The kampung spirit is alive and thriving among my neighbours in my HDB block in Toa Payoh. When my father was alive and spent most part of the day alone, our two immediate neighbours would always make it a point to chat and share cakes and fruits with him.
If this isn’t kampung spirit, I don’t know what is.
— Audrey Simon
In a fast-paced and ‘go-getting’ 21st century society, preserving the kampung spirit ensures that each generation learns the important values of honour, kindness and consideration for others, the joys of friendship and togetherness, compassion, and the courage to fight for the greater good of a community, with much heart in all the hard work.
— Wong Wei Lei
As long as people care for other people, the kampung spirit will live on. It is very nurturing for someone to care and be cared for; to enjoy living in a supportive community, to interact intimately as neighbours. More than ever, we need to foster the kampung spirit today and in the future as we realise the considerable isolation and desperation which manypeople around us are experiencing.
— Lee Meng Kai
The now elusive kampung spirit should have a place here, especially as we grow more distant and disparate trying to keep up with the incessant pace of affluence, economic excellence, progress and advancement. Let us not forget the 5Cs of kampung spirit: to Care for those around you, Cooperation between neighbours, Consideration for those you live with, Camaraderie among those in your kampung and being part of a Community which will help to foster closer ties within our modern kampung and create a sense of belonging and solidarity among us.
— Serene Tan
Since we share the same living space, the unspoken understanding is that we could rely on one another for the proverbial ‘cup of sugar’ or other assistance (such as looking after one’s child). Sadly, today, I would have to say that such an understanding, or spirit, is non-existent.
— Sheena Sutherson
The kampung spirit is one that surpasses time and generation and should always be displayed freely. Losing that neighbourly spirit would be detrimental to our nation and cause us to give up the uniqueness that makes us Singaporean.
— Jon Rajan
Definitely with technological advancement and the rise of Internet, we are becoming more distant in physical interaction. However, the rise of Internet and various social media platforms bring people all over the world closer and more connected. To me, all these are part of the kampung spirit though in a very different way from the traditional form.
— Selina Ang
