Madam Siti Aidah Abdullah’s children, aged 17 and 15, used to spend hours doing their homework at a McDonald’s outlet in Ang Mo Kio because of the free Wi-Fi.
The mother of five has leukaemia and, when not too sick, would accompany her children to make sure they remained safe as they tend to stay late into the night.
On other occasions, they would go to the residents’ committee (RC) centre a five-minute walk from their two-room rental flat at Block 244 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.
Madam Siti, 50, cannot afford to pay for an Internet connection. She is jobless and has to attend regular medical check-ups.
With the Kebun Baru Void Deck WiFi Project set up by the charity, Beyond Social Services, the family of six now have access to Wi-Fi closer to their home, at the neighbouring Block 245.
Theirs is among 300 low-income homes in Blocks 244 and 245 that now have Internet access with the installation of high-speed fibre broadband at the void deck.
The project took nearly a year to come to life. Residents like Madam Siti took part in a community conference organised by Beyond and Kebun Baru Community Club last September, where they expressed their aspirations for the community. They put forward suggestions, including the idea of transforming the void deck into a study and social corner with more seats and tables. That is also in the works, with the cost to be borne by the People’s Association.
A team of Beyond volunteers led by lawyer Rebecca Chiu, 34, engaged sponsors and raised funds for the Wi-Fi initiative. The project is supported by corporate partners and sponsors including law firm Allen & Overy, telco M1 and Bridge the Digital Divide, a corporate social responsibility initiative by digital agency Xpointo Media.
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Source: The Straits Times, 3 September 2020