JOVIAL JOSHUA #volunteerstories⁣ Dr Joshua joined HealthServe 7 years ago when he was still a medical student. He started off his volunteering journey as a clinic assistant and carried out administrative work such as registration and packing medication but after graduating from medical school he now helps out as one of the GP doctors' at our Geylang clinic.⁣ ⁣ When asked to share a memorable incident in HealthServe, he recalled the time he met a patient with a skin condition that was very difficult to treat. Despite receiving treatment from both HealthServe and external clinics, the patient did not show signs of improvement. Fortunately, Dr Goh, our HealthServe founder, then referred him to one of his friends, who subsequently helped the brother recover. After the migrant brother recovered, he contacted Dr Joshua on Facebook and told him that his skin is completely okay now. ⁣ ⁣ He also shared that he enjoys volunteering at HealthServe because he can identify with the migrant worker population. "Volunteering here helps me empathise [with them] to a certain extent, help me love them, and it is something that I want to give my time to." Over the years of volunteering in HealthServe, he has also picked up a few Bengali phrases, such as "how are you" and "my name is Dr Joshua", which allows him to communicate and make the Bangladeshi patients more at ease. By volunteering frequently, Dr Joshua appreciates how he can also follow up with the patients and build a longitudinal relationship with them.

CHEERY CHERYL #volunteerstories⁣ ⁣ Dr Cheryl is currently volunteering as a dentist in HealthServe. She first heard about HealthServe through her classmate in dental school. Finding volunteering a meaningful way of serving the migrant community and gaining more insights into the inner-workings of a clinic, Dr Cheryl began volunteering in HealthServe in 2016. She mainly helped with administrative work while she was in school, and started providing dental services after she graduated from Dental school.⁣ ⁣ “I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer on both sides, first as the one handling appointments and recording down patients’ details, then as a clinician seeing patients. It has been heartening to see HealthServe constantly improve itself and gain more traction and support in Singapore.”⁣ ⁣ For the past 3 years, it was her strong desire to provide dental care to migrant workers that pushed her to continuously serve in HealthServe. These low-wage migrant workers have very little access to dental care as it can be very expensive. Not only so, she feels that the migrant workers are a marginalised group in Singapore, and wants to take this chance to serve them and alleviate some of their burdens. ⁣ ⁣ "Dental care may not involve 'life and death' scenarios or severe injury but when a toothache comes, it can severely affect one’s ability to eat and speak."⁣ ⁣ She fondly recalls the first time she volunteered as a dentist at HealthServe. Her clinic partner, who assisted her in dental school, also assisted her that day. It also happened to be the first time they were working together as “real” dentists. That day brought back many fond and funny memories from dental school for her!

HARDWORKING HAMID #volunteerstories⁣ Dr Hamid is currently one of the doctors helping out at the HealthServe clinics. During his training years as an Orthopaedic Surgeon, his colleague told him that the clinics in HealthServe see many migrant workers with musculoskeletal problems. Realising that this group of migrant workers were an underserved population that needed help, he began volunteering since 2015.⁣ ⁣ He shared that his experience volunteering at HealthServe added a new dimension to his practise in the hospital when he regularly encounters migrant workers. In the busy setting of a hospital, he is unable to address a lot of the socioemotional aspects of care. However, he is able to do that at HealthServe. This, along with the appreciation shown by the migrant workers at the end of their consultation, continue to motivate Dr Hamid to continue serving at the clinics.⁣ ⁣ Dr Hamid recalled an incident where he saw a young migrant worker with a bad spinal injury for which he had undergone fixation. From a doctor's perspective, Dr Hamid believed that the migrant brother had made a remarkable recovery, and was thus perplexed as to why he was seeking help at the HealthServe clinic. After asking him a few questions, Dr Hamid realized that he had a lot of emotional burden as the sole breadwinner of his family in China. Having travelled across the globe to earn a living not only for himself but also for his elderly parents, the migrant brother was depressed that he could no longer work and perhaps even ashamed that he was not able to send money back for his parents. ⁣ ⁣ "At that moment, I realized that sometimes as doctors we forget that what a patient sometimes needs is not our medical opinion or a complicated care plan, but just a listening ear and a little encouragement." Dr Hamid spent the rest of the consultation time listening to his story and reassured him that he will be gainfully employed again.⁣ ⁣ We are thankful to have dedicated volunteers like Dr Hamid here!

INTEGRATIVE IMTIAZ #volunteerstories⁣⁣ Imtiaz is a volunteer translator in HealthServe since a year ago. Born in Bangladesh, he spent 25 years growing up and studying there before coming to Singapore for further education and work. He describes his encounter with HealthServe as one that is fortuitous. One day on the street he met a man who approached him for help. The man claimed that he had fallen from a ladder while painting and injured his hand and wanted financial assistance. After talking to him further, Imtiaz offered to bring him to the clinic after work, but unfortunately when the time came the man did not show up. This incident sparked his curiosity about what low income people do when they need medical help. He began searching for volunteering opportunities and learnt about HealthServe. ⁣⁣ ⁣ He describes HealthServe as a welcoming and warm environment, where the people - staff and volunteers - are enthusiastic in their work and this passion to serve is contagious. As a Bengali and English speaker, Imtiaz actively helps HealthServe's Communications and Engagement team with translation work such as translating videos, social media captions, signages and our website! Through his contribution we are able to better communicate important information to our Bangladeshi migrant brothers. ⁣ ⁣ “Whatever little way I can [help], I am contributing to a good cause, that is my motivation. I think humans have an inherent desire to do good things for society.”

ACTIVE ADRIEL #volunteerstories⁣ Since 2015, Dr Adriel has been volunteering at HealthServe as a doctor. During those days, she recalled that the organisation worked in smaller premises. Over time, she has witnessed HealthServe grow to serve a much larger proportion of the migrant worker community and become more successful in its outreach to the public. ⁣ ⁣ Dr Adriel volunteers at HealthServe because she "believe[s] in the mission of HealthServe, in reaching out to communities that are marginalised and those that cannot get medical care timely."⁣ ⁣ She describes her experience in HealthServe as one that is interesting and enriching. While helping the migrant brothers, she sometimes get to hear their stories, such as how they are unable to get enough MC days for them to recover fully from their work injuries. These stories fuelled her passion to serve the migrant brothers and also taught her about the gaps in the care migrant brothers receive medically and in other aspects. “I work in the emergency department [at the hospital], and sometimes we may not give the appropriate amount of medical leave as well. [Volunteering in HealthServe has] made me more aware of what migrant workers go through on a daily basis. It’s hard labour, sometimes they do need a long break to recover and go back to work.” ⁣ ⁣ When to asked to share an interesting episode she had with the migrant workers, she told us about how she brought her children to a funfair held by a church for migrant workers in Singapore a few years ago. She and her children helped to man the booths, and over 400 migrant workers went to the funfair. She hopes to ingrain the importance of helping others into the minds of her children at a young age so that they will grow up wanting to give back to society as well.

CURIOUS CANDY #volunteerstories⁣ Dr Candy is one of the few dentists who volunteer regularly at our clinics. A little more than a year ago, Dr Candy's interest in HealthServe was sparked when her friend introduced and she saw the increasing demand for dental services in the migrant worker community. ⁣ ⁣ She finds communication to be the most interesting part of her work. As the clinics here serve over 80% Bangladeshi migrant brothers, it is no surprise that the language barrier is something that most of our volunteers face. When she tries to communicate with migrant brothers who speak neither English nor Mandarin, she relies a lot on body language. She has even picked up some bengali words, like 'pain'. After all the gesturing and attempts at explaining medical terms when both parties finally understand one another they share a light-hearted chuckle. She believes that this makes the patient feel more at ease. ⁣ ⁣ She describes her experience at HealthServe as "refreshing" as it is different from her regular day to day work. Here, she finds that the migrant brothers are very appreciative of the help they get and knowing that she has contributed in some ways to alleviate their problems she is constantly motivated to continue volunteering.

BUDDING BOB #volunteerstories Bob joined HealthServe at the end of 2018. He came to know about HealthServe when he met one of Healthserve’s staff at his church during a sharing session. Having interacted with some Bangladeshi workers during his previous volunteer work, he thought that joining HealthServe would allow him to be more involved in serving the underprivileged migrant worker community. He comes down weekly to help with registration processes and miscellaneous administrative tasks. When asked why he chooses to continue volunteering despite having retired, he shared that he doesn't believe in doing nothing after retirement, and thus spends his time judiciously by working part-time and volunteering at HealthServe. He is motivated to continue helping out at HealthServe because "[these migrant brothers] need help [from us], and as a volunteer you don't glorify yourself, you keep giving to the people". We are grateful to have such optimistic volunteers with us at Healthserve!

JOLLY JOSEPH #volunteerstories⁣ Volunteering at Healthserve’s Clinic in Mandai, Mr Joseph Wong has volunteered under his church’s initiative to helm the medical centre there since the beginning of 2017. As a physiotherapist, he typically treats people who are in pain or have some form of physical disability, usually following an injury, surgery or disease or from degenerative conditions associated with the aging process.⁣ ⁣ “All of us do this voluntary service for altruistic reasons, to bless the foreign workers with accessible and affordable health care. Getting them physically better and making a difference in their health so that they can continue to work remains the main priority and the reason for helping them.”⁣ ⁣ A common physical complaint he sees is neck and back strain, and getting the person to understand the mechanics behind it often goes a long way - prevention is better than cure. He seeks to advise on self management and allay their fears with regards to their condition. ⁣ ⁣ An interesting trait he has noticed among our migrant brothers is that they are generally quite health conscious and want a clean bill of health, as their ability to earn an income will depend on this. Taking on laborious jobs, our migrant brothers sacrificed a lot to be away from their families to come here to eke out a living. That, to him, makes them stand out and win his respect.⁣ ⁣ He has enjoyed every moment of his experience and it has been very rewarding helping these foreign workers as they are generally appreciative though they may not necessarily express it.