Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | страница 132

Special Editions
RCs were set up in various precincts to foster neighbourliness and build a
new sense of community as citizens were relocated to high rise flats from
their kampongs in the national public housing programme. The work of these
precinct-based committees in organising residents to foster neighbourliness
was among the first forms of large-scale systematic community development
work in Singapore. Some of these efforts have been documented by Dr S
Vasoo (Vasoo, 2002), who was also personally involved in the development
work on the ground, particularly those related to RCs and associated
organisations. Vasoo is a lecturer in social work at the National University
of Singapore since 1979 and also formerly a Member of Parliament from
1984 to 2001. A number of the community workers who worked alongside
community leaders were trained in social work and had among their mandate
the nurturing of grassroots leadership to foster mutual help and support.
Given the diversity of ethnicity, language, religious and culture in the
Singapore society, cultural knowledge and sensitivity were critical when
serving those in need or distress. The early years of social work required
interviews and home visits to be made to various ethnic groups and it was
not unusual for neighbours to serve as interpreters. Many who worked with
families in casework or in determining eligibility for welfare learned to speak
more than one language. They also learned to respect and work within the
cultural boundaries and practices of each ethnic group. Over time, however,
the boundaries separating the cultures have become blurred. While this could
have been in part due to the gradual emergence of a Singaporean identity,
there were also external influences on Singapore society and modernisation
that likely affected the different cultures in similar ways. Although there
are many commonalities across the different ethnic and cultural groups in
Singapore today, a good cultural knowledge and sensitivity of each ethnic
or cultural group remains relevant for social work to effect change.
Social work has contributed to nation building by helping to foster a sense of
belonging to the local community, which in turn helped enhance the sense
of belonging to the country. This sense of belonging to the community is
more than an emotional attachment to a place or fond memories. It is closely
related to other social values that the government was trying to imbue
among the people, many of which are also consistent with the personal
values being promoted by social work.
One of the government’s various efforts to strengthen people’s sense of
belonging and bind the different ethnic and cultural groups together as a

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