The MWS Chaplaincy Team rose to the occasion by helping on the ground. I learnt that our chaplains paid out of their own pockets to create care packs, and personally delivered them to our foreign staff who were living in isolation facilities. They also raised almost $6,000 to provide special meals for more than 100 staff and residents who were in isolation during the pandemic. One chaplain even visited a staff member who was under quarantine every other day to help dispose her garbage as her apartment had no rubbish chute.

Other staff have also gone above and beyond the call of duty to support fellow colleagues in the midst of COVID-19. During a cluster outbreak in one of our residential care homes last year, staff from MWS Corporate Services volunteered to be deployed to the facility to mitigate the manpower crunch. From doing laundry duties to preparing and serving meals, and cleaning the toilets, these staff helped ensure the residents continued to receive the care they required, without compromise. These acts of giving are a testament to our culture of care and mutual support, and stories of solidarity like these have emerged as a silver lining amid the pandemic.

I am also heartened by how volunteers have gone the extra mile to continue serving our beneficiaries despite COVID-19 disruptions. One such example is 67-year-old Gladys Lim Mui Yoon, who found innovative ways to engage our nursing home residents. With in-person activities suspended, Gladys learnt how to use Zoom and pivoted to virtual befriending. She thought up nifty ways to keep participantsʼ attention, such as conducting reminiscence activities and virtual tours to attractions like Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Zoo. Dedicated volunteers like Gladys continue to be a driving force of our engagement efforts.

Our number of beneficiaries will continue to grow, with the introduction of new services such as our first Senior Care Centre in January 2022, and the debut of a new Strengthening Families Programme in July 2022. Yet, the pool of volunteers across the sector is dwindling. Stepping out of the pandemic, with in-person activities resuming, volunteers are needed now more than ever. At MWS Senior Activity Centres, the number of seniors who need care and companionship far
exceed that of volunteer befrienders. The harvest is plentiful indeed, but the labourers are few. It is my hope that more will step up to volunteer in this time
of great need.

I would like to end off by saying that MWSʼ work in serving the disadvantaged and distressed would not have been possible without the steadfast support of our partners. So I want to say a heartfelt thanks to the charitable foundations, trusts, individual donors, corporations, Methodist churches, schools, volunteers and MWS staff for supporting us to reach out and serve over 9,000 beneficiaries under the care of MWS.

I also wish to express my sincere appreciation for the dedicated service of my fellow MWS Board of Governance members, and the support and commitment of our Centre Governance Committees and Working Committees.