SINGAPORE - Congregants will now not have to worry about getting wet when they make their way to the Masjid Yusof Ishak on rainy days, thanks to a new free shared umbrella campaign.
In response to feedback about the absence of a sheltered walkway from a nearby bus stop to the mosque, Masjid Yusof Ishak launched a share-an-umbrella campaign on Sunday (Dec 23).
These umbrellas, which will also be available to residents in the nearby Sembawang area, can be picked up from and returned to either of the two deposit spots at the bus stop along Woodlands Avenue 1 and the rear entrance of the mosque on Woodlands Drive.
The initiative is a collaboration between the mosque and the Admiralty Citizens' Consultative Committee.
It is also supported by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and food company Goh Joo Hin, which sponsored 300 umbrellas for the campaign.
Mr Vikram Nair, an MP for Sembawang GRC (Admiralty), launched the share-an-umbrella campaign on Sunday.
He pointed out that a sense of civic-mindedness was crucial to its success.
Mr Nair, who is also the adviser to Admiralty Grassroots Organisations, said: "The most important thing is for Singaporeans to develop an understanding of what the campaign is about, and it requires a degree of civic-mindedness.
"Residents need to understand that it is more important for them to return the umbrellas after use for this scheme to work. I am positive that people will buy in to the idea and do the right thing."
The mosque said in a statement that this shared umbrella campaign was inspired by a group of students in Republic Polytechnic who came up with the idea for their Final Year Project last year.
Their Sharella or "Share an umbrella" initiative was rolled out last December and allowed residents to borrow umbrellas from any of 17 pairs of umbrella deposit spots in Sembawang.
Mosque chairman Mohammad Ayub Johari said the campaign launched on Sunday is meant to ease the lives of both residents and congregants.
He said: "We wanted to ease the way for our congregants and friends at the nearby flats. The absence of a sheltered walkway from the bus stop to the mosque can be difficult, especially if it starts to rain.
"We hope that with this campaign, it makes it a little bit easier for everyone."