Helping Hands – COVID-19 Relief for Underprivileged Families

Hi there! We're a group of Year 6 students studying in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), and we need your help!

Just last year, the Straits Times reported of a study which found that the household income (from work) for poor families in Singapore fell by a staggering 69%, being affected by COVID-19. 80% of these households already live in public rental housing as they are unable to afford housing for themselves, and yet rent as a percentage of their household income more than doubled ever since the start of the Circuit Breaker last year, adding more strain and stress to their lives.

The report also included case studies of people who were willing to share their struggles, such as the following example of a single mother of 3.

She worked as a wait staff in the F&B sector to support her children. When her company reduced work hours for all staff due to COVID-19, she had to work fewer days before. She was then sent to work at a location much further from her home, ramping up her transport costs. Having to borrow money from her family during this period, she has fallen behind on her rent, electricity and Wi-Fi payments.

Just to illustrate how badly these families have been hit by the ongoing pandemic, here's a finding by the Department of Statistics (DOS): in contrast to other households with a real decline in income of 1.4% to 3.2%, the bottom 10% of low-income households have seen a 6.1% decline in real income. We hope that this shows you the real, pressing need at hand right now, and in our country.

These families surveyed in the report had sought help from local charity Beyond Social Services (BSS) and we have come up with an initiative to lend them a helping hand again, in conjunction with this same charity. But we really need your help!

What We Plan To Do
The three of us have liaised with BSS in coming up with a care pack which the volunteers of BSS will distribute to these households, specifically those residing in the area of Jalan Kukoh. The care pack includes: quality-approved surgical masks, hand sanitizers and NTUC vouchers. The thing is, as much as we want to lend as much help as we can to these households (especially in helping them financially by way of NTUC vouchers), we are limited in the funding for these resources. And that is where we need your help!

Attached below is the donation link where you can help us in our effort to lend a helping hand to these families, especially in this time when the pandemic is hitting us hard again. We welcome all donations and regardless of the amount, any financial donation and help is greatly appreciated!

We really hope that you could just set aside five minutes of your time to donate any amount you are compelled to give to these struggling families. Again, we ask not for generous amounts but really any amount is welcome if you are compelled to help these struggling people as we are! As we continue to persevere through this tough time, let us also remember those who are suffering even more.

Feel free to contact us in the details below if you have any queries, and we hope that you will help us in this little endeavour! Let's come together to show these families that there are those who care!

Yours truly,

Aidan, Johann and Theophane