250 low-income households will have to relocate from their homes this October as part of HDB’s redevelopment plan. That’s several hundreds of lives that will be uprooted and replanted into
new communities, and with it comes financial, socio-economic and emotional stressors. Merpati Kaki aims to help alleviate this.

Merpati Kaki offers personalised support to the residents who are being relocated. The support provided depends on each resident’s needs, in the form of financial support, social and emotional
support, or relocation and logistical support, amongst others. To ensure adequate support is given, our team conducts a holistic and in-depth assessment of each resident’s needs, and works closely with a community of partners to meet them. The funds raised will be used to make all of the above possible. Specific examples include, but are not limited to: purchasing of relocation logistics (e.g. carton boxes, tape, trolley); transport and moving costs (e.g. for wheelchair-bound residents to recce potential sites they could relocate to or go to HDB to complete the required administrative processes); painting and cleaning supplies, and basic furniture or essential household items for their new homes.

To find out more about our project, you may download our introduction deck here.

FAQs

a. How will my contributions support the beneficiaries?
100% of the proceeds (cash or in-kind) raised through this fundraising campaign will be used to support residents directly. We do not charge for any services we provide, but there may be
billable services that residents require (e.g. moving services, electrical or repair works), that will fall under the remit of relocation costs.

b. How will the funds be safekept / allocated to the right beneficiaries?
The team has rigorous financial control processes in place. We ensure that all expenditure is supported with relevant documentation, and that these records are verified by an independent
team member who does not manage finances. You may also track the updates of how your money has been spent on the Merpati website!

c. Why is Merpati Kaki still an un-registered legal entity?
At the current stage that this project is operating on, we are unable to afford the administrative overheads to register and maintain a legal entity. The team has made the collective decision to
dedicate financial resources to the community instead.

d. Which institutions do you collaborate with for the work you do? Do you work closely with government agencies since you are doing advocacy work?
We work closely with various government agencies, ranging from Housing & Development Board (HDB), Social Service Office (SSO), and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to provide holistic and
coordinated care to community members. Our work is rooted in our belief in collaboration, and in working in close partnership with these agencies, to deliver the best care and support for
community members. Beyond this, we also hope that the work we do will help to shape and improve on future relocation processes, particularly with those who may need more support. This
includes engagement with government agencies to share feedback and highlight systemic issues.

www.rayofhope.sg/campaign/supportmerpati

About Merpati Kaki

Merpati Kaki is part of a collective of ground-up initiatives (re:locate) providing support for public rental housing communities affected by relocation projects in Singapore. The community seeks
to reduce housing inequality and its challenges through community work and research for a redesign of processes alongside policy changes. The ultimate goal is to improve how relocation
is experienced by public rental housing communities.
We do this as a ground-up initiative powered entirely by volunteers, being the only organisation dedicated to relocation support, and informed by past experiences of relocating communities. We
continue this effort of mobilizing on-ground volunteers as this has allowed us to spend more time with residents to understand their lives, experiences and needs through sustained and consistent
engagement.
Running concurrently with our on-ground community work is our research & advocacy work, where trained researchers engage residents in qualitative, ethnographic interviews to understand
the social, emotional and financial aspects of the lived experiences of the public rental housing communities. Our work seeks to drive the long-term goal of ensuring that future relocations will
be carried out iteratively, and with dignity and sensitivity, to the needs of the affected community.

Contacts:
Amanda: partnership@merpatikaki.org
Jingzhou: 8831 1440

About Ray of Hope

100% of your donations through Ray of Hope goes to people in need. We do not take a cut from the funds. We even cover the 3rd party credit card charges, if you choose not to, that other
crowdfunding platforms deduct from your donation for campaigns.

100% of all campaigns are also fully verified, so you know your funds goes to real people with real needs.

We take donor accountability very seriously – with yearly audited accounts and strong governance in place to ensure that your donations is properly channelled to the beneficiaries.

Ray of Hope is a registered charity and a member of the National Council of Social Services.