SINGAPORE – From selling postcards and curry for charity to cheery pen pals, here are nine uplifting ways virus vigilantes here are supporting Singaporeans.
BELANJA LAH: PAYING IT FORWARD WITH MEALS[hhmc]
Since Belanja Eat's official launch on April 10, 2020, more than 80 hawkers have gotten on board the project. PHOTO: BELANJA EATS
There is such a thing as a free lunch. Belanja Eat, launched April 10, is a pay-it-forward initiative that lets you belanja (or treat) someone to a hawker meal.
For belanja-ers and belanja-ees, go here and find a stall nearby using the map. From there, either sponsor a meal or request one.
Since the project's official launch, more than 80 hawkers have gotten on board and an estimated 300 meals have been donated.
Public servant Michelle Tan, 35, coordinator of the project says: "Belanja Eat intends to make a free meal readily available to anyone who needs it. We hope to get the word out and reach out to as many as we can."
SUPPORTING SINGAPORE WITH PACKETS OF CHICKEN RICE[hhmc]
There is nothing more quintessentially Singaporean as supporting the community with our national dish, chicken rice.
Mr Khoo Leng How, owner of House Of Chicken Rice along Upper Thomson Road is offering chicken rice at 90 cents. Patrons above 55 enjoy a packet for free.
The 40-year-old says: "Everyone is suffering because of Covid-19, I wanted to do my part. I also wanted to pass on the kindness of my landlord. He waived rental for March and the next two months."
Mr Khoo has prepared an average of 450 packets a day since April 4. He intends to do this until his savings run out, or end April – "whichever happens first".
BUY A POSTCARD, SUPPORT A MIGRANT WORKER[hhmc]
One of the postcards on sale by Project Postcard. PHOTO: PROJECT POSTCARD
Youth are supporting the migrant worker community one postcard at a time with Project Postcard.
An initiative by alumni of School of the Arts (Sota), the team will be selling postcards featuring original art. Proceeds will go directly to supporting non-profit Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics' (HOME) projects.
Postcards will also be given out to migrant workers for them to write home to their loved ones.
Mr Russell Chong, 19, head of the project, says: "We were struck by news on the rapid spread of the virus amongst the migrant worker community and their alarming living conditions."
"The migrant worker community in Singapore has contributed immensely to the development of our country. This is our way of giving back."
BUY A DRINK, HELP A BAR STAY AFLOAT[hhmc]
Wheels On The Bars is an initiative that aims to increase the site traffic to bars by providing listings. PHOTO: WHEELS ON THE BARS
Wheels On The Bars is an initiative that aims to support bartenders by "bringing bartenders to the heartlands".
This includes providing free listings to bars to help them generate traffic to their websites, as well as processing and delivering orders made on the site itself.
One hundred per cent of the proceeds go to participating bars, which includes Employees Only and Atlas.
Ms Sarah-Jane Chua, spokesperson for the initiative, says: "We are ordinary Singaporeans who enjoy a good drink from time to time and we see it as part of our social culture. We hope to play our part in supporting these local businesses."
CHICKEN CURRY FOR CHARITY[hhmc]
It is a speciality of Mr Jason Tan's 65-year-old mother. PHOTO: @CHEFJASONTAN/INSTAGRAM
Last weekend (April 10 to 12), the former executive chef of one-Michelin-starred Corner House Jason Tan, 37, raised about $1,500 for Fei Yue Community Services by selling chicken curry. The "slightly spicy" and "lemak" dish has a rempah (spice blend) which calls for long hours of continuous stirring. It is a speciality of his 65-year-old mother, who rules the kitchen of their three-room flat. His older brother and father also helped prepare the 150 servings.
CANIGO.SG[hhmc]
The site has had about 3 million page views since it was launched. PHOTO: CANIGO.SG
Do you have a question about the latest circuit breaker measures? Canigo.sg may have the answers. Users can select from a drop-down list of activities like "get bubble tea" or "visit my family" to find out if they are allowed.
The site has had about 3 million page views since it was launched on April 8 by Singapore Polytechnic lecturer Jaffry Jalal, 44, and his wife Grace Tan, 40, a user experience director. They update it regularly, with their 11-year-old daughter Eliza sometimes pitching in to type out the answers.
"We were mentally compiling a list of places our elderly parents should avoid, and realised there seemed to be a lot of confRead More – Source
