Masks For All SG, a ground-up advocacy movement, will be distributing half-a-million masks through an educational outreach initiative with the goal of making masks accessible to all.
Through this programme, Masks For All SG aims to promote the culture of mask-wearing, primarily reaching out to vulnerable groups across Singapore to advise on the proper use of face masks during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The 4,000 volunteer-strong group believes that as Singaporeans, there is an unspoken duty to care for those who are vulnerable and largely not integrated within the community – which include isolated seniors and migrant workers living outside the dormitories.
In partnership with Prudential Singapore, Vlight, Lalamove, The Majurity Trust, MCCY, Ismaili CIVIC, and SingHealth’s Emergency Medicine Academic Clinical Programme (EM ACP), this initiative will prioritise these high-risk groups and provide direct support in the coming weeks.
The masks provided are currently crowdsourced from various community groups such as Masks Sewn With Love, Contribute.sg, and TeamCareMask.
“We are committed to complementing the Government’s efforts alongside our partners in the public, private and community sectors. We aim to look at the gaps in care amongst those who may not know how to access or use masks properly,” said Von Leong, Co-Founder of Masks For All SG.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with prolonged social distancing measures, it has become harder to educate the public on taking care of certain groups who may slip through the system,” she added.
Masks For All SG’s first outreach last month helped over 2,000 migrant workers living outside the dormitories
Earlier in May, the founders of Masks For All SG came together for their first social media campaign targeted at migrant workers living outside the dormitories.
Featuring language-specific advertisements in Bengali, the campaign successfully delivered care packages of both surgical and reusable masks to over 2,000 migrant workers.
Since then, Masks For All SG has also reached out to vulnerable communities including ex-offenders, rental
block residents, isolated seniors, students with special needs, adults with disabilities, and charitable organisations such as AWWA Ltd, SUN-DAC, and Kreta Ayer Seniors Activity Centre.
Members of the public who wish to offer their support can request for the complimentary masks online on Masks For All SG’s Facebook page or Contribute.sg.
Upon eligibility, registrants will be able to receive the masks via contactless pick-up points with the help of supporting partners Lalamove and National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA).
Those who are interested in donating masks or hand sanitiser/disinfectant can also do so via the same website.
