Singapore — A Singaporean has started a donation drive to purchase raincoats and shoes for migrant workers to help them with rainy weather.
One Nabillah Jalal took to Instagram on Aug 24 to ask the public for donations, so she could purchase raincoats and casual shoes for migrant workers.
Her initial post read, “Earlier this year, my friends and I did a donation drive for food and clothes to be sent to a foreign workers dormitory.”
“He reached out to me today and asked for the following: raincoats and men’s casual shoes size 8.”
The workers highlighted that their current shoes don’t dry in time for work the following day amid the recent wet weather.
Expecting to receive small donations, Ms Nabillah was surprised to see her bank account had S$10,000 after a few days.
She quickly went to Decathlon to canvas the items she would order.
“This donation drive was never meant to be big. It started out as just for raincoats because of the rainy season,” wrote Ms Nabillah in another post.
“To have so much donation money in my bank account (the responsibility), coupled with the immense trust that the people who donated have in me, made me very nervous,” she added.
Ms Nabillah decided to spend a bit more on quality items that would last longer.
“Above all, we wanted to make sure that we treated the foreign workers with respect and dignity because they deserve it as much as we all do.”
Ms Nabillah and her friends packed the items in a bag, consisting of raincoats, slippers, water bottles, towels and snacks.
They were able to send the bags to seven locations instead of the initial plan of one foreign worker dormitory.
On Thursday (Sept 2), she posted an update on the initiative, highlighting the situation of the workers.
“Their low income means that they have to save every cent they get, to the point of not being able to afford raincoats and water bottles which are essential to their health and well-being for them to be able to do their jobs,” said Ms Nabillah.
“The real success of us as a society is if we are able to stop asking how much items or money was donated rather these foreign workers wouldn’t even need any donations because they can meet their needs.” /TISG
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