As part of the Community Engagement (CE) Day of our annual CAPT Freshman Orientation Camp, SI had the opportunity to plan, design and facilitate a series of activities involving the migrant worker community in Singapore. These activities were aimed at building awareness and empathy about this community. After these activities, freshies were also encouraged to take action in their personal lives.
In the morning, we held the migrant experience in CAPT, which is an interactive experience which allows participants to step into the role of a migrant worker while going through the various phases of daily life in the form of different stations. These stations include work, shop, and social consisting of family and friends. The experience was designed to be organic and to leave space for the participants to draw their own parallels and insights while at the same time break stereotypes and allow them to develop deeper empathy for this group of people.
The migrant experience was followed by a trail around the vicinity of Lembu Square. Being one of the congregational areas for Bangladeshis, the neighbourhood provided participants with the opportunity to have a better understanding of the current space and community that migrant workers belong in. Through the showcasing of concrete examples of stereotypes that can be observed in the social space in Lembu, the trail aims to help participants to deepen their empathy gained in the migrant experience previously, and to push them to create something different immediately.
The migrant experience was followed by a trail around the vicinity of Lembu Square. Being one of the congregational areas for Bangladeshis, the neighbourhood provided participants with the opportunity to have a better understanding of the current space and community that migrant workers belong in. Through the showcasing of concrete examples of stereotypes that can be observed in the social space in Lembu, the trail aims to help participants to deepen their empathy gained in the migrant experience previously, and to push them to create something different immediately.
SI Wing was very honoured to have invited a team of dedicated and passionate volunteers from Transient Workers Count Too* (TWC2) to share their perspectives on the various stakeholders, such as policy makers and employers, involved with the migrant community.
*TWC2 is a non-profit organisation that seeks to promote fair treatment for migrant workers and advocates for a more enlightened policy framework for migrant labour in Singapore.
- Written By Huifen Ong
