NKF and Ren Ci charity fraud case had definitely left a deep impression in Singaporeans which made many felt cheated and disappointed. Thinking that the hard earned money they donated to NKF, did not went straight to the needy but to T.T Durai to buy a gold tap and to lead a luxurious life really anger them. The always humble venerable MingYi of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre was also involved in fraud, forgery and giving false information. Although both cases have tone down, Singaporeans have already lost confidence in Charity organizations and are not so willing to make donations anymore. From what I have read online, many Singaporeans have stopped their monthly donations to charity organizations. Furthermore, Youth Challenge, the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association and the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped were also hit by riveting controversies involving murky practices and misspent funds. Thus I truly can understand why Singaporeans have become so wary and stop their donations.
I think Singaporeans making fewer donations can pose a problem to our society. Although the management of charity organizations is at fault, the needy under them are innocent and they still need donations from us to survive. So if we stop donating, then what will happen to these innocent people? Thus, I think we can do a project on how can charity organizations be more effective to help the needy people. The NKF case had revealed that only 10 cents in every donation dollar go to patients. This goes to show that charity organizations are ineffective in making use of the donations. By finding what how can charity organizations be more effectively help the needy also mean that we can find out ways they can do to bring back the confidence level and make Singaporeans more willing to donate. Therefore a attitudinal survey enable us to know what is keeping Singaporeans from donating and what they think charity organizations should do to bring back the donations.
All in all, I feel that the society is facing a problem because charity organizations are leaving a bad impression of not being effective and honest when making use of the donations. This is leading to a smaller amount of donation which in the end, the ones that suffer are those that are in pain and need help. The objective of the study is to find out how charity organizations can operate to bring back the confidence level of Singaporeans to donate while our report will show some feasible solutions to this.
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4 comments:
hi,
I think that the topic you propose is a good topic and a very relevant one to our singapore society.
As for me, I am one of the many that have not been donating to charitable societies since the NKF incident. Some of the things holding me back are:
1) Organizations like media corp and Singtel which sponsor the sms donation obviously makes a profit by from every sms sent, cant remember, 30 to 50 cents per call or sms? The profit margin is actually very high, and i find it ridiculous that they would seek to profit from the kindness of others.
2) I have the feeling: You are forced to donate if you watch. Actors and Singers constantly ask for donations towards the performance, usually behaving in a excessively expressive manner. Videos and pictures are played to feel you feel pity and sympathy for the patients, a kind of visual illusion to manipulate and take advantage of your emotions.
3)The public is not given information of the distribution of the money collected. To make things worse, year after year, the target collected amount rises, like a game to keep breaking new limits.
4)Charitable organizations have shown to the public their degree of transparency and broken the faith and trust of the public.
As can be seen, I am very negative about charitable organizations. It doesn't matter if some of the reasons i have are not true. As long as I feel that they are true, i will continue to be turned off by such organizations.
This is a very challenging and interesting topic you propose, I would very much like to see the feasible solutions you would have to changing the general opinion of the public, especially people as negative as me. =)
Hi Mongshi,
I think the topic you proposed is a very interesting topic worthed debating.
I find that what Jiawei commented on the Singtel part is very true. Also, these charitable organisations have broken our faith and trust for them in the management of our donations.
But what I would like to touch on is whether we are donating for the patients or are we donating to the organisation. It is true that the videos and pictures played actually brings out our empathy for the patients. But I do really believe this is what the patients are really going through, and they really deserve our sympathy. Also, what the artistes of Mediacorp did is to put in their effort to bring up a good show and help in this charity program. It may be true that they are manipulating our emotions, but I guess its for the good and to help the less fortunate?
I trust in the Singapore government in uncovering such wrongful acts and also think that such recent episodes being uncovered is actually a good thing as this can be a sign to other organisations that if they do it, they will be caught.
Finally, what I think will bring back the confidence of donor is to be fully transparent with the money in the organisation.
Dear Mong Shi,
The issue involving the managements in Singapore's charity organizations is worth researching. I am sure many kind-hearted souls are concerned about this. If we could come up with feasible model like you proposed, the less fortunate will benefit fully from those organizations.
Perhaps, you can draw up feasible suggestions such that the management of donation can be fair and justifiable. With regard to the media and other negativity portrayed on charity, a powerful authority might be needed to oversee all activities by organization. Although this will certainly increase the confidence in making generous contribution, it would take much effort for this to succeed. How do you think we can achieve this?
I truly hope we can find solutions to these problems so that the less fortunate people can truly benefit.
Hi Mongshi,
This is quite an interesting topic you have chosen. Indeed, I feel that we Singaporeans are donating less as a whole because of these unpleasant episodes. At the same time, there have been voices asking for better transparency and clarity as to how our donations are being managed.
I remember the day NKF got embroiled in the corruption scandal. Prior to that case, Singaporeans were taking things for granted, that their donations would be all be used for the benefit of needy kidney patients. Now that the myth is busted, we can see more organizations explaining their operations. This can only be good for the citizens of Singapore, and I believe this is the best way to instill confidence back in Singaporeans with our charitable organisations.
However, I urge you to look deeper into the problem. Is there something fundamentally wrong with our government policies that allow these organizations to stray? In my opinion, we need to start setting up some form of social welfare to help the needy instead of relying on only the independent charities. My hypothesis is that the organizations think that the needy MUST rely on their help, and are therefore confident of getting donations without too much auditing. Our society cannot survive without their existence, otherwise our poor and needy will not receive enough aid from the rich. Perhaps our survey should also seek people's opinion on other plausible ways to help the needy.
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