OCBC Bank and staff donate another S$1.225m to the needy

Singapore

OCBC Bank and its staff will donate an additional S$1.225 million in a fourth tranche of support to those in the community dealing with hardships arising from the coronavirus outbreak.

This fourth tranche of donations will go towards needy Singaporean families as well as migrant workers under isolation due to the enhanced circuit-breaker measures.

The first three tranches made earlier this year went towards frontline healthcare workers, vulnerable seniors and families and affected communities in China.

Adding to this fourth round of corporate donation of S$1 million, staff from OCBC Bank and Bank of Singapore contributed S$225,000 in response to calls to offer help.

Many donors in Singapore are already providing meals to needy families and migrant workers.

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To avoid duplication, the bank reached out to more than 20 charity organisations, non-government organisations (NGOs) and dormitory operators over the past two weeks to understand the plight and needs of these two groups.

OCBC Bank's Group chief executive officer Samuel Tsien said the vulnerable groups have been the hardest hit and that the government had stepped in quickly to support this group of Singaporeans with measures under the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity budgets.

"In a modest way, we have been trying to do our part too. With the impact of the outbreak expected to last throughout this year, we are making a fourth tranche of support to supplement the government payouts to needy families.

"We hope this will help tide them over the next six to seven months, as I do hope and expect some stability returning - though not yet a strong recovery by any means - before 2020 winds down."

Part of the approximately S$1.2 million donation will go towards supporting 1,000 needy Singaporean families by providing each of them with S$800 in supermarket vouchers.

Additional vouchers will be given to families who require more help.

The families that OCBC Bank will support come under the care of Beyond Social Services, Care Corner Singapore, Food from the Heart and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore).

Gerard Ee, executive director of Beyond Social Services, said: "OCBC's donation of vouchers is both timely and more importantly, respectful of the differing needs among families.

"The purchasing power is empowering and enables them to maintain a sense of normalcy within their families. The financial support will be provided till the end of the year and will be assuring for the families as the situation is not likely to change soon."

OCBC Bank is also supporting about 55,800 migrant workers living in nine dormitories across Singapore as well as in the OCBC Arena at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Mr Tsien said: "The workers' needs are very different from the needy families. They are not short of food or masks, as those needs are well taken care of by the government and other donors.

"But most of them are cooped up in their rooms under the circuit-breaker measures or are being isolated. They tell us that they would like to have some simple items to create some variety during this isolation period."

Rana Mohd Habibullah, a Bangladeshi worker who lives in an apartment unit managed by Centurion Corporation at Westlite Toh Guan, said he was happy to receive chilli, cumin and fennel powders he uses to cook his curries.

"Each time I cook using these ingredients, it reminds me of my family at Gazipur. I am grateful for the packed food that we have been receiving, but my friends and I prefer to cook our own dishes using our own types of oil and spices."

In total, OCBC Bank Group and its employees have donated close to S$2.2 million to help communities in the Asean region and Greater China who have been hit by the fallout of the virus outbreak.