Engaging with Migrant Workers at Defu Industrial City and Choa Chu Kang Dormitories

In our ongoing efforts to support and empower the migrant worker community, we recently organized two engaging outreach sessions in collaboration with TS Group.

Defu Industrial City (DIC) Dormitory

One of the highlights of our outreach at DIC Dormitory was our informative session on lower back pain.

We were fortunate to have physiotherapist and osteopath volunteers who shared their expertise with the migrant workers. Through engaging discussions and practical demonstrations, they learned about myths surrounding lower back pain, discovered effective ways to manage pain when it arises, and practiced exercises aimed at easing discomfort.

Learning doesn't have to be boring! Through our health education games, migrant brothers learned the importance of workplace safety, balanced diets, and physically activity. Not only did they learn about the benefits of healthy eating habits, but they also discovered ways to incorporate regular physical activity into their daily routines.

11A Choa Chu Kang Grove Dormitory

The migrant brothers at 11A Choa Chu Kang Dormitory were given the opportunity to have their BMI and blood pressure measured. These screenings offer valuable insights into their health status and help identify potential areas for improvement.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the doctors and volunteers who graciously joined us, sharing their expertise and contributing to the well-being of our migrant community.

To enhance our engagement and ensure that our brothers gain a comprehensive understanding of health, we organized interactive health education games. These activities delved into key aspects of healthy living, including dietary choices and exercise recommendations. Through these games, we empowered our brothers with practical knowledge that they can incorporate into their everyday lives.

We were delighted to witness the receptiveness of our migrant brothers as they embraced new insights and knowledge.

If you're passionate about making a difference and would like to be a part of our future outreaches, we invite you to join us as a volunteer. Your contribution can help shape a healthier future for our migrant community. To apply to volunteer, click here.

Collaborating with Duke-NUS Medical School to Improve Health Among Migrant Workers

In May, we collaborated with students from Duke-NUS Medical School (Health-to-Thrive/Project Crane) to provide health screening and DARE (Dispatcher-Assisted first REsponder)/First Aid training for migrant workers in Singapore. These initiatives aim to promote better health outcomes and safety among the migrant worker community.

Health Screening at Cochrane Recreation Centre

We partnered with Duke-NUS Medical School (Healthy to Thrive initiative) to organize a basic health screening and education event at Cochrane Recreation Centre, with the objective to empower migrant workers to take charge of their health and well-being and foster an understanding of the importance of early detection and prevention for chronic diseases.

Together, we reached over 300 migrant workers, providing them with basic health services and information.

We were delighted to hear that numerous individuals developed a deeper comprehension of how they can take responsibility for their own health and well-being.

Furthermore, the students had a positive experience serving migrant workers. One student shared:

“I had a great experience providing help and advice to migrant workers!”

Another student found it fulfilling:

“Many of the migrant workers were happy to just see me and I feel fulfilled after my volunteering experience.”

DARE (Dispatcher-Assisted first REsponder)/First Aid Class

DARE/First Aid training plays a vital role in emergency response, equipping individuals with essential skills to provide immediate assistance until professional medical help arrives.

For migrant workers who often work in physically demanding environments, having the knowledge and confidence to respond to emergencies can be lifesaving.

The class aims to empower migrant workers by offering them practical and actionable knowledge. The DARE hands-on programme allows migrant workers to learn how to co-operate with the 995 specialists, perform chest compressions and use an AED on a cardiac arrest victim. The first aid training covered wound management and handling of common medical emergencies.

The feedback from many migrant workers who attended the course has been overwhelmingly positive. They expressed enjoyment during the sessions and appreciated the opportunity to learn new skills through hands-on practice.

Partner With Us

If your student group or organization is interested in collaborating with us for upcoming events, please don't hesitate to contact us here. We welcome and encourage collaborations with like-minded entities to create impactful initiatives together!

Empowering Communities and Promoting Health: My Brother SG's First Intergenerational and Interschool Migrant Worker Health Carnival

The Migrant Worker Health Carnival that we co-organised with Construction Care Collaboration, National Health Group (NHG) Family Medicine Residency, and MOM ACE Group was a resounding success, reaching over 200 migrant brothers at the Kranji Recreation Centre.

This event marks a significant milestone for us. It is the first time we collaborated with students from medical schools and doctors from Singapore’s three healthcare clusters to conduct a health screening for migrant workers. We came together with the aim of increasing health awareness and literacy among the migrant community.

Medical students and doctors worked together to check migrant brothers’ blood pressure, height and weight. They also provided health education on chronic illnesses and musculoskeletal pain, empowering migrant workers to lead healthier lifestyles.

A volunteer checking a migrant worker’s blood pressure

An engaging and educational game for migrant workers

Not only was the health carnival a great way to care for the migrant community, but it was also an excellent opportunity for mentorship between doctors and students as they served the community together.

Both students and doctors enjoyed volunteering and found it meaningful to contribute to a good cause.

One student said about their volunteer experience:

“I really enjoyed speaking to migrant workers about health tips. It felt fulfilling to be able to help them.”

Student volunteers educating a migrant worker on chronic diseases

Another student said:

“This was an impactful experience as I got to interact with migrant workers and see first-hand what their facilities are like.”

A doctor from NHG Family Medicine Residency expressed how inspiring it was to witness like-minded groups coming together to help migrant workers, saying:

“What stood out to me the most was the collaboration between medical schools and various family medicine clusters for a good cause. It inspired and encouraged me to continue promoting and establishing community outreach within NHG Family Medicine Residency.”

Volunteers and event organisers at the Migrant Worker Health Carnival

The event's success would not have been possible without the support of all the doctors from different healthcare clusters and volunteers from My Brother SG, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Duke-NUS Medical School. We look forward to kickstarting many more exciting partnerships with medical professionals to conduct regular health screenings for migrant workers.

If you are interested in partnering or volunteering with My Brother SG, get in touch with us here.

Curated Learning Journey with Healthcare Students

In January, My Brother SG collaborated with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Forward Assurance and Support Team (FAST) officers to organise a curated learning journey for student group Popping the Bubble (PTB). PTB is a student-led project in National University of Singapore (NUS) which seeks to empower healthcare students to understand and serve different marginalised communities better.

The curated learning journey was an orientation and induction before PTB joined us as volunteers at our ground outreaches.

The session was held at the award-winning Leo Dormitory, with a fully equipped gym, a sick bay and face scan gantries. Students had the chance to tour around the dormitory, hear MOM and our sharing, and engage in small-group conversation with a migrant brother.

Healthcare students engaging in conversation with a migrant brother.

At the end of the session, students shared their reflections. They saw how tough it is for migrant brothers to be away from home, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which has taken a serious toll on their mental health.

Through conversations with FAST officers, they learned that company employers could influence brothers’ welfare. Overall, they were encouraged by the efforts of many helping hands such as MOM and non-governmental organisations involved in the migrant worker community, and were challenged on how they could also contribute.

We are glad that the students gained much insight from the curated learning journey. We hope that it will enhance their volunteering and community service with My Brother SG and nurture them to become compassionate and effective future healthcare providers.

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Interested in serving the migrant worker community together? Learn how you can partner with us here.

Celebrating Deepavali with 2,000 Migrant Workers at Penjuru

In collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower's Assurance, Care and Engagement Group (ACE Group) and Cornerstone Community Services, we organised a Deepavali carnival to celebrate with our migrant brothers at Penjuru Recreation Centre on 24 October.

Our migrant brothers were happy they could celebrate Deepavali after two years of muted festivities due to Covid-19 restrictions.

This year, we focused on games, health screening and education programmes to encourage migrant workers to keep up their mental and physical well-being.

Thank you to FG Concepts for generously sponsoring water bottles and umbrellas to give out to our migrant brothers.

We are glad to have brought festive cheer to over 2,000 migrant brothers!

A Celebration of Resilience

The carnival was featured on Channel News Asia and The Straits Times, where our founder and project lead, Tam Wai Jia, shared about what the celebration meant to migrant workers.

She said the carnival not only celebrated a meaningful holiday for migrant workers, but it also was a way of commemorating their resilience throughout the pandemic.

Upcoming Events

Stay updated about future events by following us on Facebook @MyBrotherSG.

We hope to see you at our next event!

Outreach at Kaki Bukit with Global Training Services

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To strengthen workplace safety and health practices on the ground, we partnered with Global Training Services to remind migrant workers about workplace safety standards.

We demonstrated how to properly put on, adjust, wear, and take off PPE.

We also conducted quizzes and games on common workplace hazards to highlight how these can be prevented.

More resources on workplace safety are available on our website.

Celebrating National Day with Migrant Brothers

Our team celebrated National Day with migrant brothers at Cochrane Recreation Centre on 7 August. Here are some highlights from the event!

Fun & Educational Games

We invited the brothers to play a carnival game that introduced them to healthy eating and nutrition. Our team prepared pictures of healthy and unhealthy food options, and secured them on empty drink cans. Migrant brothers were asked to knock down the unhealthy food options.

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Caricature Drawings

To acknowledge and recognise the contributions of migrant workers who helped build and develop our country, we organized a special live caricature drawing event. We included their favourite fruits or sports in the drawings to remind them to choose a healthier lifestyle.

Our migrant brothers loved receiving their drawings! We want to thank our caricature artists and students from ComxNaut for partnering with us to bring joy to the brothers.

We interacted with over 200 migrant brothers that day. It made us happy to see them all enjoying the event!

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Testimonials from Students

Not only was the event enjoyable for migrant workers, but the student volunteers also had a memorable time. Here’s what they shared about their experience:

“This event reminded me that migrant workers are normal people too, not just people from overseas tasked with building Singapore. I was heartened to see how happy the migrant workers were upon receiving their drawings. This service-learning opportunity also gave me a chance to improve my caricature skills.”

“The most memorable part of the event was seeing the migrant brothers smile when they saw the caricature drawings that we did for them. This showed me that one can bring smiles to people's faces without monetary items.”

Are you interested in volunteering at our next outreach? Apply here today!

Collaborating with Project KURA for an Outreach at Cochrane Recreation Centre

Our team organised an outreach at Cochrane Recreation Centre in collaboration with Project KURA (NUS Nursing School) in July.

We worked with the NUS Nursing students to provide basic health screening and education for migrant workers, focusing on high blood pressure and high cholesterol. We shared tips to reduce the risk of developing such chronic illnesses.

Our team supported the students in the contextualising, planning and development of the outreach programme by sharing various health-related initiatives and educational content they can create to support migrant workers’ wellbeing.

We were glad to have served over 200 migrant brothers with the students.  

 Here are some testimonials that the students shared:

“This outreach allowed me to interact with migrant workers and better understand their diets and jobs. I hope that the information we shared with them will allow them to be prepared and empowered to take good care of their health.”

“This experience made me realise that our migrant workers are really busy with work. I think it’s very important for us to find a way to improve migrant workers’ work-life balance and we should always be appreciative of their contributions to our society!”

Partnering with NUS Faculty of Dentistry to Educate Migrant Workers on Oral Health

Edited example of oral health education material created by NUS dental students

Our team worked with 3 groups of dental students by providing advice on the oral health education materials that they created for migrant workers. Our team supported the development of the health messaging, surveys, and polls to get insights from migrant workers on their oral health knowledge.

We also provided a platform where students could gain insight to vulnerable communities and be empowered to exercise their skills, competencies, and global citizenry to give back to community. We had a wonderful experience working with one group of dental students during our recent on-ground outreach. They were given a chance to share and collect feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral health education materials that they created, and they also provided oral health education to our migrant workers.

Special thanks to the students who worked with us to build awareness on the importance of oral health by guiding our migrant workers through proper brushing and flossing techniques, which can prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Our team is excited to partner with the NUS Faculty of Dentistry to provide more meaningful service-learning opportunities.

Shifting Hearts, Shifting Minds at Work: A Webinar for Employers

We partnered with the Ministry of Manpower and HealthServe to organise a webinar for employers on the importance of caring for the mental health of their employees, especially migrant workers.

Through the webinar, employers learned what they can do to set up an effective mental health support system.

The speakers, Prof Jeremy Lim, Vice-Chair of HealthServe Ltd; Mr Justin Paul, Head of Mental Health & Counselling Services at HealthServe Ltd; and Dr Mark Ng, Country Health Manager at Shell Health Singapore and Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd, also shared case studies and highlighted the need to constantly engage not only the affected workers, but also those around them.