Contributed by Michelle Wan Kar Ting, Journalist @ WSC Publicity & Publications
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for vulnerable communities amongst our society has become more relevant than ever. From government-implemented legal measures to upholding social responsibility by staying indoors as much as possible, some communities are more susceptible to the unfortunate and unintended consequences of social distancing.
One such community was highlighted in my interview with Lai En Han, a fellow WSC member in his final year of studies in NTU and currently heads NTU WSC RSP Youth. The elderly, as En Han shared, are more susceptible to the negative effects of social distancing – especially those who reside alone. The loneliness they experience is further exacerbated when tighter measures kicked in, as their family members living in another household cannot visit to check on their physical and emotional well-being. Besides that, there are also elderly who struggle with mobility and face difficulty in completing daily tasks unless with the presence of a caretaker.
En Han vaguely recalled speaking to an elderly lady during one of his volunteering visits. The latter shared that her son passed away due to an illness, which unfortunately left the elderly lady to fend for herself. This reminds me of a Chinese saying that loosely translates to “a misfortunate event rarely arrives without the company of more,” and one can hardly imagine the other hardships the elderly, and other vulnerable communities, face.
We can do more to reach out to these communities especially during tough times. When it comes to the spirit of volunteering, En Han encouraged potential volunteers to not be afraid to step out of their comfort zones and actively seek volunteering opportunities. While the pandemic seemed to have wiped out many opportunities, volunteerism continued to adapt to reach out to service users in alternative forms such as online volunteerism.
As for En Han, who volunteered mainly in the youth community, he candidly beseeched potential volunteers to remain open-minded when it came to working with different service users. He also found that many incoming volunteers assumed that working with youths might be easier as both parties belonged in a similar age group. In reality, En Han shared that open-mindedness remained key, as volunteers would go on to meet people with vastly different life experiences and possibly, different socio-economic backgrounds.
The pandemic has undoubtedly shifted the paradigm of volunteerism and increased the need for empathy within our society. As long as one is able to do so, volunteering to reach out to vulnerable communities will become more pertinent and most importantly, more impactful than ever.