Practical Help for a Virtual Challenge

COVID-19 has affected each of our lives in different ways. Perhaps it is fair to say that families with children have been some of the most profoundly affected groups after schools started fully implementing home-based learning. I’m sure many parents can attest to the stress, disruption, and anxiety. When the home-based learning measures were announced, it became clear that these effects would be multiplied for people in low-income households, many of whom I have come to know through my time serving with ReadAble, a volunteer-run literacy programme for children at the Chin Swee area. But through these challenging circumstances, I have witnessed glimpses of God’s grace and providence through his people. 

Z, whose children participate in ReadAble classes told me, “Ya la, you know Jonathan, my kids become very discouraged because we have only one computer and the internet connection is so slow, and after a while they become very demoralised because they try but cannot complete their homework.” 

The need was clear – we needed to ensure that ReadAble families had laptops and good internet connections, or home-based learning would be virtually impossible (no pun intended) for their children. So the week before home-based learning kicked in, the ReadAble team put out a call for used laptops in good working condition and sponsors for internet subscriptions. 

A number of RHC members responded to our call and took the time to reformat old laptops and ensure that they were in good working condition before giving them to the families. A couple also reached out to us to tell us that they had set aside $300 to assist any family whom we serve. They had initially offered to pay for groceries, but readily agreed to have the money used to purchase internet subscription plans and dongles once we told them of this need. Together with all the other laptops which were generously donated to us, we were able to ensure each household we served had sufficient information technology infrastructure and take away a fair bit of burden carried by the parents.

There is, however, no fairy tale ending to our efforts. Some of the donated laptops, by virtue of their age, started exhibiting problems (battery overheating etc). Many families continued to struggle with home-based learning because physical space at home is limited. More importantly, despite the provision of laptops, parents who may not have been through sufficient formal education continue to struggle to make sure their children are following instructions in a virtual classroom and are able to finish their homework. We do not have all the answers, but two glimpses of mercy that I have seen are these:

(a)   I did not know where to get extra laptops to replace the donated laptops which were acting up, and so I put up a post on Instagram and turned to a most familiar place in my times of desperation – prayer. Out of the blue, a friend of mine messaged me to donate 5 brand new Asus laptops to ReadAble. The next day, this friend donated another 5, making it 10 donated brand new laptops in total. This is way more than what we had asked for! Personally, it was an answer to prayer.

(b)   B had come to know some RHC members very well and had trouble with understanding his homework instructions. As his mother was unable to assist him, he turned to the next best thing – WhatsApping the RHC members he knew. Since then, we have managed to assist B with his homework through WhatsApp, calls, and Zoom, and it has been such a joy communicating with him and witnessing how much he has grown – in terms of comprehension and cognitive ability, he is now far ahead of his peers who are his age.

Beyond providing for the children, some RHC members have taken the initiative to assist families by buying groceries weekly and checking in on families to make sure that their other needs are met. We are so thankful for all these efforts – it is a beautiful display of the practical help the book of James advocates.

Too much ink has been spilled about how people must stand in solidarity in these difficult times, and how “we are all in this together”. Are we really? The truth is COVID-19 has revealed the inadequacy of the social safety nets in place and the chasm that has emerged in society along socio-economic lines in Singapore. This is the backdrop against which RHC finds itself. How can we respond? Again, I don’t have all the answers. But what I think is clear is this – a top down approach in the sense of how we are used to “church ministry” may not suffice because it is ground-up friendship and relationships that are critical. They matter in a time of crisis like this because it is only through friendship that we can meaningfully meet needs in a loving way, and no amount of formal church ministry can build these. To those of us who are wondering what we can do in this time – pray and seek God for direction, then speak to the Mercy & Justice ministry, and I’m sure God will lead you somewhere. He will also mold and shape your life in the course of service.

God bless.

- Jonathan Muk, RHC member and ReadAble Co-founder (readablesg.com)