Your Thank Yous can Help our Community Combat the Virus

The New Realities of Life with COVID-19

For many of us, the arrival of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Singapore has brought with it its share of anxiety and inconveniences. While scientists and medical professionals race against time to try to understand this new virus and find a cure, many of us may find ourselves living the new realities of life in this season. Life is distinctively different now; our daily lives may involve

• the donning of face masks;
• being extra vigilant with our hand hygiene;
• getting used to temperature taking at our workplaces and schools;
• filling up travel declaration forms;
• reading up on the latest news about our communities’ effort in curbing community spread;
• being worried when we come into contact with potentially contaminated common surfaces;
• being worried for our loved ones;
• trying to hide a cough or sneeze, fearing others may think we are infected;
• getting anxious when we receive unnerving fake news, and
• scouting for masks and hand sanitizers

Helping Our Lives Go On…

And while it seems that tension and anxiety may set to rise further with the recent news of Singapore raising the DORSCON level to orange, we cannot deny our lives are still able to go on. It does set me thinking about the unsung heroes who make it possible for us to go about as such. Who are these unsung heroes? I began to list down some of them:

1. Healthcare professionals who work round the clock to attend to those who are unwell and who try to contain the virus
2. Cleaning staff who help ensure our home, work and surrounding environments are clean and hygienic
3. Domestic Employees and Migrant workers for continuing to maintain and construct our homeland
4. Transportation staff who help us get from place to place as we go about our businesses
5. Teaching and childcare and student care professionals who continue to educate our children while we work
6. Airport, seaport, postal and delivery staff who ensure people and goods get to where they need to be
7. Grocers, hawkers and Pasar aunties and uncles who ensure we have our daily supplies and food to eat
8. Leaders who have to quickly take in information and make quick and decisive decisions for the interest of their organizations and communities
9. Scientists who work round the clock to study the virus and find the possible cure
10. Telecommunications staff who work round the clock to ensure we can get work done from home, connect with friends and loved ones etc.
11. Home Team (Immigration, Police, SCDF), Contact Tracing & Security Personnel who keep us well and safe
12. Nonprofit staff and volunteers who ensure that those who are in need are not left behind and receive the care they needand so on…

These unsung heroes hold on to and carry out their duties, often quietly, despite facing pretty much the same “new realities” of life as us, while at the same time being exposed to greater risk, increased workload and stress, greater uncertainty with daily developments at the frontline, long work hours and the fear of infecting their loved ones.

While there is the silver lining of a couple giving out free masks, groups giving out face masks and considerate neighbours selflessly providing hand sanitizers, how many of us really stop to thank these unsung heroes for their dedication to their job?

Human-to-Human Transmission of Positive Vibes

In the spirit of “fueling good” and to also help these unsung heroes deal with the stress of work and not burnout, we are hoping to kickstart a small movement, Operation Transmit a Simple Thank You (Op #TransmitThanks, previously called Op T.A.S.T.Y.), to remember these unsung heroes and encourage us all to convey a simple word of “thank you” for their labour.

I believe your “thank yous” will go a long way to help them feel that they are remembered and supported, as they go about helping our community combat the virus. It’s definitely a human-to-human transmission but of a different kind; a contagious good that seeks to lift human spirits amidst a seemingly bleak situation.

Think about who in your neighbourhood or your circle of family and friends are playing the role of unsung heroes (not limited to the list above); people who help us go about our business almost as usual. You can either thank them verbally, by sign language or send them any of the below “thank you e-cards” through email, WhatsApp and/or social media, accompanied with your short note of appreciation. Or be creative and think of ways you can bless them and thank them.

Who are the other unsung heroes we should thank and what are the different ways we can thank them? Leave your comments below. You can download the e-cards by clicking on it and right-clicking to save it.

OP #TransmitThanks

Ground-Up Initiatives to Remember Our Unsung Heroes

We are also collating community efforts to remember our unsung heroes in the directory below.

• You can use the directory to search for such initiatives to participate in, vote for them and/or suggest new initiatives to remember these unsung heroes.
• You can also click on the specific tags to filter ideas on thanking a specific group of workers.
• “Claim” groups that have yet to thanked and show them your appreciation
• Let’s all work together to “support our troops” as they combat against this virus in our community.

Share the Vibes

Do share this with your family and friends. They can visit https://TransmitThanks.emmaus.sg to find the movement page.

You can also use the following hashtags in your social media posts:

#TransmitThanks #OPtasty #TransmitASimpleThankYou #NotTakingForGranted #emmausstrategies #burnout #fuelgd #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #stress #mentalhealthawareness #thrivingthoughts #emmausthrivetots #covid19

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James Lim

James is the Lead Thrive-Synergist & Founder of Emmaus Strategies; a social enterprise that “fuels good”. It does this through Mental Well-Being programmes for individuals and organizations, as well as Strategic Volunteer Partnerships consultancy and training for non-profits.