Charity walks help lighten load of others amid tough times
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Participants of the finale of charity walk Ruck-On! Singapore! braved yesterday's downpour to walk across the country's central district. It was the last of five "rucking" events that took place over the past month, attracting about 380 participants in all. Rucking refers to walking with a rucksack loaded with weights to build strength.
ST PHOTO: MOHD KHALID BABA
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Dressed in brightly coloured sportswear and ponchos, 103 volunteers and participants braved yesterday's downpour in the finale of Ruck-On! Singapore!, a charity event where participants walked across Singapore's central district.
It was the last of five "rucking" events that took place over the past month, attracting about 380 participants in all. Rucking refers to walking with a rucksack loaded with weights to build strength.
Supermarket chain FairPrice had pledged to donate one bowl each of white rice, brown rice and oats to needy families in the South East Community Development Council area for every 300m walked by participants. The participants covered about 4,000km over five walks, and around 40,000 bowls of grain will be donated. The walks were open to the public.
Ruck-On! Singapore! was organised by TogetherPilots SG - a group formed last August to organise activities for airline staff to help them cope with the lack of work and the uncertainty facing the industry.
Mr Ng Chee Meng, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, joined in yesterday's 7km walk from Newton to Spruce restaurant in Tanglin, one of three different routes that participants could choose to cover.
"It's really good to see our pilots starting a micro-community to take care of one another, and their good work spreading to other communities," he said.
TogetherPilots SG co-founder and pilot Anwar Salim, 49, said: "Going outside and getting some exercise... may not directly solve the problems people may be facing, but it can lift their spirits."
What began as an informal support system within the aviation community has since expanded to include members of the public, as the organisers would like to foster a sense of nationwide solidarity.
Administrative executive June Low, 53, who participated in all five walks, said: "(My family) started walking because of the circuit breaker and I think it's really nice to be able to do it for a good cause - it makes it more meaningful."
