Tang Shin Yong travels from his home in Bishan to Geylang every morning. But unlike regular patrons of the infamous red-light district, he does not come for pleasure but strictly for work.

He spends most of his day serving its residents, many of whom form the vibrant migrant population there.

Shin Yong is co-founder of HealthServe, a non-profit organisation that was set up in 2006 and which caters largely to the needs of the migrant workers and the local poor and needy in Singapore. HealthServe aims to raise awareness, empathy and acceptance of vulnerable and marginalised communities in Singapore and aboard and their services include areas in service learning, research, outreach, counseling and medical treatment.

“Migrant workers make up a significant part of our workforce of about a quarter,” said Shin Yong. “But they are also the ones who lack most access to healthcare services. Hence, we set up HealthServe to fill this gap.”

According to the Ministry of Manpower, the number of foreigners form a 35.2% of total employment in December 2009.

But it is not just about providing services, said Shinyong, it is also about building rapport with the people you serve and understanding their needs.

In the beginning, the migrant workers living in Geylang were apprehensive about HealthServe’s first clinic in Geylang. Volunteer doctors who expect the clinic–which provides medical services at low rate of $5–to be crowded, was shocked by the turnout. For the first three months the clinic was open, there were barely any patients.

Shinyong likens it to walking into a kampung where nobody knows them.

“We cannot just walk into a community blindly and do our thing. We will surely meet with problems. Similarly, when we set up our clinic here without first knowing or understanding them, they say why $5 so cheap? ” said Shin Yong.

“So the volunteer doctors and I went out of our comfort zone and walked the streets. We met the people in the area; we shook hands with everyone and introduced ourselves. When they understand where we are coming from, people then started coming in. “

Now that patients are pouring in, they may call or email to make reservations for treatment at the clinic. Between HealthServe’s clinic in Geylang and a partner clinic in Little India, healthcare services are available three days a week.

“Other than financial and medical needs, the migrant workers have mental and emotional needs as well. We hope to cultivate a strong sense of community like a kampung (at HealthServe) in Jurong,” said Shin Yong, who plans to make the new arm of HealthServe in Jurong “like a community centre”.

Asked Shin Yong: “If you don’t even understand the community, then who are you really serving?”

Community seems like the buzzword here at Healthserve. Regular leisure activities such as ping pong sessions and festive celebrations are a common sight there.

“Through bridge-building events like Games Day and dumpling parties, barriers are broken and many workers found friendship with Singaporeans,” said Feng Guang, a Chinese national who is now logistics and migrant support manager at HealthServe, one of the organisation’s seven full-time staff. In the last dumpling-making session, more than 1,000 dumplings in Chinese jiaozi style and Nepali momo style were made.

On top of getting word of their healthcare services out, HealthServe volunteers and staff’s interactions with the migrant workers–and building a community with them–also open a window into their world.

As they find out more needs of their patients, they grew from a clinic in Geylang to provide pro-bono legal services, HIV screening tests and social assistance on top of the initial subsidised medical care. HealthServe also distributes public health information and materials to commercial sex workers, migrant workers and vulnerable groups in the community, and conducts elementary conversation English classes for foreign workers.

“When you know them–the community–you will find out about their other needs. So from medical services, we helped to find help for legal advice, then HIV screening and then counseling… It all comes together,” said Shin Yong.

He cites an example of how HealthServe considers every aspect of help that may be required: Chinese national Jing* came to Singapore late last year to claim her alimony, which her Singaporean ex-husband has not fulfilled since 2007. Two years ago, when she went to Sichuan with her daughter, Xiao Yan*, the major earthquake struck.

Now, on top of rendering her legal advice, Jing undergoes counseling at HealthServe in a bid to put the trauma from the earthquake behind her. HealthServe will also be providing mother and daughter financial assistance for a year upon their return to China.

Other than growing their portfolio of services, social enterprises under the HealthServe wing also grew to include travel immunisation packages and a thrift shop in Geylang.

“To meet more felt needs of the migrant workers, we set up the social enterprises as an engine for our financial sustainability,” added Shin Yong. HealthServe’s services are currently supported by donors, foundations and the social enterprises under its wing.

Next, HealthServe has future plans to move into working with more governmental agencies. Currently, the social enterprise has already partnered with the Youth Expedition Project (YEP), Health Promotion Board, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the National University of Singapore among others.

Said Shin Yong: “We wish to work with other VWOs and like-minded agencies to collaborate and share resources to provide more services for the less marginalised, whether it is for the same group of people or not.”

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