Banding together for a good cause

Singapore

A family has resorted to begging for just-expired food and drinks from the convenience store, and another's application to renew their financial assistance has been delayed for over a month, which has caused distress to the parents of five children.

These are just some issues that the team at Glyph, an investment-backed social enterprise, has faced over the past few months ever since the introduction of the circuit breaker measures - to stem the spread of Covid-19 - on April 7.

Ang Weili, programme lead of the social enterprise, said: "Aside from monetary woes, the transition to home-based learning for the kids was a struggle for many families. Some we spoke to had issues applying to borrow a computer from their schools."

She also shared how one family received a donated monitor from another social service organisation but did not realise that a CPU was required to use it and had assumed that the computer was not working.

Hence, six staff members from Glyph have been assisting these families by donating food to them, hoping to lighten their burden.

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Glyph is a membership programme where members get access to the monthly catalogue of activities, workshops and field trips under its community arm. They have to pay a nominal fee of S$10 per month.

Ms Ang said: "The activities provide a holistic education that is accessible and affordable to kids and youths from challenging communities. We focus on equipping them with future-ready skill sets, general knowledge and life skills."

However, Covid-19 has caused the activities to come to a halt. And now, Glyph is helping children and youths aged four to 17 in its programme by distributing food to them.

"While our entire membership base consists of over 1,200 kids from all over Singapore, we have been focusing on two clusters of rental flats at Jalan Bukit Merah, and Redhill/Henderson Road, which have about 100 kids," the programme lead said. Glyph is working with food retailers which include Mother Earth, Knead to Eat, and Attap house.

The 26-year-old said the next step would be to expand this initiative to other rental flats, and they are in the midst of looking for more F&B partners.

Lim Si Hui, senior lead (outreach) of Glyph, said: "The meal distribution helps relieve some of the burden that the families face. Since we are unable to run the weekend activities that we normally do, this gives us the chance to continue to engage these families."

The 22-year-old said she hopes to inspire more people to come on-board and contribute, to ensure that no one gets left behind.

The sentiment to do good was echoed by Robert Kee, founder of Operation Hope Foundation (OHF), a Singapore-based charity organisation. Registered in 2001, it aims to help people in countries such as Nepal and Cambodia.

An electrical engineer by training, the founder had designed the ultraviolet water treatment system for schools in those countries, and after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, he had the idea of building houses using empty rice bags.

"The rice bags are filled with soil at the site so the villagers need not carry heavy bricks up the mountain. Many places in Nepal are mountainous with no road access, and OHF has since then built 150 rice bag houses in several districts in Nepal," said Mr Kee.

Now, the 71-year-old is seeking to prepare the people of Nepal from Covid-19 with reusable face masks, made with cotton material.

"The problem is how to sterilise them. Water is not readily available, so that is not an option. I came up with the idea of using the solar oven boxes. What I intend to do is to provide the materials and get students from two schools to make their own solar oven boxes." said Mr Kee.

He added that the method is safe, and a good way for Nepalese living in remote areas to sterilise the face masks. The project will commence once the lockdown period in Nepal ends.

"Although the infection rate is not high in Nepal at the moment, the fear is that the medical facilities may not be able to cope, especially in remote areas, if the virus spreads. A house in Nepal can be 200 to 500 square feet, so social distancing in a family is impossible," said Mr Kee.

These projects will be handled by full time staff from OHF and its partners rather than volunteers.

Not just companies, more individuals are stepping up too

When asked about how Covid-19 has affected donations, Mr Kee said: "Donations have dropped the last two years, but we have a serious shortfall this year. Last year, I donated over S$80,000, and I haven't claimed for the air tickets and travel expenses although I have made more than 80 trips since 2001. But one of our key principle is 'make hope real'. This means we give substantial help per family."

It is not just companies and non-profit organisations that are banding together to help communities get through this period. More individuals are stepping up too.

Cheryl Chen, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability at S&P Global, galvanised her three friends and started the ground-up initiative Solidarity Gift for SG Livelihoods Fund to encourage Singaporeans to donate the S$600 that was given by the government to the vulnerable families. The word soon spread. Team Solidarity, named after the Solidarity Payout by the government, has some 50 champions on board. The team has raised S$250,000 to date and aims to raise S$600,000 by June 30.

"The champions come from all walks of life though they are united by a shared vision to help Singapore community in these times of Covid-19." said Ms Chen. All funds raised will be channelled to Community Chest, who will help to disburse to Touch, AMP and MWS, shared three ways equally.

Sophia Tan, 41, a personal wealth advisor, and cancer survivor, said: "Virtually everyone is impacted by Covid-19 though the suffering is unequal. The lower-income families and their children are hit particularly hard. We can do something about it. Healthcare workers are taxed exceptionally hard at the frontline. As a cancer survivor, they have saved my life. Now that I can, I want to do something to help.

"The war against Covid-19 is the war of our generation. Our Pioneer and Merdeka Generations have had theirs. I hope we can fight a good fight, and not leave anyone behind."

To donate to the Solidarity Gift for SG Livelihoods Fund, visit https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/solidarity_gift_for_sg_livelihoods_fund