Jasmine Osada, The Straits Times AsiaOne 9 Oct 15;
The haze may have cast grey skies over Singapore, but there have been some bright spots amid the gloom.
Singaporeans have been looking out for each other and coming up with creative ways to beat the haze.
Local kindness movement Stand Up For Our Singapore has been raising money to buy air filters for needy households in the past few weeks.
The Facebook community has raised more than $6,000 this year through its I Will Be Your Shelter project, which has so far benefited about 50 families living in Block 8, North Bridge Road.
Mr Wally Tham, 38, the man behind the campaign, said his online group had launched another programme earlier this year pairing 40 art students with elderly residents in Block 8.
"So when the haze struck, we immediately thought of them and how we can help," he said.
Starting from the highest floor, 20 volunteers went door to door about two weeks ago giving out the air filters, which cost about $80 each.
They look like fine mesh bags and can be used to cover any fan to turn it into an effective air purifier.
Families with enough fans at home to battle the haze and the heat were given an air filter each, while those who did not have sufficient fans were given a $180 air filter set that includes a filter and a fan unit.
"Some elderly residents refused to take the air filters as they said that they did not feel unwell," said Mr Tham. "It took some convincing to even get the filters in."
But others were more grateful.
"When we first visited the homes at Block 8 prior to giving out the air filters, some residents were coughing and those who had young children at home said their kids were suffering from runny noses," he added.
"But since they received the air filters, they said they have been breathing more easily and their children are feeling better."
With more than 200 households living in Block 8, there is still some way go. Saying he has "mixed feelings" about whether this campaign has been a success, "as we have helped only 50 households so far", Mr Tham added: "But I am very encouraged by all the people who have come forward to help."
Stand Up For Our Singapore hopes to raise another $3,000 to help another 50 homes at the block.
The haze has also prompted some groups to come up with creative ideas to beat the dirty air.
Local media lab Newsplex Asia has teamed up with the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, as well as the Online News Association (Singapore) and the Hacks/Hackers Singapore Chapter, to organise a haze-themed hackathon - an event that lets programmers join people in other fields to work on software projects.
The Hyper Haze Hack, which will be held at Google Singapore's auditorium next Tuesday, seeks to pair computer programmers with experts, the media, students and members of the public to come up with IT solutions, such as apps, that can help people during the haze.
Ms Lau Joon-Nie, assistant director of Newsplex Asia, said the media lab organises a hackathon every year, and choosing the haze as the theme for this year's event was both timely and meaningful.
"There are lots of disparate sources of information on the haze," Ms Lau said.
"We thought that it was a good idea to have such an event where we can hopefully develop solutions, such as apps, that can pull together different sources of data so that people can be better informed about what is going on."
Mask effect
Foo Jie Ying THE NEW PAPER AsiaOne 10 Oct 15;
Smoky air, yellow skies and a PSI of 1,500.
That is what non-governmental organisation Relief.sg's (RSG) chief executive Jonathan How and four other Singaporeans have experienced over the last few days.
On Sunday, the team of five flew into the thick of the haze of Palangkaraya, the capital of the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan.
They were there to distribute N95 masks to the locals and educate them on how to use the masks.
Arriving with them at Palangkaraya's Tjilik Riwut Airport were a whopping 25,111 N95 masks, packed in 86 boxes. The masks were collected by RSG and "Let's Help Kalimantan", a mask collection initiative.
One of the trio behind the initiative, Ms Cheryl Lie, 31, who is in the education industry, was also part of the team of five.
The air freight costs were borne by Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air, Mr How, 43, said.
On their first day, with the help of local volunteers, the Singapore team distributed the masks at the University of Palangkaraya in the city centre, and the village of Bereng Bengkel.
The next day, they went to the Kameloh Baru village, as well as the College of Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition, where they handed over 1,000 masks to health workers.
The health workers will distribute the masks to children and pregnant women at primary care outpatient clinics.
In his two days spent in the thick of the haze, Mr How saw for himself a lack of awareness of wearing N95 masks.
EXPOSED
Despite the hazy conditions, most residents went around unprotected.
"We saw kids playing unmasked, totally oblivious to the haze surrounding them. Men were seen playing strenuous sports like basketball and volleyball without masks at all," he told The New Paper.
Mr How acknowledged that mask distribution is a short-term solution, but that will not stop him and his team from such relief efforts.
"While we will continue to raise support for the distribution of masks, we are exploring other possible ways to help mitigate the situation by identifying and supporting longer-term solutions that deal with issues like forest fire-fighting and peatland management," he added.
