Coronavirus pandemic
Coronavirus: OCBC donating another $1.23m to over 50,000 people
Supermarket vouchers or other necessities to be given to families in need, migrant workers
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Workers at the 53 Sungei Kadut Loop dormitory with the essential items they received from OCBC Bank. Since last Monday, the bank has been providing food, necessities, personal protective gear and cleaning equipment to migrant workers in isolation.
PHOTO: OCBC BANK
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More than 50,000 people, including migrant workers, will receive supermarket vouchers or other necessities with a $1.23 million donation by OCBC Bank.
The bank said in a statement last Tuesday that it will be providing 1,000 Singaporean families with $800 in supermarket vouchers each.
More will be given to those who require additional help, it added.
Isaac (not his real name), who lives in a two-room rental flat in Outram with his wife and five children, said the FairPrice and Sheng Siong vouchers are much needed.
"Besides food, there are other things that my children need - such as T-shirts to replace those they have outgrown, stationery to do their homework and even medicine when they fall sick," said the 49-year-old, who works for a moving company.
The bank's donation will also reach 55,800 migrant workers in isolation.
Since last Monday, the bank has been providing food, necessities, personal protective gear and cleaning equipment to migrant workers living in nine dormitories and the temporary accommodation, located in the Singapore Sports Hub's OCBC Arena.
Mr Rana Md Habibullah, a Bangladeshi, is one of 6,000 workers under isolation at the Westlite Toh Guan dormitory.
The workers will be receiving oil, rice, spices and other necessities.
The 28-year-old said: "I am grateful for the packed meals that we have been receiving.
"But my friends and I prefer to cook our own dishes using our own type of oil and spices."
KNOW ANYONE who has stepped up to fight Covid-19 or who is doing good around the neighbourhood? Write in to gyanhan@sph.com.sg at The Straits Times Newsdesk.
The donation is the bank's fourth during the coronavirus outbreak.
The first three donations supported front-line healthcare workers, vulnerable seniors and families here, as well as communities in China. In total, the bank and its employees have donated close to $2.2 million to help communities in the region affected by the outbreak.
OCBC Bank Group's chief executive Samuel Tsien said: "The coronavirus outbreak has been unprecedented in both the disruption caused to economies worldwide and the hardships unleashed on the lives of countless people... In a modest way, we have been trying to do our part too."
