Heroes Unmasked: She knits extensions for face-mask straps for her tudung-wearing colleagues, front-line workers

As Singapore battles the Covid-19 outbreak, TODAY’s Heroes Unmasked series highlights those who are doing their bit to spread kindness and compassion during this period. In this instalment, we speak to Ms Neo Su Yin, who has rallied volunteers to knit mask-strap extensions for those who work in essential services after doing so for her tudung-wearing colleagues.

SINGAPORE — After her Muslim colleagues told Ms Neo Su Yin, 40, that they had to visit the restroom to remove the surgical masks they wore under their tudung whenever they had a meal or drank water, she decided to devise a convenient solution.

Ms Neo, who is head of post and parcel delivery and customer experience at Singapore Post (SingPost), took out her knitting needles and got to work making eight mask-strap extenders that go over the outside of the tudung, thus allowing the wearer to remove the mask more easily.

She launched into the project at the start of April and then passed them to her grateful colleagues at SingPost's Jurong delivery centre, who now find getting their face masks on and off less awkward.

“The ladies were very excited and so happy to model (the mask straps) for photos,” she said. “It was very heartwarming to see that they really like it and made me want to try knitting more of them.”

To make more mask straps for SingPost employees and others in essential services, Ms Neo created a Facebook group called Project Co-Knit with Love on Sunday (April 12).

She said: “I wanted to rope in more volunteers, so that we can have as many knitters as possible to make the mask straps and distribute to people who need it.”

One colleague who received the mask-strap extender on Monday is temporary postal worker Suzana Sukiman, 42, who had been wearing her surgical mask beneath her tudung since mid-March.

“It was very inconvenient because when I eat or drink water, I need to go to the toilet to remove the mask,” she said.

“With the strap, it is much better. I can wear my mask over my tudung, and if I need to eat, I can just quickly remove it.”

“I am really thankful for it,” she said, adding that Ms Neo is always thinking about her colleagues and would try her best to address their concerns.

Another colleague, mail sorter Salbiah Mansir, 59, said that she was thankful for the strap, as it was uncomfortable and difficult to wear a mask beneath her tudung.

“It is uncomfortable, and sometimes when the strap falls, I have to go to the toilet to readjust,” she said.

“Other friends also used to stretch the two strings of the mask to the back of their head and secure it with a pin or metal clip to wear the mask over their tudung,” she added. “But if the mask quality is not good, it can give way.”

After creating the Facebook group, Ms Neo and her friends started to promote it on their personal Facebook accounts to urge more people to knit the straps.

Within the next three days, five or six volunteers offered to knit more of the mask straps. The group had sewn almost 100 mask straps as of Wednesday.

Ms Neo hopes they can knit 1,000 mask straps by the end of April and plans to pass them to friends who are in the medical and food-and-beverage sectors, so that they can distribute them to those who work in essential roles.

The straps will either be mailed to her friend’s houses or delivered by the team to be left outside their door so as to ensure they do not make physical contact.

The mask-strap extensions are proving beneficial even for those who do not wear the tudung.

“My friends who are doctors told me that it is uncomfortable to wear a mask for long hours as it will press against their ears,” she said, adding that the handmade mask straps will leave a gap between the surgical-mask straps and their ears.

“Every day, those who are in essential services continue to work to keep the nation moving, so I wanted to find a way to bring a bit of comfort for them.”

Ms Neo has also made tutorial videos on how to knit the mask straps, which she uploaded onto the Facebook page to guide other volunteers who expressed interest in knitting them.

A friend of Ms Neo's, Ms Chen Yiyang, 33, who works in legal services, is coordinating queries by volunteers on their Facebook group.

“Some volunteers have asked how many straps they should make or how long they should be, so I help to answer those questions,” Ms Chen said.

“I also help to do outreach by looking for friends in essential services whom we can pass on the straps to.”