A group of Singapore-based tech entrepreneurs are raising funds to help daily wage workers in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It aims to raise at least S$10,000 (US$7,350) to buy food essentials –commonly known as sembako in Indonesia– to feed 200 families or more for a month.

The fundraising campaign is running for seven days and the group will be working with Solve Education, who will work with NGO partners to identify at-risk families and distribute the goods to.

Within less than 24 hours since its launch, the campaign has managed to secure more than half of targeted numbers.

Initiated by Goh Yiping (Partner at Quest Ventures), Janine Teo (Founder and CEO of Solve Education), Prantik Mazumdar (Managing Partner at HappyMarketer; MD, CRM Group, Dentsu Aegis Network), and Mohan Belani (CEO & Co-Founder at e27), the campaign was started as a response to Jakarta’s second lockdown.

While the movement is deemed necessary to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of new cases in Indonesia peaked on September 25 with more than 4,800 cases in a day, there are concerns regarding the livelihood of daily wage workers in the country.

In a statement, the campaign pointed out that since the first lockdown in April, an estimated six to nine million workers have already lost their jobs. The government has predicted that there will be about 15 million people laid off nationwide until the end of the year, where daily wage workers will be severely impacted.

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Strengthening the ties between the two countries

In an email to e27, Goh explained the situation in more detail.

“A message to my previous Indonesian driver, Zainal … who used to drive me when I lived in Jakarta confirmed the hard truth. He has lost his job because there is almost no customer left to drive around anymore with the stopping of flights and people working from home. I have come to appreciate that millions of daily wage workers like him, who were already struggling to make ends meet pre-COVID-19 days, are impacted severely since the first lockdown in Indonesia,” she said.

“This new lockdown is a huge contrast to the reopening of Singapore where life is as normal as can be, except for masks and social distancing. Malls, restaurants, most importantly, jobs, are beginning to spring back to life. It is very hard for one to even imagine the extended lockdowns and increasing job losses in our close neighbouring country,” she continued.

Having worked, lived, and/or have extended relatives and friends in Indonesia, the group started the campaign with the goal to help the neighbouring country’s poorest population.

While they currently have no plan to create a follow-on campaign, they plan to distribute the donation in batches if they are able to raise more funds than targeted from this campaign.

“We hope everyone can donate generously to … Indonesia, of which many of us have come to live, work, and have friends and families in. As for our team, we hope to contribute back to the country we have come to call our second home in the last few years and to show our solidarity and support to our neighbouring brothers and sisters,” Goh closes.

To participate in the campaign, please visit this link.

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Image Credit: pisauikan on Unsplash

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