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Amid the unprecedented events of 2020, many Singaporeans have risen to the challenge, showing resilience, optimism and determination in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the run-up to the new year, we feature a profile of 21 people sharing more about their respective journeys, as well as their hopes and aspirations for 2021.
When COVID-19 hit, Veluchamy Muniapparaj, better known as Raj, had just returned from his home in Tamil Nadu, India, to see his pregnant wife.
Homestay Lodge’s 35-year-old operations executive immediately brought together 40 volunteers to participate in the mammoth task of working with government agencies to establish isolation areas, disinfect living spaces, organize food delivery, and communicate with medical staff at the bedroom.
Raj, who has been working in Singapore since 2011, is an ambassador for migrant workers at the Migrant Workers Center. Share more about your experience caring for your co-workers during the pandemic.
With 5,888 residents, it had to carry out a great deal of volunteer planning and training on short notice. How was the experience?
In general, all the dorm residents were very supportive and understood the situation from day one. Many residents were willing to volunteer, but I chose people who had the skills I needed. Some could write very well, others could manage and coordinate, while the rest helped with jobs like food delivery and work with the medical team.
All the volunteers helped a lot, but one of the workers, Guru Prasad, learned very quickly, so I trained him to take charge in case I got sick. The other workers called him my shadow, because he was with me all the time.
Raj was able to provide emotional support to his co-workers by understanding how they were feeling.
In addition to helping manage the dorm’s COVID-19 operations, he also provided an attentive ear to the other workers, who called him ‘big brother’. Can you share more about that?
Even if they call me ‘big brother’, I don’t consider myself that way. I am one of them; it is my responsibility to take care of the residents. During the pandemic, quite a few workers experienced the death of a close family member in India. We had a man whose brother was living in a different bedroom when his father passed away. They couldn’t go home and they couldn’t cry together either. It was very sad.
We also needed to take care of the mental health of the residents. Some of them were stressed by isolation, others had their engagement canceled. I have a small room in my office, so sometimes I would call the workers and listen to them. I let them cry and talk. When they were calmer, I would give them some advice.
I know how they felt because my grandmother passed away of old age during that period, and 15 days later my grandfather left us. I was participating in a massive smear test when my brother called to tell me. I remember how my grandmother took care of me during my childhood. It was hard not being there.
But I told myself that I was no longer a child, I had responsibilities and I needed to move on.
What did you get during the pandemic?
It was that Singaporeans were so willing to donate items to migrant workers. We received so many gifts: hand sanitizers, reusable masks, six thousand packets of coffee powder! He showed us that we were in their hearts.
Raj was touched by the way people joined the migrant worker community.
What were some of the highlights of the bedroom fight against COVID-19?
I was very impressed by the people who came to take care of us, like the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). They were very kind. Once a lieutenant colonel asked us if we had a problem and we said there was a problem with a leaking toilet and that we would fix it on our own. He came and helped us do it! We didn’t expect it to. That kind of team spirit really touched my heart.
The government also offered us a lot of help – they made sure that employers paid us a basic salary during the circuit breaker so we could send money home. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also gave us confidence that our families would bring their husbands and children home safely. This is something we will not forget.
Communication was good too. We received information in all four languages (English, Tamil, Bengali, and Mandarin) and we received an answer to any questions we asked. Doctors from the Ministry of Health came regularly to talk to our residents to see if they were okay or if they needed anything. They even provided us with good meals from the Gayatri restaurant! I would compare this to how a parent automatically knows what a child needs, before the child asks.
He is currently working on his Ph.D. in organizational culture and management from the Lakshmi Narain College of Technology. Did you manage to apply what you learned?
Yes, sometimes I use what I have learned from my studies in my work! I think the pandemic has also taught us a relevant lesson: that teamwork can win anything, as long as there is good planning and organization. Good management can control a pandemic.
Raj believes that good management and planning kept the pandemic under control.
His last visit home was in February when he visited his wife who was pregnant with twins. Now that your daughters have delivered safely, what is your hope for 2021?
Many migrant workers, like me, would like to see our families. Previously, when I was holding my friends’ or my sister’s babies, I absorbed their milky baby scent. I have not yet been able to hold my own babies, nor experience that smell. So the only dream I have for 2021 is to go back and see my babies.
What message would you like to send to Singaporeans as we start the new year?
Unity leads to success. We are all doing our part to fight COVID-19. Together, we can meet whatever comes next.
Share your reflections, hopes and aspirations for 2021, from now until December 30, at 11:59 p.m. Upload your videos on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok with the hashtags #SGTogetherBetterTomorrow and # LetsCelebrate2021. The top 21 posts can earn S $ 210 in coupons. Visit mediacorp.sg/letscelebrate2021/sgtogether for more details. Terms and Conditions apply.
