SINGAPORE – Mr Steven Goh was standing at a pavilion waiting for a client when an elderly woman approached and asked him if he could come by her house and have a look.
“I was curious, so I followed her home,” said Mr Goh, 47, who was working as a financial planner at the time.
That encounter 13 years ago would change the course of his life in ways he could not imagine.
He found the woman’s place overflowing with metal junk. She had once made a living as a karung guni, collecting scrap to sell, but age and illness had caught up with her and she could no longer manage the hoard alone.
“I told her I could find some volunteers to help. And things started rolling from there,” he said.
That evening, he reached out to his friends, but was turned down by all of them. Undeterred, he put up a post on Facebook.
Four strangers responded, and together they cleared the old woman’s home.
Profoundly affected by the difference they were able to make, Mr Goh founded the charity Helping Joy soon after in 2012 and invited his four new friends to volunteer their time and services to help other old people in similar situations.
Today, one of them works full time at the charity as a centre manager. Another, who currently works in delivery, still volunteers with Helping Joy. The remaining two stopped volunteering in 2014 due to their family and work commitments.
Helping Joy took off soon after it was set up.
As more and more homes were referred to it by social workers, grassroots leaders and several care facilities, Mr Goh found it difficult to juggle his work and the cause to which he had committed.
In 2016, he quit his job and focused his attention on the charity.
Mr Steven Goh with his team of volunteers at Helping Joy sorting out items and helping to declutter a resident’s home in Boon Lay Avenue on Dec 28, 2025.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Mr Goh is a finalist for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award, which is given to a Singaporean or group of citizens who have made a significant contribution to society.
This can be through achievements that put Singapore on the world stage, or by going beyond the call of duty to selflessly improve the lives of others in the community, among other ways.
Now in its 11th year, the award is organised by The Straits Times and presented by UBS Singapore.
Leaving his job meant giving up financial security, but Mr Goh felt he needed to work for a cause greater than himself. He has been divorced since 2014 and has a 14-year-old-son.
He said the salary he earns as the co-founder of Helping Joy is comparable with that of an executive manager. Though a far cry from what he earned as a financial planner, he is satisfied with it.
“As long as I am able to self-sustain, I don’t need to live in luxury. At least I learn things that others don’t have the chance to learn, and I am able to make friends,” he said.
A single decluttering session can take six to eight hours.
Apart from the time taken to get to know the beneficiaries and understand their living conditions days earlier, Mr Goh and his team have to map out how many volunteers they require to get the house cleared out in a day.
They will also need to raise sufficient donations – $3,000 to $5,000 – to replace faulty electrical equipment and broken furniture. Handymen and painters will also have to be called in to make the house suitable for living.
