SICC’s poverty simulation workshop postponed due to poor response

SINGAPORE — Organisers of a “poverty simulation” workshop at the elite Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) have had to postpone the controversial event over the weekend, as too few people signed up.

The event, which sparked considerable online debate when it was first reported in TODAY last month, was scheduled to be held last Saturday (March 5) at the SICC, one of Singapore’s most prestigious country clubs.

But only seven people signed up for the workshop, according to SICC staff. The workshop requires at least 31 participants due to the role-playing nature of the programme, said a spokesman for Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), the non-profit group conducting the workshop.

A new date for the event has not been announced. When contacted by TODAY, SICC would only say that they “have postponed the workshop till further notice”.

The workshop, adapted to the Singapore context from a programme developed by the Missouri Association for Community Action, aims to simulate the conditions faced by people living in poverty. This could come in the form of dealing with tough, stressful questions, such as choosing between paying a doctor’s fee and a utility bill when given a limited amount of money.

It is hoped that such experiences would help participants better understand and empathise with the challenges faced by the poor.

If the workshop at SICC had gone ahead, the participants would have been split up into seven groups, each with a different role. Some 20 staff from MWS would also be involved in facilitating the exercise – such as in the manning of different stations that would simulate conditions in a bank or a supermarket.

MWS, which does not charge interested parties for the workshop, said it has seen an increase in the number of requests to run the workshop since news about it first emerged. Some of the groups interested in conducting a “poverty simulation” workshop ranged from universities, schools, as well as corporate organisations.

A MWS spokesman said the group was still evaluating the new requests.

Public reaction to SICC’s attempt to hold the workshop has been mixed. Some people questioned the workshop’s effectiveness at a wealthy country club. Others, including the Singapore Kindness Movement’s general secretary William Wan, felt the exercise was a worthwhile effort that could encourage participants to do more to help the needy.