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NGO PERSPECTIVES for Full Participation and Equality

japanese

Singapore

AT THE OSAKA FORUM IN OCT 2002

Patric Ang Thiam Leong
Hon Asst Secretary, Handicaps Welfare Association

SECTION A-TO EVALUATE THE PROGRESSES OF THE DECADE IN SINGAPORE BY HANDICAPS WELFARE ASSOCIATION

Since the UN Decade of Disabled Persons was launched in April 1993, Singapore has come a long way and much progress has been made in many areas; in economic, social and technological advances. Such progress has also benefited the Singapore NGOs as well as people with disabilities as a whole.

As NGO, we could see that the Singapore Government has played a more proactive and supportive role in uplifting the lives of people with disabilities and helping to integrate them into mainstream society. The Singapore Council of Social Service took on a new name, i.e. National Council of Social Service"with a new vision and mission, all with the aid of developing the social service sector to greater height.

The social service system in Singapore is based on a"many helping hands"approach with the government moving away from direct service to a more facilitating and enabling role. Today, help for the disadvantaged and distressed is met by civic-minded individuals and organisations. The range of services today is largely provided by the voluntary sector with greater resource allocation from the government than in the past. The social service sector today reaches not only the vulnerable and needy who continue to remain a priority, but increasingly to those in mainstream society.

There has been a concerted effort taken to involve numerous NGOs in Singapore to come together to network, share experiences, pool resources and work together for the common good of people with disabilities. Initiated by both the government and NGOs, more such sharing sessions and joint working relationship are held. Most importantly, feedback and evaluation of services/programmes provided were critically assessed and evaluated for further improvements.

The entry of other organisations in the social service sector such as the Community Development Councils has somewhat changed the social landscape. The CDCs and other ethnic self-help groups are fast spreading their influence.

Unlike some countries, Singapore does not have legislation for people with disabilities. Nevertheless, governmental support and other measures to facilitate the growth of a vibrant community and voluntary sector have sparked significant improvements in various areas. ; be they accessibility, transportation, education, employment, etc. The Handicaps Welfare Association, for instance, was often called upon by building professionals and building developers to conduct survey of buildings on accessibility. Though the Association is not the approving body, its comments have a weightage. This clearly reflects the importance which the governmental authorities have demonstrated in wanting to see Singapore developed into a truly accessible place.

Ten years ago, there were very few disabled people (especially those using wheelchairs) who dared to venture out on Singapore streets. This was because most of the roads, buildings, housing estates, places of interest, etc were inaccessible. But over the years, things have changed and today, the people with disabilities could commute from one place to another quite easily. This is not to say that every place in Singapore is accessible but at least, the disabled who use wheelchair could travel to many places. All new public housing estates are now accessible and a wheelchair user can commute without any assistance. The existing Mass Rapid Transit system will be fully accessible by year 2005. The Singapore Government has allocated over S$80 million dollars to retrofit all existing train stations to make them accessible to people on wheelchairs by providing lifts, ramps, etc.

Disabled who could drive using special hand-controlled gadget, are given special incentives to own a vehicle of their own. They do not have to pay for additional registration fee and certificate of entitlement fees which could save them, about $40 to $50 thousand dollars. Such incentives have helped many disabled to acquire their own vehicles and thus solve their commuting problem. Many disabled people are now able to find jobs in the open market because of their enhanced mobility.

In the area of education, the Singapore Government has ensured that disabled students are not deprived of an education by building accessible schools all over the Republic. For instance, because of mobility problem, students residing in the eastern part of the island would have a school suitable for them in the vicinity. In the past, most schools were rather inaccessible and if there were, these are few and far. As a result, many disabled children have to forgo their education, especially if they belong to families in the lower income group. All these improvement in accessibility was largely due to the revisions of the"Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility in Buildings."in 1995 and again in 2002. The Handicaps Welfare Association has worked closely with the Building Control Authority and the Singapore Institute of Architects on the two revisions to the Code Book.

To encourage building professionals and developers to be more"accessibility-minded, the Handicaps Welfare Association and Singapore Institute of Architects have periodically organised formal events to recognise the best handicapped friendly buildings in Singapore. The publicity generated on the award helped to instill not only a greater awareness on the need for accessibility features but also provide role models for other building professionals/developers to emulate.

NGOs, such as HWA, have focused to empower people with disabilities with the essential skills and physical capabilities to contribute their part to the society. We provided bursaries and scholarships to deserving disabled people to pursue higher education. Those already employed are encouraged to pursue life-long learning in order to remain employable for life. Prizes were awarded to those who took up the challenges as an incentive and a model for others to emulate.

Our Association is now working with the National Council of Social Service to revise the Access booklet. The Access booklet provides details of buildings, places of interest, hotels, etc which are accessible to people with disabilities. It is especially useful to foreign disabled tourists who may want to have instant information on accessible places in Singapore.

In Singapore, many new rehabilitation centres have sprung up all over the island over the past decade. Disabled people, including the frail elderly, are able to gain access to such centres located within a short distance from their residences. Such rehabilitation centres are operated and managed by government hospitals, VWOs and private organisations. The Handicaps Welfare Association provides rehabilitation services to its disabled members as well as the community at large and the fees are highly subsidized to make it affordable for all. We believe that someone with a disability should undergo periodic rehab service to improve or at least, maintain their bodily and limb movements. Ten years ago, there was a lack of rehab facilities in Singapore and many disabled are deprived of such services.

As Singapore advanced into the technological age, more and more NGOs are encouraging people with disabilities to use assistive devices in their activities of daily living as well as learning tools to improve their skills and employability. HWA has worked closely with the Inforcomm Development Authority of Singapore, various polytechnics and institutions of higher learning, to open up infinite opportunities and empowerment to people with disabilities to the world of information technology. The rapid advances in technology has and will impact on information sharing and service delivery in social services.

SECTION B-TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUES AND PROBLEMS OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FULL PARTICIPATION AND EQUALITY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY

  1. As a VWO serving people with physical disabilities, we would like to see the transportation system fully accessible to us. Though the train system is accessible, the public buses are not accessible. A disabled on wheelchair who alights at a train system would still have difficulty commuting to his home. Traveling by taxis is the next possible option but they are not only beyond the means of many disabled but also unreliable. Train and public buses operate on fixed schedule route at specific timing and are definitely a better choice.

  2. There is still some prejudice in Singapore with regard to the employment of people with disabilities. Employers tend to prefer non-disabled over disabled applicants, given everything being equal. Employers also are not prepared to provide special facilities for the disabled workers.

  3. There will be more educated disabled Singaporeans and this will mean some implications on social services. The services provided will have to be continuously upgraded to meet the needs for higher standards of professionalism. Increasingly, there will be public concern about the use of funds donated to social service. There are already signs of donor fatigue. There is therefore a need to build stronger funder-funded or donor-agency relationships.

  4. As an organisation run by the disabled themselves, the Handicaps Welfare Association has to look beyond its immediate leadership by bringing in new blood into the management committee. Otherwise, the progress of the Association may be impeded and services provided may stagnate or deteriorate.

SECTION C-BASIC INFORMATION OF SINGAPORE CONCERNING PWDs

B1. As a VWO serving people with physical disabilities, we would like to see the transportation system fully accessible to us. Though the train system is accessible, the public buses are not accessible. A disabled on wheelchair who alights at a train system would still have difficulty commuting to his home. Traveling by taxis is the next possible option but they are not only beyond the means of many disabled but also unreliable. Train and public buses operate on fixed schedule route at specific timing and are definitely a better choice.

B2. There is still some prejudice in Singapore with regard to the employment of people with disabilities. Employers tend to prefer non-disabled over disabled applicants, given everything being equal. Employers also are not prepared to provide special facilities for the disabled workers.

B3. There will be more educated disabled Singaporeans and this will mean some implications on social services. The services provided will have to be continuously upgraded to meet the needs for higher standards of professionalism. Increasingly, there will be public concern about the use of funds donated to social service. There are already signs of donor fatigue. There is therefore a need to build stronger funder-funded or donor-agency relationships.

B4. As an organisation run by the disabled themselves, the Handicaps Welfare Association has to look beyond its immediate leadership by bringing in new blood into the management committee. Otherwise, the progress of the Association may be impeded and services provided may stagnate or deteriorate.

SECTION D-BASIC DATA

  1. Number of PWDs in Singapore-There has not been any survey conducted in the past decade on the number of PWDs in Singapore. We can only make an estimate based on likely percentage versus the total population of Singapore.

  2. How many people in Singapore do you guess to be aware of the followings:

    1. A/P Decade of Disabled Persons 93-2002: less than 1%

    2. Does your government informed the nation about the decade: yes

    3. UN's Declaration of Disabled Person in 1975: almost none

    4. International year of Disabled Person in 1981: less than 1%

    5. UN's decade of Disabled persons 1983-1992: less than 1%