Migrant workers learn computer basics, find friends in classes run by non-profit organisation

SINGAPORE – Bangladeshi Anowar Mirdha was a year away from receiving his bachelor’s degree, but frequent floods in his home country and the lack of time made him drop out of the course.

Mr Mirdha has been working in Singapore as a lorry driver since 2014, and has tried to return to his home town of Manikganj to take the final papers to get his degree.

However, floods kept causing his exam dates to be postponed, and he did not have enough leave to stay on in Bangladesh.

Recounting his school life, Mr Mirdha, who has a Bangladeshi qualification equivalent to the A-level certificate, said he did well in mathematics and economics. 

So, in 2024, he jumped at the chance to take up a computer basics course offered by non-profit organisation The Colours Foundation and learn things such as creating PowerPoint slides.

Along with 14 other migrant workers, Mr Mirdha attends a two-hour class on Sundays, his only day off in the week. The course lasts six weeks.

“I came to Singapore to earn money for my wife and my parents, but I am also here to learn more,” he told The Straits Times at the new Colours Friendship Centre, which opened in June, in Sembawang.

The space is part of the newly opened Sembawang Recreation Centre, the first of nine centres that provide dedicated spaces for non-governmental organisations serving migrant workers. It opened in April.

More than 40 migrant workers from India and Bangladesh have picked up basic computer skills – and found friendship – from the classes since they started in June.

This initiative is a collaboration with non-profit organisation Hope Initiative Alliance and helps to uplift and upskill migrant workers, said The Colours Foundation founder Isaac Ong. 

“When you see people as their job, and not as part of our community, there is no connection – that is the gap I am trying to fill,” said Mr Ong, 36. “These migrant brothers are given a chance to find community and upskill, while our volunteers get to form a relationship with them and hopefully see them as more than their jobs.”

He hopes to expand the course options to include the English language, photography and fitness.

“But more than just the migrant brothers learning, I want this centre to be a vehicle for friendship and community to be formed,” he said. 

After class, Mr Mirdha said he usually spends an extra 30 minutes chatting with his peers and the volunteers over snacks and drinks. “My English is weak, but I will always try to talk to everyone around me.”

Mr Ong’s journey to starting the foundation began when he was 23 and fresh out of the army. He went on a mission trip to Batam, Indonesia, where he visited schools in villages. Repainting the schools there sparked the drive in him to do more.

Mr Ong started to raise funds by running a social media marketing agency called the Colours Studio. During this time, he continued to organise aid trips to neighbouring countries, and did ad hoc projects such as distributing free ice cream to migrant workers in Little India.

In 2022, Mr Ong officially launched the foundation, investing his savings of about $50,000 – including profits from his agency – to get it off the ground. 

He graduated in 2018 from the Singapore Institute of Management with a bachelor’s degree in the arts, specialising in communication and media studies, offered by the University at Buffalo.

He said that although his parents did not completely understand what he was doing, they gave him their full support.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” said Mr Ong, when asked if he worries about finances. “Regardless of what happens, it is important to me to do what I can with what I have.” 

Mr Ong quipped that because he is single and has to support only himself, it makes it easier for him to work on the foundation and the social media agency full time.

It was just him and 12 volunteers – his own agency’s employees – in the beginning. 

Together, they started with a programme in partnership with family service centres to declutter and refurbish the homes of lower-income families and rental flats. So far, the foundation has helped 15 homes.

Two years on, Mr Ong said they have built up a pool of nearly 700 volunteers.

The foundation has also expanded across the region, as it partners local organisations to offer programmes such as English and enrichment classes in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The foundation partners organisations – in Singapore and abroad – that are on the ground helping vulnerable communities, offering volunteers, resources and financial support.

Finding fulfilment through volunteering

The foundation is not just meant for beneficiaries, Mr Ong said.

“It is not just physically poor people who need help, there are many who are poor mentally and emotionally, and for some, volunteering fills that gap.

“It is important that beneficiaries don’t think that we are their saviours; both parties are giving and receiving.” he added. 

The greatest challenges for him were changing the mindset that he had to earn a lot of money, and letting go of the feeling that he “had to fix every broken thing in the world”. 

“I slowly learnt that I don’t have to save everybody, and I can share the burden with other people,” he said, adding that in 2025, the foundation hopes to offer companies avenues for their staff to volunteer.

“We’re here to create accessible volunteering opportunities, allowing people to not only feel fulfilled, but also serve and uplift those around them.”