As community animal rescuers, the volunteers of HOPE Dog Rescue are often approached by members of the public for help to feed and care for stray dogs.
This made a recent encounter with a foreign worker extra touching, after he approached them at one of their stray feeding sessions and offered to donate towards their food supplies so that the dogs near the factory where he works once a week could be fed in his absence.
Aware that the S$10 was the worker’s hard-earned money, the volunteers initially told him to keep it for himself, but he insisted that they take it.
In a heartfelt Facebook post, HOPE Dog Rescue said: “This was the first time that a worker had approached us to offer us money… He badly wanted us to accept his money and feed the doggies on his behalf.
“As he spoke, tears began welling up in his eyes. We also started sniffling and tearing when we saw that, so we accepted his scrunched up $10 note with much gratitude.”
For the unsung heroes who care for Singapore’s forgotten street animals, it was a chance meeting that renewed their faith and dedication to the cause. Addressing the anonymous worker, the group said: “Thank you for reminding us of the existence of kindness in this sometimes harsh and cruel world.”
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Schoolkids rush to help free boy trapped under a car
Branson Ong was walking to the MRT station with his friends after lunch when they noticed a commotion by the road along Geylang East Ave 1.
A crowd had gathered around a car and the reason became apparent as the group of friends approached the scene.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, 12-year-old Ong recalled: “As we got nearer, we saw a hand sticking out from under the car, and heard someone crying and screaming in pain.”
A nine-year-old boy was pinned under the vehicle, and there were three passers-by working together to try and lift the car so he could be freed. Along with his friends Jose Alexander and Lin Yu Jie, Branson abandoned his schoolbag and rushed forward to help, while another friend, Megan Seow, borrowed a mobile phone to call for an ambulance.
Following their combined effort, the boy was eventually freed and taken conscious to the hospital.
For their heroics, the group of seven were commended by the SCDF, but Branson remained humble about the part he played as a community first responder.
He said: “At the time, I didn’t know I’d get an award. I just went forward to help without expecting much.”
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Restaurant owner distributes blankets to Singapore’s homeless amid cold weather
While others gleefully embraced the unusually cool weather in mid January, restaurant owner Francis Ng found himself worrying for the homeless after noticing that an elderly man was shivering while trying to sleep in Chinatown.
Ng told The Straits Times: “The weather is very cold… All these old people, those who fall through the cracks and are homeless, they are shivering.”
Moved to help, Ng decided to buy and distribute more than 100 blankets to these individuals around Tiong Bahru, Redhill and Toa Payoh.
He was not the only good Samaritan looking out for those who were vulnerable to the cold, as similar calls for people to donate blankets emerged on social media, including by Aldersgate Methodist Church and activist Gilbert Goh.
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Young man protects woman from being harassed on bus
An evening bus ride took a disturbing turn for one Yong Jie, after he noticed an older male commuter standing next to a female passenger and asking her intrusive questions.
Posting on Reddit under the alias StrokeOfLife, Yong Jie recalled that the male commuter was persistently asking questions, like where did she live and whether she would go out with him on weekends.
Yong Jie gestured to ask if she was OK, to which she eventually shook her head in response. Alarmed and hoping to help her out of the situation without confrontation, he mouthed for her to alight at the next stop with him. Unfortunately, the older man followed behind her.
As he was physically weakened from suffering a stroke a few years ago, Yong Jie, who is in his 20s, confessed that he was “shaking with fear” over what he could do next. He said in the post: “I was so scared, too, afraid that he would attack me and I couldn’t defend myself.”
Despite this, he decided to walk closely behind the older man in a bid to scare him off. The tactic worked, and the latter eventually walked off on his own. Yong Jie then escorted the lady to board another bus safely.
While his post attracted overwhelming support, several commentators felt that he could have landed both himself and the lady in danger by alighting from the bus.
In a subsequent update, Yong Jie explained that he felt that the priority at the moment was to separate the lady from the male commuter.
He also encouraged victims of harassment to speak out instead of staying silent out of fear, and for bystanders to step up if they suspect that someone is being harassed.
“I hope we can help each other out when we see someone in distress.”