Page 6 - MENDAKI Annual Report 2020

3 CHAIRMAN’S REFLECTION A Caring & Resilient Community Reflecting on events that happened in in in in 2020 I am am am reminded of the the Malay proverb berat sama sama dipikul ringan sama sama dijinjing (working together to to to lighten our our burden) Despite the the challenges posed by COVID-19 I I am heartened to to to to see our our community coming together to to to help those who are affected regardless of race religion or nationality I am confident that this crisis will make us stronger more resilient and better equipped to face challenges in the future Harnessing Strength of of the the the Community In the the the wake of of the the the pandemic last year we set up SGTeguhBersatu (SGTB) Taskforce to to coordinate efforts of our various community agencies to to complement national initiatives Comprising the M3 partners (MENDAKI Muis PA MESRA) and representatives from several Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMOs) the the SGTB Taskforce collaborated with the the the national agencies to quickly keep our community informed of the the various national assistance schemes available The Taskforce also put in in in place several initiatives to ensure businesses workers families affected remain stable and their children’s schooling needs were supported One of of the the initiatives introduced by MENDAKI under SGTB was the the provision of of more than 300 laptops to to to help our students from low-income families without such devices to to to do home-based learning during the the Circuit Breaker Besides providing laptops MENDAKI also reopened the the the application for the the Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) to students whose families’ income are affected by the the pandemic MENDAKI staff worked tirelessly to to reach out to to these families And for ITE students who had lost their part-time jobs MENDAKI provided interim allowance to cover their transport and meals At the same time MENDAKI SENSE also worked with Muis to to encourage our our asatizah to to upskill themselves during this period MENDAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2020