She wore blue braces

I was strolling at Vivocity early this afternoon. Got to make full use of my 2 more days of freedom before I become slave to my new employer.

Of course, there were the usual Singapore-map-flipping-tourists who were trying to find their way around; and then there was me, flipping the map of Vivocity just trying to find my way around even after having been there like about 5 times already! And then there were the usual wannabes decked from head to toe in their Gucci and Prada apparel, walking around as if the mall belonged to them...ok, perhaps it may belong to one of their parents.

A girl caught my eye.

Lest ye have any less than savoury thoughts, let me enlighten you further.

This girl was in her late 20s and she caught my eye. She was wearing a janitor's uniform, doing her rounds keeping the mall clean. I observed her from a distance and could not help but conclude that she may be mildly mentally disabled due to her gait and her facial expression (ma'am, should you happen be this girl that I am writing about and happen to read my blog and are not the least bit mentally disabled, I profusely apologise unreservedly. As compensation, I will gladly autograph for you a copy of the first ultrasound of Baby Lim, as seen in my previous entry).

But what struck me were 3 things:

1) Her cheerful disposition

She was walking together with a colleague. The colleague did not look mentally disabled but he was not the least bit cheerful. Perhaps he had a bad day; perhaps he was going through some difficulties with his boss. Whatever the case, the contrast was that stark. Girl is mentally challenged but was cheerful. Guy was normal but looked grumpy.


2) She wore blue braces (not blue velvet...perhaps only oldies fans will appreciate this pun)

Mentally challenged as she was, her carer took the effort to help her get braces for her teeth. They were not boring coloured braces, they were bright blue! Ok, regardless of the colour, the point is, someone actually wanted her to look nice by straightening her teeth and wanted the process to be enjoyable by recommending her a bright blue colour. In short, people who were caring for her wanted her to live life as normally as possible. This example, to me, is something seldom seen in Singapore or any other country for that matter (I used to do social work in Victoria, Australia, where its state welfare programs are one of the best in the world).


3) She is a contributing part of the workforce and society at large

Two hurdles are overcome here. Firstly, the openness on the carers' part to let her work. Secondly, the willingness of the janitorial company and Vivocity to allow her to work in full view of the public.

I will never forget her bright smile with the bright blue braces. But more importantly, she was given a chance to contribute to society and assimilate into it. And as a result, she happily carried out her job, oblivious to the crowd throngs that pass her daily. I can also imagine the many obstacles her carers faced when getting her the job. People to convince, others to persuade. Politics and personal agendas could have been and may still be in play.

But for bright blue braces, she is blissfully cleaning Singapore's biggest mall.