SGH housekeeper raises $16,339 for patients by making handicrafts
Judith Tan, Straits Times 10 Jan 09;
MS CONNIE Wong is known to her friends as the 'karung guni queen'.
That's because the housekeeper at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is best known for recycling the trash she picks up and turning them into objects of value.
Value is the operative word as MsWong and her colleagues have raised thousands of dollars for the hospital's needy patients.
For one month every year since 2002, they rework discarded wrappers, banners, sample tiles, CDs and bottle caps into pretty trinkets that are sold at the hospital's annual Clean and Green Fair.
Not only is she 'okay with the nickname', she has also inspired the name-callers to join her trash-collecting club, she said gleefully.
As a housekeeper, Ms Wong, 40, knows exactly what is being thrown away and 'rescues them from the furnace'.
To encourage recycling, there are no wastepaper baskets in the housekeeping department.
'Everything is recycled, even sweet wrappers. The housekeeping department is known as the karung guni centre and my colleagues now join me in my quest to create art from trash,' she said.
Her enthusiasm is infectious, said her manager, Ms Caroline Wong, who forgives the clutter in her office. 'Connie's craft ideas have not only helped show staff that waste material can be reused creatively and beautifully, we are also glad the items benefit our needy patients,' she said.
Ms Connie Wong said: 'Every year, my colleagues and I brainstorm what to make. We try to offer different handicrafts for sale each year so that patrons do not get bored.'
On regular shopping visits to Bangkok, she buys beads, sequins and other raw materials to decorate the recycled artwork.
For some colleagues, creating art from trash 'has become second nature'.
'They roll pieces of paper even on the MRT trains so much so that they get strange stares,' Ms Wong said.
The 'crew' has turned bottle caps and sample tiles - collected when parts of the hospital were being renovated - into fridge magnets.
Toilet rolls and empty intravenous (IV) bottles have been papered over with old calendars and returned as pencil holders.
Even drink cans are shredded and twisted into ornamental animals such as frogs and lobsters.
Ms Norkhamalia Radzuan, 27, an operations executive, said she would do anything for her 'karang guni queen' despite the stress.
'Every year, we have to think of new products and must go through a few rounds of 'auditions',' she said.
Their efforts have paid off.
In 2007, more than $7,000 was raised from the sale of their handicrafts during Clean and Green Week.
'Last year, we more than doubled that amount. We raised $16,339 at the fair on Nov 12,' said Ms Wong.
The proceeds went to the SGH Needy Patients Fund, which helps tide patients over initial financial difficulties which may arise from illness. It needs over $500,000 yearly.
She and her colleagues also organised demonstrations during the one-day fair to teach those interested how to turn their waste into money-spinners.
Ms Wong, a Malaysian, also encourages her housemate to recycle at home.
Though the year has just begun, she is already thinking about this year's sale.
In the pipeline are bags and purses made from used banners, washing powder and rice bags.
'They are still prototypes and we are looking at how to improve them and make them attractive,' she said, her karung guni brain ticking away.
