Providing Wi-Fi and computers to needy families, Youth Corps Singapore among those who receive awards for Covid-19 efforts
National Awards (Covid-19) recipient Crystal Chua.
SINGAPORE — When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the Youth Corps Singapore had to quickly move the programmes they organised for children, youths and the elderly online.
That was when they realised they had one major stumbling block: Some of their beneficiaries did not have computers or internet access.
“Good Wi-Fi connection was something I took for granted,” admitted Ms Crystal Chua, 32, who was an assistant director for community collaborators at Youth Corps Singapore at the time. She is currently an assistant director in the SG Cares Office at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
Ms Chua and her team got in touch with non-profits like Engineering Good. Alongside the Youth Corps Volunteers, they found ways to ensure that the beneficiaries had what they needed for online access.
This enabled programmes such as digital literacy for seniors and the KidsFun Online School Holiday Series, which was for children aged between seven and nine, to continue despite the circuit-breaker measures, when people were told to stay at home.
“It wasn’t easy as we are not used to conducting programmes online… we had to learn how to keep them engaged and actively moving so they won’t get bored,” recalled Ms Chua.
For their effort, Youth Corps Singapore and Youth Corps Volunteers were awarded the President’s Certificate of Commendation, along with other organisations for their contributions to Singapore’s fight against the pandemic.
On Sunday (June 18) evening, President Halimah Yacob presented the National Awards (Covid-19) to more than 100 individuals and 450 teams at the Institute of Technical Education College Central.
They include Professor Kenneth Mak, director-general of health at the Ministry of Health, and Mr Pang Kin Keong, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs, who were both awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
Prof Mak was a familiar face on the multi-ministry taskforce overseeing the public health response to Covid-19. As for Mr Pang, he coordinated the Government’s response to the pandemic across the public sector.
About 850 people attended the ceremony, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
More than 100,000 individuals and 1,000 teams from the public, private and people sectors will also be receiving medals and certificates for their contributions during the pandemic.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE STEADY POM PI PI VIDEO
As for Mr Daniel Lee, he and his team were awarded the President’s Certificate of Commendation for their efforts, which include providing accurate information about Covid-19 and encouraging Singaporeans to vaccinate themselves.
Among the initiatives they came up with was a music video titled Get Your Shot, Steady Pom Pi Pi, featuring Gurmit Singh as Phua Chu Kang.
It went viral, garnering over four million views in three weeks.
“Leading up to the release of the video, my team and I were nervous,” said the 36-year-old assistant director at the Public Communications Division of the Ministry of Communications and Information.
“We were releasing this video, which was more light-hearted and humorous, as the number of community cases was rising.”
Describing the creative video as a “risk” he and his team were willing to take in order to encourage those aged 45 and above to get vaccinated, the anxiety quickly washed away as people praised the video for its unique style and catchy tune.
The video also gained traction internationally, with media outlets like The New York Times and BBC World News featuring it.
Mr Lee said one challenge was in making sure that the campaign would be attractive to those in their 40s and above, as the team behind the video were in their 20s and 30s.
“We had to ask our older colleagues what they preferred,” he said.
Safe distancing rules also meant fewer people on set while filming — the team had to scrap plans to have more dancers in the video which would have made it more vibrant.
With the need to keep Singaporeans constantly up to speed with Covid-19 developments, Mr Lee admitted the line between work and private life for the team was blurred.
“We had our fair share of stress and uncertainty to go through… work formed a huge part of our lives,” he said.
