronger bonds facilitating workshops for residents to conceptualise between families and neighbours. new neighbourhood enhancements — an upcoming playground at Tembusu Park, for example. “It was a Since the revamp, pleasure helping the residents with the thought processes involved in designing their own playgrounds,” he said. birthday celebrations Pradip’s volunteering journey, along with the stories and family of six other outstanding individuals and groups, were featured as part of the HDB Community Week exhibition gatherings have at Kampung Admiralty. A pop-up photobooth and an been held at the interactive multimedia wall for residents to pen down Residents’ Corner. their messages were also installed for visitors to find out more about the FOH network. – MR DARREN YEO, 28, SEMBAWANG RANGERS’ TEAM LEADER All eight projects were displayed at the HDB Community Week exhibition, where visitors could learn more about each team’s BAT journey from project conceptualisation to implementation. A friendly community chatbot known as Aunty Mary was also present to answer the public’s queries on the FFLP Fund to encourage more residents to take up place-making initiatives. 03 01-05 Talk of the town v3.indd 3 6/8/19 2:43 PM Fun For All Ages Besides the FOH and BAT segments, the HDB Community Week exhibition also featured replicas of interesting landmarks in the heartlands for visitors to learn more about, including a mini dinosaur slide representing Fu Shan Garden’s dinosaur-shaped play structures. It proved to be popular with young visitors, with children revelling in the joy of sliding down the dinosaur’s back. An interactive screen was also available for residents to experience a 360-degree virtual tour of other popular spots in the estate, such as Marsiling Point, Causeway Point and Woodlands Mart. Residents also took the opportunity to snap selfies in front of replicated 3D trick eye wall murals that can be found in other heartland areas such as Chinatown and Ang Mo Kio. 04 01-05 Talk of the town v3.indd 4 5/8/19 6:21 PM Talk of the Town Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, with the GNA recipients and their nominators Everyday Heroes Rose. In spite of her age, she takes care of other elderly With beams of natural light filtering in and a beautiful neighbours by frequently visiting them, sharing food and view of the Punggol Waterway Park as backdrop, the inviting them to community events. mood at the Oasis Terraces Community Plaza was festive as the Good Neighbour Award (GNA) Ceremony got Aunty Rose grew close with her neighbour Ms Lim Mei underway on 1 June 2019. Held in conjunction with Cheng after the latter’s father was hospitalised. Besides HDB Community Week 2019, the seventh edition of paying him regular visits, Aunty Rose helped the Lims the GNA continued to recognise residents who have keep an eye on their house whenever Ms Lim was at gone the extra mile to enrich their community through the hospital to see her dad. “Sometimes I also buy his exemplary acts of care and neighbourliness. favourite foods like chee cheong fun and fried bee hoon from Chinatown,” shared Aunty Rose. This year, a record number of over 3,000 nominations were received. At the award ceremony, Guest-of- [see page 14 for more on the GNA recipients] Honour Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, said, “Often, it is the ordinary things that impact people in the most extraordinary ways.