Ever since late Jan, Singaporeans have been burdened with woes about Covid-19.
It’s an undeniably dark time for us, but dark times bring out the best in people, and these 4 Singaporeans are a testament to that.
These 4 kindhearted souls rose above the chaos and anxiety plaguing the nation to reach out to one another in their communities, in an effort to fight Covid-19 together as a nation.
They were supported by Singapore Strong Fund (SGStrong) – a grant for ground-up initiatives – to carry out these community outreach projects as part of SG United.
Let’s take a look at what they did.
Mr Delane Lim was able to carry out his outreach project on a larger scale just 5 days after he applied for the grant.
His team and him started #OpsHandsOn in early Feb.
They had already given out 12,000 mask and sanitiser care kits to the elderly living in rental flats, and wanted to broaden their scope. Specifically, cleaners and security guards working in heartland malls and hawker centres.
After getting approval for his project in mid Feb, Mr Lim and his crew of volunteers managed to reach their goal of giving out 2,000 care kits to cleaners and security guards, as well as reach more seniors in the community.
Ms Yvonne Kong also chose to distribute care packages to cleaners working in malls and hawker centres, which she carried out in early Mar.
They worked tirelessly to keep our environment clean yet their work often goes unacknowledged and underappreciated.
It’s great that she’s giving them the recognition and validation that they’re so deserving of, especially now that they’re working even harder to disinfect spaces regularly.
She even got her family to help out with putting the care packages together.
The care packages have muscle rub and hand lotion in them, too — perfect for cleaners to use while they relax after a long day of work.
Another underappreciated group of people on the front line are school staff and teachers.
They, too, work incredibly hard, often putting in more hours than required for the benefit of the students.
They’re responsible for theirs and their students’ health and safety practically all day, and have contributed towards preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Mr Shawn Lim delivered vitamins, surgical masks, and letters of appreciation to 5,000 teachers and school staff in Feb, to support them as the Covid-19 situation worsened.
We’re sure they get lots of love from students on the daily. Still, compliments and thanks from an appreciative stranger via a sincere letter are always welcome.
Last but not least, Mr Jonathan Tan focused his efforts on helping some of the most at-risk — the elderly.
Since 3 Mar, he’s visited 115 vulnerable elderly living in Telok Blangah rental flats to deliver daily necessities to them, like groceries, meals, and even masks and hand sanitisers.
Many of them live alone, which is why they need the help of kind members of society like Mr Tan to get certain necessities.
From the looks of it, Mr Tan’s initiative definitely brought joy to the elderly and hopefully, gave them the supplies they needed too.
These individuals definitely made a huge impact on the communities they reached out to.
Distributing care packages and necessities to hundreds is not a small feat, and it’s wonderful that they put in their own time and dedication to helping out others.
That said, you don’t have to go all out with a large-scale community outreach project to show your appreciation and care for frontline workers.
It can be as simple as giving them a few words of encouragement, and you can get the opportunity to do just that at various appreciation zones around Singapore.
Image courtesy of an MS News reader
If you happen to be at the following locations, do check out the appreciation boards and write a thank-you note to show your support to our frontline heroes.
Image courtesy of an MS News reader
Appreciation zones can be found at:
Check out their website here for more locations where you can pen your message of support.
If you’ve always wanted to contribute to a good cause but never knew how to, now’s your chance.
You can join as a volunteer and be involved in a multitude of activities that fight Covid-19 or give back to the community.
If volunteering isn’t your thing but you still want to contribute, you can donate to their causes as well.
Check out here to support these community-led initiatives, whether it’s by donating, volunteering, or just sharing about them online.
It’s been said many times, but the only way we’ll get through this pandemic in one piece is by supporting each other through it. After all, everyone has a part to play in the fight against Covid-19.
These initiatives need all the help they can get to be a success, so do consider contributing to them and share this with your friends and family too.
Keep vigilant and don’t lose hope – the light at the end of this dark Covid-19 tunnel beckons. We just have to continue observing good hygiene, safe distancing, and following the necessary precautions until this blows over.
Featured image courtesy of Majurity Trust.
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