Great! I Have a Bed for Tonight!
Peh Hock Lai, a Tzu Chi Singapore home care patient, has lived in a house full of clutter with his younger brother for a long time. There is no space for a bed. The lack of air circulation, coupled with cockroaches and ants scurrying around, poses a great danger to their health. As the two brothers have been unable to work due to health reasons, the younger brother wanted to earn some pocket money by selling recyclables. However, he has failed to differentiate between garbage and resources, often bringing everything back home, causing the house to be filled with clutter. After many rounds of persuasion, Tzu Chi volunteers and medical staff finally obtained the younger brother’s consent to clean up the house.
Tzu Chi home care patient, Peh Hock Lai: I sleep here. (Such a small space?) Ya
Subtitle：
With a small space for only one person
No bed can fit in
Tzu Chi home care patient, Peh Hock Lai: My brother comes back every night and brings it (garbage) from downstairs . (So do you want it like that? Or…?) I don't. I want it to be clean, I don't want this. It gives me a headache.
Living in a house full of clutter for a long time brings potential health and safety hazards. After many rounds of persuasion by Tzu Chi home care staff and volunteers, they finally obtained permission from Peh Hock Lai’s brother to make a "big change" for the family.
Tzu Chi home care nurse, Pan Han Ni: His brother was reluctant at first, and his answer to me was that these are all money. So, I said, let’s start with small-scale (cleaning) first. Then we exchanged these recyclables for a few dollars and handed them back to his brother, who was very happy to see that. Later, I said if we were to help them do a large-scale (cleaning) so that they can have a more comfortable home environment, would they want it? They agreed.
It took two hours just to move the living room clutter downstairs. The volunteers searched carefully for this was the agreement between the volunteers and the brothers.
Tzu Chi volunteer Khoo Kwai Yin: They say that there are money in the rubbish. It's dirty, but we still try to find it.
Tzu Chi volunteer Kang Sool Peng: We have promised him, so we must be honest and faithful. We must not ignore their feelings.
Empathy and respect are principles that have remained unchanged for volunteer Kaleen Chuah, who has participated in voluntary home cleaning activities for many years.
Tzu Chi volunteer Kaleen Chuah: Don't look at him with disdain. Don't talk about things like, “It's been so long, and so dirty” We shouldn't speak with this attitude.
Subtitle: Eight hours later
Tzu Chi volunteer: Don't bring back worthless things anymore (ok)
Tzu Chi home care patient, Peh Hock Lai: (Do you like yesterday's room or today's?) Today
The Peh brothers are very happy with the spacious and bright home. To keep the house clean and tidy, the follow-up company by the nursing and volunteer teams is very important.
