- 2 days ago
While still in university, Hazeem started The Signpost Collective to offer street sellers in Singapore something they rarely received — genuine connection. What began as simple street-side chats has since grown into a meaningful community of young volunteers offering friendship, regular check-ins, and practical support across Singapore — proving that sometimes, all it takes is a simple hello.
Young Minds is a series about youths in Singapore making an impact in their own unique ways.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Young Minds is a series about youths in Singapore making an impact in their own unique ways.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00I feel that a small interaction can have the most profound impact on someone's life.
00:05Hi, I'm Hazim. I'm the founder of The Signpost Collective,
00:08and we befriend the informal street sellers in Singapore.
00:15Hey, where's Hazim?
00:17Sorry, we're a bit late.
00:18No, it's okay. No worries, no worries.
00:19Yeah, I think I was just checking the database.
00:21I think we should just check in on Auntie Florence, her well-being, her family,
00:24and then afterwards just checking on Uncle C's housing situation as well.
00:28The Signpost Collective is a non-profit organisation
00:31that looks after the informal street sellers in Singapore.
00:33So currently, we look after 12 districts in Singapore.
00:36So for example, Clementi, Amokyo, Tempinis, Bedok, and other districts.
00:42We look after about 120 of them in Singapore right now.
00:46The Signpost Collective started in 2019,
00:49and it came about because I'm a very Kepo person.
00:53And I remember I was studying around Clementi Mall.
00:56I saw a lot of tissue sellers, and I realised that they were very familiar faces,
01:01but I was not familiar with their stories.
01:03And so I just went around asking about their lives,
01:06and realised that quite a few of them felt that they were unsupported,
01:09that they had no one to turn to, sometimes just by life circumstances.
01:14So there's this one very personal story.
01:16One of the street sellers, in fact, shared about his family,
01:21how he was supporting his kids through school.
01:23But unfortunately, his wife was laid off,
01:25and so he became the sole breadwinner while selling tissue.
01:29During that transition phase, it was a very, very difficult time.
01:32He just told me,
01:33Hazim, you're the only friend I can tell this to.
01:38And I feel that for a lot of street sellers,
01:41sometimes they don't really have anyone they can turn to
01:43to share their stories, to share their struggle.
01:47It makes a huge difference to relieve the burden that they feel alone.
01:51And yes, it starts with hearing.
01:58And seeing that there was this gap,
01:59a bunch of friends and I, we decided to start the Signpost project.
02:03And now, currently, as a registered entity, the Signpost Collective.
02:07So we act as a signpost for them.
02:10For any of the issues that they face,
02:12we befriend them, we communicate with them,
02:14and then we live with the relevant agencies
02:15to provide the relevant social support system that they need.
02:22So the Signpost Collective does runs,
02:23and runs basically as our own version of walkabouts.
02:26And we do these runs weekly, sometimes even twice a week,
02:30just to be able to get a sense of the issues
02:32and sentiments of our street sellers.
02:34Usually, what happens in our first conversation with a street seller,
02:38of course, is not to go into two personal issues,
02:40or even just to pry into their problems.
02:42It's really to get to know them, to make them feel comfortable.
02:45If they don't feel like talking that day,
02:46maybe they're in a bad mood, that's perfectly fine.
02:49More importantly is that they know that once a week,
02:52someone is out there checking in on them.
02:56Right now, we'll be meeting Aunty Florence with Nova for quite some time.
03:00In fact, she's not one of your usual tissue sellers.
03:02She sells artworks.
03:03And every time we meet her, she's always ready to greet us
03:06with her bubbly personality and all her good jokes.
03:13Hello Aunty Florence!
03:14Eh, hello my girl!
03:16Hey Aunty!
03:17Hannah is our volunteer from the Signpost project.
03:20She's been here at the West team for about two years.
03:23How are you with Aunty Florence?
03:24I'm fine. I'm good.
03:27You're painting a panda?
03:28Oh yes!
03:29You can see that I paint a mother,
03:31bear carrying a baby,
03:33and this one is another baby.
03:35That's very cute!
03:36Yeah.
03:37So the mother is concentrating on the youngest one.
03:40Then this one says,
03:41Hey, Mummy!
03:42Anything to help?
03:43No, I can help.
03:44I'm a je-jeh or koko.
03:47So my relationship with Aunty Florence is
03:51like family.
03:52Like she's always looked after me.
03:55She likes to give me life advice.
03:57She likes to tease me.
03:59Yeah, and at first she was kind of scary
04:01because she like always had a lot of opinions
04:03and a strong mindset.
04:05But then after a while,
04:06after she made enough jokes with me,
04:07I think we got close,
04:09and I really enjoyed coming to see her on my weekends.
04:15So I want to earn some more money,
04:17not because of my greediness,
04:19because I want to prepare for my retiree.
04:22I've not been working a lot.
04:24Only for seven years, officially.
04:26And then I got the CPF only for seven years.
04:30Then recently, I'm sick.
04:31I went for my operation, my scan.
04:34I have to pay $8,000 out for my pocket.
04:37As you know, I'm born here as a dwarf,
04:39and I use a lot of my hip, my hip muscle,
04:43my hip bones to walk.
04:45It's like wear and tear,
04:48and I have to go for my hip bone replacement.
04:50So during that period of time,
04:52I was in the hospital,
04:54and this poor girl couldn't find me.
04:57So she called me,
04:58and she realised that I was in the hospital,
05:00and she came to visit me with her friend.
05:03After that, it's like tsunami.
05:06One shot swept away all my saving.
05:10I don't want to rely on anyone.
05:11I want to depend on myself.
05:13Yeah, because I'm born in this way,
05:17I don't because look at me in this very useless kind.
05:21I think Auntie Florence has taught me a lot about
05:24what it means to be resilient,
05:25and what it means to face challenges in life head on.
05:28Because I think she's had a lot of challenges
05:31that she's faced very bravely.
05:32So I think that's something that I've taken away,
05:34and I've learned from her how to be brave,
05:36and how to be strong.
05:38She's such a lovely girl.
05:40I wish she was my daughter.
05:51Thanks for joining the regional quarantine meeting
05:54this afternoon, guys.
05:55In Woodlands,
05:56we have been seeing an increasing number of street sellers as well.
06:00So right now we have about 20 to 30 volunteers,
06:03and we have about 10 people in the core team.
06:06So we find volunteers through multiple channels.
06:08The first one would be formal volunteering organisations.
06:11Second, we also find volunteers through formal school partnerships.
06:15The third would be with public volunteers
06:18who will come and sign up through our website,
06:21as well as our other social media platforms,
06:22for example Facebook and Instagram.
06:24We definitely encourage a lot more volunteers
06:28to come and join us on our runs.
06:30To be doing this for over six years,
06:33in a world of uncertainty,
06:34there's sometimes that sense of hopelessness.
06:36But talking to the street sellers,
06:39and being able to do what I can,
06:41even if it's a little thing that I can help them with,
06:43at least we can be that one friend,
06:45or that one person they can WhatsApp through
06:46if they have any issues.
06:51So my hope for the Simples Collective
06:54is that we are no longer needed, right?
06:57That you no longer need an organisation to spur conversations,
07:00to look out for the informal street sellers,
07:03or the vulnerable elderly in Singapore.
07:05You rely on neighbours to do that,
07:09to build that sense of community,
07:11to build that identity,
07:12that everyone is truly looking out for each other.
07:15And it's these interactions that makes life feel worth living.
07:19It makes you want to hope for the next day,
07:22that the future will be a bit brighter.
Recommended
1:23:25
|
Up next
49:56
32:32
44:13
43:00
22:41
45:22
1:04:52
2:36:47
4:42
29:58
1:07:18
1:38:17
1:58:25
1:15:07
19:55
2:49:15
1:40:55