A little help goes a long way for our migrant worker community.
The Covid-19 storm has affected everyone in the Lion City, including the migrant worker community, aka the backbone of Singapore’s society. As weeks go by, the number of Covid-19 cases have seen a sharp increase, with more than 20,000 at the time of writing. If you actually take a closer look, the bulk of these cases come from migrant workers living in cramped dormitories, situations that inevitably form coronavirus clusters.
This has put our migrant brothers on the forefront, with news media, local and international alike, cross-examining their living conditions. Food for thought: how have we, as a society, overlooked a community that is made up of more than 200,000 foreign workers – all of whom have contributed to building our country to what it is now? The silver lining to this? Such circumstances have pushed more people to step up and help migrant workers, and if you’re looking to lend a hand, here are some things you can do.
Provide the basic necessities
As of 15 April 2020, it is mandatory to don a mask when you’re out, and MaskForce is providing the migrant worker community with mask kits. You too can contribute with donations from $10 to $220.
Support the Hope Beyond Borders campaign on Ray of Hope as well – the money raised will be used for food, masks and other necessities.
Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) is supporting migrant workers in many ways, from providing financial and medical assistance to legal help and counselling. Help them continue the good work by donating to their fundraiser.
Plus, the Migrant Workers’ Assistance Fund is calling for donations to provide food, accommodation and daily necessities for the community, as well as give displaced workers who are unable to recover their salary a token amount.
Migrant X Me is also helping to raise funds for NGO SG Accident Help Centre so that they can provide face masks, sanitisers, vitamins and data top-up cards to the workers. You can do your part by contributing via PayNow.
Help them to call home
While we have families and friends to turn to during these trying times, our migrant brothers don’t have that privilege. You can help them to stay in touch with their loved ones back home by purchasing $10 data top-up cards through an initiative by volunteer group ItsRainingRaincoats. Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) has also set up a fundraising platform to top up the workers’ pre-paid SIM cards.
Rent a movie
An initiative by Anticipate Pictures and The Projector, you can now stream the movie I Dream of Singapore on Vimeo for a nominal rental fee of $9.99. Available till 10 May, the documentary sheds light on the plight of migrant workers in the Lion City. All proceeds will go to support non-profit organisation TWC2’s initiatives and The Projector.
Send a meal
Social enterprise group Good Karma is killing two birds with one stone during this Ramadan season. The project helps to sponsor iftar meals for migrants workers by providing food from local F&B businesses. Want to be part of this thoughtful initiative? Contact +65 8613 4970 or drop them a DM on Facebook for more deets.
Teach English
ItsRainingRaincoats’ new initiative is seeking out volunteers to help teach our migrant workers basic conversational English. This will benefit the quarantined workers as they navigate through the murky waters of pay cuts and no-pay leaves. No meetup required as lessons are conducted via phone or video calls. To volunteer, simply fill in this sign-up form.
