For a period of four weeks between June and July 2020, I volunteered with TOUCH International as a digital ambassador at the migrant worker dormitories.

This was part of an overall effort to familiarise approximately 1,200 digitally-savvy migrant workers at over 60 dormitories with the three essential mobile apps (TraceTogether, FWMOMCare and SGWorkPass) they will need to use daily once they are cleared to resume work.

The idea is to train up these migrant workers into digital ambassadors themselves, so they may in turn help their peers with the onboarding and adoption of these three essential apps to facilitate contact tracing and the monitoring of every migrant worker’s daily health status.

This was my very first time volunteering among the migrant worker communities here in Singapore.

And yes, it was right smack in the middle of a global pandemic – in the very dormitories which not too long ago were spoken of in the same breath as the words, “new cases”, “outbreak” and “new cluster”.

We chose to remember God’s heart for the “foreigners” and “strangers” in our midst.

Perhaps it was the circuit breaker or the lack of sunlight and fresh air that bored me stiff at home. Or maybe it was scrolling through the surfeit of circuit faker feeds and virtue signalling social media posts that did me in.

Whatever it was, I knew that I wanted to go out there and help in my own small way amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

FAITH AND WISDOM

Stepping up to volunteer in these unprecedented times required me to step out in faith every day.

I had to fight against the nagging fears of exposing myself to the coronavirus and the consequence of unwittingly bringing it back home to my loved ones.

Though Singapore was already in the reopening phase, you wouldn’t fault anyone for being too cautious, especially since the numbers at the dormitories were still increasing by the hundreds at the time.

So stepping out in faith meant trusting in God’s protection for myself and all the other volunteers, even as we chose to remember God’s heart for the “foreigners” and “strangers” in our midst.

It meant laying claim to God’s protection and deliverance in Psalm 91, which isn’t about seeking immunity from danger and harm on this side of eternity, but trusting in Him who causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28).

I was reminded that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). However, at the same time, having faith does not mean being foolhardy.

Faith and wisdom must come hand in hand, for wisdom protects (Proverbs 4:6) and brings prudence and sound judgment (Proverbs 8:12, 14).

It was wisdom that led some churches to suspend their services as early as in February this year.

It was also wisdom that led most other churches to continue their services during the same period with strict precautionary measures in place (before official nationwide government restrictions were implemented in March).

As volunteers, wisdom was learning how to protect ourselves first before helping others.

We were properly trained from the outset in wearing personal protective equipment (gown, mask, face shield, hair net, gloves – the works), practising safe distancing measures, and wiping down and sanitising ourselves and our equipment before stepping back into our own homes.

It certainly brought to mind those pre-flight safety videos telling parents to put their own oxygen masks on first (in the event of cabin depressurisation) before tending to their child.

Having barely started my first 2-hour training session with the migrant workers in full protective gear, I was already soaked in sweat. 

The experience filled me with a newfound respect for healthcare workers and other forward assurance support team officers, who have to take such painstaking precautions daily.

These are the silent heroes who serve on the frontlines in a suffocating and cumbersome outfit every single day.

FAITH AND DEEDS

Volunteering in the dormitories was my “mustard seed” attempt at putting faith into action, and showing love through deeds.

After all, the Bible tells us not to merely listen to the Word, but to also do what it says as well (James 1:22).

We all need to start by being the change we want to see if we are to move beyond mere virtue signalling.

Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:26), we all need to start by being the change we want to see if we are to move beyond mere virtue signalling.

In between briefing the migrant workers about the three essential apps they will need to use once they resume work and troubleshooting issues on their mobile phones, I was glad to have had the opportunity of engaging in more informal conversations with many of them along the way.

A good number of the workers I interacted with had over 10 years of working experience in Singapore, with many hailing from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and China.

My initial fears of language barriers promptly proved to be unfounded, as I soon realised that the vast majority of them were more than comfortable with English.

At every dormitory, the workers’ cordial demeanour – this was the best I could gather from their masked faces – belied their eagerness to return to work, to enjoy more free-roaming access within their dormitories, to see and taste the world outside again and to being able to cook up regular communal feasts.

Overall, it was heartening to put faces, stories and experiences to these diverse migrant worker communities in Singapore which more often than not, have been painted with too broad a brush in our everyday consciousness.

OVERFLOWING GRATITUDE

At the end of one of my training sessions in a dormitory down in Tuas South, I found myself at the receiving end of a profuse display of gratitude by one of the workers.

He kept thanking me repeatedly for all that Singapore has done for the migrant workers, from providing food and essentials, healthcare and testing, to other measures that ensured their safety and well-being in the dormitories.

He even started rattling off the names of several government leaders whom he had only become more aware of because of the COVID-19 pandemic!

As I stood there, thinking to myself that I had done nothing to deserve his gushing appreciation for Singapore’s efforts, I found myself blushing because of his effusive display of gratefulness.

To put things into perspective, this particular worker’s sense of appreciation for all that has been done for the migrant worker communities during this COVID-19 pandemic is not the exception.

Any of the other volunteers will readily share with you similar stories of such gratitude, appreciation and gratefulness being expressed by the migrant workers we have come into contact with.

This experience made me reflect on whether I have ever demonstrated such overflowing gratefulness to God in my thoughts and actions, for all that He has done for me and for this country of Singapore.

Let us be hearers and doers of the Word.

Truly, what a privilege and blessing it has been to serve the “foreigners” and “strangers” in our land. There is definitely so much more that can and needs to be done.

As God’s kingdom keeps advancing, my prayer for us as Christians is that we never lose sight of our call.

We are created and enabled by His grace to do good works and accomplish kingdom assignments, which God himself has prepared in advance for each of us to do (Ephesians 2:10). 

So let us be hearers and doers of the Word.