I thank Mr Christony Lau Pet Keong for his views (Bring back social behaviour campaigns, March 2).

For the past 23 years, the Singapore Kindness Movement has launched annual campaigns to foster graciousness and consideration, and a spirit of cohesion and neighbourliness among Singaporeans.

In these troubled times, I am heartened to see how Singaporeans are coming together, not just because we are exhorted to do so, but because we want to. Graciousness cannot be enforced from the top down; it grows from the ground up.

During this Covid-19 outbreak, we need to stand together even more to overcome the crisis as a nation. We need the active participation and support of each Singaporean to look out for one another.

While we have seen hoarding and panic-buying from some, many ground-up movements have also stepped up to do their part in sharing what they have and helping the vulnerable in society.

For example, Contribute.sg is collecting surgical masks and hand sanitisers donated from members of the public, and redistributing them to those in need, such as healthcare and service staff, transport workers, home-bound patients and lower-income families.

Tomorrow, these ground-up movements will be coming together at "Overcome As One", an initiative encouraging Singaporeans to be more caring and appreciative towards front-liners and others, held at Our Tampines Hub. Members of the public may drop by to participate in the booth activities.

While national campaigns may have worked in the past in educating Singaporeans on pro-social behaviours, I believe we can be inspired by the acts of these ground-up movements to spur us on to be kinder. Together, we can be greater.

William Wan (Dr)

General Secretary

Singapore Kindness Movement