Patchworks

Patchworks is a special project committee of Nanyang Technological University- Welfare Services Club. Led by a group of passionate undergraduates, Patchworks launched a series of social entrepreneurship ventures targeting to amend social perceptions of the different aspects of society and to encourage social cohesiveness.

Patchworks is currently working on projects with the elderly and seniors of our society. For more information on Patchworks' projects, please visit Patchworks Official Website.

Following the success of Patchwork of Flavours, Patchworks is proud to present to you our new publication, Patchwork of Reminiscences!

7th December 2009
Student Care Service, Hougang Centre

The marriage of the steaming hot mouth watering curry chicken with the legendary fried bee hoon was certainly a taste etched in our memories.

However, what even more memorable was the process of cooking the dishes taught by two AWWA seniors who are Mdm Cheong and Mdm Lee to the youths from Student Care Service at its Hougang branch.

With the passion to learn cooking, the youths were quick to follow the instructions and picked up various cooking skills taught by the energetic seniors, both in their golden years.

It was a harrowing event when the youngest of the lot picked up the peeler. He was so vigorous with his newfound tool that we were worried for his safety! To our surprise, he showed amazing dexterity. The finely peeled potatoes bore silent testimony to this young cook’s skill. During the session, the youths had their cutting, slicing and even chopping skills put to the test, as they participated actively with the preparation. Interestingly, only one youth was courageous enough to manoeuvre such a huge chopper onto the chicken! It was really hilarious when all of us quickly and unabashedly made ourselves scarce when the chicken was being chopped, lest we end up in the same fate.

Even though all of us had met for the first time, there was an unprecedented level of cooperation. Everyone took on a fair share of the work, from the preparation of ingredients to cleaning up at the end of the session. Through this process, we forged new friendships and enjoyed ourselves.

After all the hard work under the guidance of experienced cooks, the result is simply delicious food!

When time seems to pass by us so hastily, don’t we sometimes wish that a moment - just a moment would stop for us? As we age and our memory deteriorates, who, what and which stages or incidents of our lives will we remember?

As a student volunteer for the project ‘Patchwork of Reminiscences’, I choose to write. Using text to the best I could to share and record the valuable learning points and reflections of the different elders I meet.

It was in the midst of the famous Ya Kun Coffee aroma that the graceful and ever-amiable Aunty Anna shared with me her life experiences. Similiarly to most elders that I had spoken before, Aunty Anna holds faint memories of incidents dated when she was a young girl. She may not remember many faces or names, but she confided in me that there was a scent she would never forget.

The scent of opium - A small but significant part of her life story.

I remembered vividly, the expression on Aunty Anna when she accounted to me how she grew up with the scent of opium. It was only on good days where her father could afford opium, could she own temporary tranquility in her home - no quarrels, no abuse, just the sweetish pungent smell filling the compound. To her father back at that point of time, that scent was a sweet escape from the harsh reality of being a larbourer. To the little girl, the scent was assuring. It assured that it would be a peaceful night ahead for the family. Ironically, she also resented the fact that the burning of those black poppy seeds was the cause of the hardships on her family – earning never enough to feed the addiction of her father then.

The conflicting emotions associated with the scent of opium reflects a stage of Aunty Anna’s life– her days spent running around in kampong, her difficult but precious childhood days. It occurs to me strongly then, how uncannily scents can evoke not just past memories but also, emotions.

It also made me wonder.

As Singapore experienced the rise of the opium syndicate in the mid-19th century to late 20th century, how many other families were affected by the trading of opium? How many other children had the same childhood “scent” with our dearest Aunty Anna? Fortunately, the situation took on a bright turn as the government passed a bill to extend the death penalty to all cocaine, cannabis and opium traffickers on 30th November 1989. The younger generation like myself, would probably never experience real opium or the scent of it.

But as the society evolves and with emerging of new occupations etc, what were the scents that replaced the scent of opium?

Is there such a scent that could pull strings close to your heart?

It is the scent of opium for Aunty Anna.

It is the light scent of the rain for me.

What about you?

It has been about a month since Patchworks’ event, “Patchwork of Flavours: Learning Recipes, Bridging Generations” on 28th June 2009 at Bukit Panjang Plaza. If you were there to support us, thank you very much and hope you’ve enjoyed the event as much as we did. If you weren’t able to make it, fret not as we are here to bring you the hottest report of the event!

Along with our Guest-of-Honour Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Patchworks presented our four beneficiaries: AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens, Kheng Chiu Loke Tin Kee Home, Geylang East Home for The Aged and Retired & Senior Volunteer Programme with the cheque of SGD10, 000.

Guest-of-Honour Mrs Yu-Foo presenting cheque to representatives of our beneficiaries

Energetic drums performance by Zhenghua Secondary School’s Drums Ensemble

Dance performance by South View Primary School’s Indian Dance

The event would not have been successful without the help of many people. Quoting Patchworks’ Vice Chairperson Daniel, “There were much groundwork and foundation that had to be laid. It would be hard for one to imagine the magnitude of the work that was needed to be done, nonetheless, we pulled it off with less than 2 months of planning. We were only able to plan and execute the event due to the dedication, perseverance and sacrifices of all involved.”

We would like to extend our utmost appreciation to our Guest-of-Honour Mrs Yu-Foo for gracing the event, members of NTU Students’ Affairs Office, Alumni Affairs Office and Corporate Communications Office for helping us in numerous ways in facilitating the entire project and event, and all our big-hearted sponsors for their generosity in sponsoring the event’s venue, goodie bag, freebies and lucky draw prizes! Also, not forgetting to show our gratitude to our performers who spiced up the event, and the dedicated beneficiaries for their kind support by setting up booths and engaging in the publicity efforts during the event.

Happy winners of our lucky draw prizes

Guest-of-Honour Mrs Yu-Foo presenting the Certificate of Appreciation to our performers

Most of all, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all supporters of Patchwork of Flavours-for believing in our cause and recognizing our efforts!

A Big Thank You!

I have enjoyed listening to stories ever since I was young. These stories, especially those of the past that are foreign to me, never fail to pique my interest. I get blown away by how storytellers bring their stories to life – the sparkle in their eyes as they unravel their plots, their animated hand gestures, and undulating tones. They are nothing short of amazing.

The love for such tales has led me to Ayer Rajah Daycare Centre, where I had the privilege to listen to Madam Tan Kwee Eng’s life story. I basked in excitement and anticipation as I waited patiently for her to reveal the intrinsic details of her eventful life.

Many events and experiences Madam Tan shared with us, but there was one area in her life that particularly grabbed my attention: Her first job as a rubber tapper.


Rubber Tapping - Image from the National Archives


In the early 19th century, there was a shift in focus from agriculture to manufacturing in Malaya. Malaya became one of the biggest exporters of rubber in the world, producing other raw materials such as palm oil and tin as well. This is due to the surge in demand for raw materials, which is essential for manufacturing industries in the West (For example, the mass production of automobiles which requires rubber for rubber tires). Hence being in the rubber tapping profession, Madam Tan was part of this move to push the economy to greater heights.

Madam Tan remembered the days when she had to be awake at 4A.M and set off for work, while most people were still in bed. She braved through the pebbled roads, the darkness, and of course the possible dangers she may face, being a young girl, travelling alone. Imagine how horrifying it must have been for her! I cringe at the thought of ever having to experience this.

Upon reaching the rubber plantation, Madam Tan started working on the trees assigned to her. With deft hands and steady skills to boot, Madam Tan was one of the conscientious rubber tappers who collected a good amount of latex by the end of the day. She used a tapping knife, specially designed to excise thin layers of bark. Before the tapping knife was invented, a small hatchet was used to tap rubber. http://www.malaysiaflora.com/Articles/tabid/55/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/13/A-Brief-History-on-Rubber-Tapping-in-Malaysia.aspx

As Madam Tan dwelled deeper into the minute details of rubber tapping, it dawned upon me that rubber tapping is an art. It requires patience and concentration. If the rubber tapper shears the bark too deeply, the tree would be damaged. On the other hand, if sheared too lightly, the latex would not flow out of the tree. This serves as a gentle reminder for me that in life, there have to be a balance of everything. Too much or too little of something would not benefit one in the long run.

Having heard about the fascinating details of the art of rubber tapping, I am inspired to learn more about this profession. Being a city dweller all my life, sheepishly, I have to admit that what Madam Tan shared was rather to new to me. Indeed, I have much to learn about things and places that stretch beyond the parameters of city life.

This sharing session has certainly been an enjoyable and enriching experience for me, and I hope it would be for you too when you read more about it in the Patchwork of Reminiscences.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 26th July 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/07/por-a-tale-of-rubber-tapping/

I’m Sean, a 24-year-old English Literature major from Nanyang Technological University. For “A Patchwork of Reminiscences”, I interviewed 77-year-old retired teacher, Mabel Chew.

I can vaguely remember a time when not everybody had a hand-phone. To me Singapore has always been an eminently safe country, safe to walk anywhere at all times of the day. My closest brush with war is watching Channel News Asia report on America’s Middle Eastern Campaign. Not so for Mabel.

Mabel was born in Singapore in the year 1932, and lived through the Japanese occupation as a child. She remembers vividly the night bombs fell on Singapore, the thundering sounds of buildings getting blown up. She recalls a time when girls shaved their heads and bound their chests in fear of getting raped by Japanese soldiers. She recalls the dismembered heads Japanese soldiers put on spikes to serve as warning, a time everyone in Singapore lived in constant fear.

During our four-hour conversation, I got to know Mabel very well, got to hear her whole life’s story. As Mabel narrates the life she’s led- as a teacher, a wife, mother and finally grandmother- she describes a Singapore unrecognisable from the one I know. I feel almost nostalgic for a past I never lived.

And that’s why her story is important, why all their stories are. Only in them can we discover and explore a time and place that is forever lost, that exists only in these stories.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 24th July 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/07/patchworks-why-tales-from-old-people/