ACE Group Teams Up With Over 1,000 Volunteers to Celebrate Deepavali With Migrant Workers

1. The Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group under the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) celebrated Deepavali with migrant workers by teaming up with community partners to distribute 170,000 packs of specially made festive treats to migrant workers across 144 dormitories.
2. The ACE Group, the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) and the Coordinating Council of Sikh Institutions (CCSI) organised the effort to spread festive cheer to the migrant workers. The 170,000 packs of Deepavali treats were contributed by HEB, CCSI, various Hindu Temples and Sikh Gurudwaras, NPS International School and the ACE Group. ACE Group also worked with Grassroots and Non-governmental organisations such as Crisis Relief Alliance, Hope Initiative Alliance, Covid-19 Migrant Support Coalition, Covenant Evangelical Free Church and Itsrainingraincoats to distribute the festive goodies to the workers. In total, over 1,000 volunteers participated in the initiative. 
3. Most Hindus visit temples to mark this special day. Due to the COVID-19 situation, many of these temples have started live-streaming their prayers online. For Deepavali this year, the ACE Group worked with HEB to pre-record religious prayers and greetings by the Chief Priests of the temples which were shared with migrant workers through social media. This allowed workers to enjoy the sense of community and connection with the temples.
4. Migrant Workers’ Centre and Singtel have also co-organised a special Deepavali digital show for migrant workers on 15 November. Workers will enjoy performances by their favourite Indian artistes and can also participate in interactive games and quizzes to win attractive prizes.     
5. Mr R Jayachandran, Chairman of HEB, shared, “Hindu Temples across Singapore and Sikh organisations have banded together to do something meaningful for our friends from the migrant worker community. They are here away from their families and loved ones during this festive period and we hope that our small gesture will brighten up their day. We look forward to more such collaborations with community and government agencies.”
6. MWC Chairman, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang said, “The last few months have been very challenging for many of our migrant brothers in the dormitories. They have co-operated with the measures implemented by the authorities and have generally taken all the controls in the right spirit, that these have been necessary for the safety and protection of all. Many of the stakeholders are cautiously optimistic that the worst appears to be over and it is therefore timely during this festive period to recognise and laud the contributions of some of the true heroes of this pandemic – the workers themselves. For us at the MWC, after having worked with the authorities and the workers since the dormitory campaign began, we are very pleased to partner MOM ACE Group in these very meaningful initiatives and bring our workers as much festive cheer as we can.”
7. “This is the first year since the inception of the ACE Group that we are organising this initiative with multiple stakeholders. We are heartened to see many stepping forward to celebrate the occasion with our migrant workers. We look forward to more of such collaborations in future,” said Mr Tung Yui Fai, Chief of the ACE Group.