Dear Friends of Project Providence,

It has been three very fulfilling and exciting months in Project Providence.

Project Providence began as a crisis relief initiative in response to Covid19. We were committed to provide surge capacity support to the government agencies and NGOs working in the migrant worker space. With Matthew 25:40 ringing clearly in our ears, we set ourselves to the task of assessing and caring for migrant workers (living outside the dormitories) whose ability to provide food and shelter for themselves was severely impeded by Covid19 and the subsequent circuit breaker.

In the months that followed, we realised that Project Providence was able to provide support to government agencies and NGO partners in a niche way-

1. bridging organisations to workers in need;
2. thorough and high-quality case assessments;
3. providing immediate shelter relief for displaced workers; and all this
4. coupled with compassionate and loving befrienders who were willing to walk the distance with the guests in our care.

To date, 339 guest workers, 66 social visit pass holders and 121 students reached out to us for assistance. With your support, we were able to assist 462 of them over the past 3 months.

Appreciation

As such, we want to take this moment to appreciate all our volunteers and partners (churches, restaurants, hotels and businesses) for bringing selflessness and excellence to the table during two very intense circuit breaker months. Project Providence was able to assess 526 cases and assist these 462 cases because of your support and efforts. Out of these 462 cases, we were able to immediately assist 279 workers with crisis relief in the form of food, rental money or accommodations.

In our previous face-to-face briefing on 1 June 2020, we updated befrienders and volunteers that we were beginning to see a rise in cases of stranded social visit pass (SVP) holders and foreign students. To date, PP has extended assistance to 66 stranded social visit pass holders and 121 students who met PP’s crisis relief assistance criteria. We have since served the nations within our nation by housing Sri Lanka, India, The United States, The Philippines, Bangladesh, China (Autonomous region of Tibet), Ghana, Cameroon and Vietnam in our properties.

Project Providence has the following updates to provide you. In three months, we have established PP to have:

1. A strong niche area of focus which is the ability to provide immediate shelter to foreigners in crisis (this also encompasses stranded foreigh social visit pass holders and students);
2. Assist with the repatriation of 79 individuals who requested for assistance to purchase flight tickets; and
3. Capacity to be the buffer and support for other NGOs and government agencies who could provide long-term assistance to affected students and guest workers.

Funds and accountability

To remain completely accountable to our donors and stakeholders, Project Providence supported these two additional groups of beneficiaries in those 2 months from other sources of private donations that we raised separately for these groups. This includes Temasek Foundation’s Oscar Fund (for both SVP holders and students) and Singapore Tourism Board linked entities who were introduced to us in the course of volunteering.

We would also like to thank churches and private donors who stepped up to offer support in buying plane tickets or chartering flights to help our stranded beneficiaries return home. Where possible, PP also directed private donors and associations to schools so that schools were able to support more of their affected foreign students who found themselves in need.

Current needs

However, current needs remain prevalent. Beneficiaries who approach PP in phase 2 of circuit breaker reopening face more severe financial situations, as by now, financial resources have truly dried up. Therefore, PP will be applying to Ray of Hope (our parent charity and primary fundraising platform) to allow our core team to tap on the funds initially raised only for guest workers, to also be allowed to cover costs associated with housing, feeding and repatriating social visit pass holders. Our special students’ unit will be winding down operations as schools, home countries and the Singapore economy (for those serving their on-the-job training requirements) reopens.

As such, PP will continue to extend crisis relief assistance to workers, students and social visit pass holders until it comes time for our natural end. We will continue to assist foreigners affected by the lockdowns in their home country (stranded due to an inability to return) and those who have been turned out by landlords due to an inability to afford rent; or are bordering on losing their shelter. We will also continue to work closely with ICA, MOM, MFA and STB to ensure that they receive the necessary recourse, shelter and food that is due to them.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us.

We would like to introduce our more regular channel that will carry updates and stories: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectProvidenceSg.

We remain, as always, in awe of a God who provides for the needs of every single person He sends our way.

In His Love and ours,

The Project Providence Core Team