As I am exploring how the Singapore government and NGO’s are taking action to advance Singapore towards a more inclusive society, the SUNDAC organisation is a key non-state actor to my EA. I had the opportunity to interview Mr Yaros Shumovskyi, who is the Centre Manager at the Bedok South branch, in order to gain more insight about the organisation’s goals, the services and programs they offer, as well as Mr Shumovskyi’s personal perspective on this issue of discrimination and segregation faced by PWDs in Singapore.
Immediately as the interview began, I was already able to gain new knowledge regarding how we should address PWDs (Person with Disabilities). Mr Shumovskyi explained that the term ‘disabled people’ suggests that the first thing that comes to mind when we think of PWDs is their disability, which prevents the public from fully understanding these individuals as they fail to look beyond the surface. This term creates a negative image of PWDs that almost reinforces the assumptions made by the public, which is why he strongly encourages for society to use the term ‘PWD’ or a rarely used term, emphasized by the NCSS (National Council of Social Service), which is ‘differently abled’. This made me realise that perhaps the way we refer to PWDs is a matter of perspective, which can ultimately lead to inclusion in Singapore, because by being aware of the term ‘differently abled’, we are essentially acknowledging the various abilities PWDs have in different areas that may even surpass that of ours. Therefore, as people become more familiar with these specific terms and become more aware, the barriers within society may slowly begin to fade away.
Another aspect I found interesting was the notion of sustainability that SUNDAC is endeavouring to implement within their services/programs and really making it a key goal of the organisation as a whole. SUNDAC created a 10 week Circles Program that is within their Circles Program framework with the aim of establishing long-term relations. Mr Shumovskyi mentioned that often times volunteers or students who come to visit the centre to perform or carry out activities with the clients help out for one session, but then never return, therefore I believe the efficacy of such methods or events are limiting. Whereas with the 10 week Program, SUNDAC aimed to “build a network of support” not only to foster stronger relationships between PWDs and those without disabilities, but to allow “the public to have a deeper understanding of PWDs”. I realised that this aspect of sustainability is quite challenging to tackle because you would need to train staff, have a decent amount of volunteers, obtain financial support whether that be from the government or the public etc., and without all these factors, there would be little improvement in terms of the quality of life as well as development of the skillsets of PWDs.
The interview left me more aware of how the public and NGOs go hand in hand, meaning even though organisations such as SUNDAC are taking action, people need to become more open-minded, more accepting of and more exposed to PWDs so that there is an overall greater level of awareness and comfortableness. Although this may take time, I believe that with the cooperation from various actors, the different circles of communities can be interconnected and ultimately advance Singapore towards a more inclusive society.
