A special delivery

As part of an initiative by the National Library Board, volunteers deliver books to doorsteps of people who are unable to visit the library because of physical disability or illness. By Eleanor Yap (Author). Forty-three-year-old taxi driver Roy Low had a free slot on Saturday mornings, a “lull period” he calls it and thought why not do some good. He is just one of 25 taxi drivers from ComfortDelGro, who regularly volunteer on the National Library Board’s (NLB) Project Deliver Me initiative. He has been volunteering since April 2009. Delivering the books This initiative is a special library materials delivery services provided to specifically people who are homebound by their physical disability or illness. Launched in January 2009, the free service is part of NLB’s efforts to encourage active citizenry and promote an inclusive society, said NLB’s Serenne Teng, senior library officer from Reading Initiatives. More than 250 volunteers are actively involved in the initiative, which besides the ComfortDelGro taxi drivers include NLB staff volunteers and Friends of the Library (FOLs), who handle the collection of the books at the main library and deliver the requested books right to the recipients’ doorstep. According to Teng, the youngest volunteer from FOL is a seven-year-old while the oldest is a 60-year-old and she hopes more would consider volunteering. The recipients get to enjoy NLB’s premium membership at no extra cost, meaning they can borrow a total of eight books, including a maximum of four audio-visual materials. There are a total of 115 recipients who benefit from Project Deliver Me and they come from various NGOs/VWOs including Asian Women’s Welfare Association, Disabled People’s Association, Handicaps Welfare Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore), Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, Society of the Physically Disabled, Parkinson Society and the Singapore Cheshire Home. The NLB is on the lookout for more VWOs to sign up. Deliveries are done every 10 weeks, with each delivery lasting between four to six hours. Taxi driver Low shared that deliveries happen once every two months and he queues up outside the library and wait for the at least two volunteers to pack the books in bags ready for delivery. Another taxi driver, whom he calls “Uncle Sim”, the team leader of the project, coordinates the schedule with the taxi drivers so the deliveries are kept in one region of Singapore. Said the father of two, “I normally wait for the volunteers at the carpark so for me, there is no interaction with the recipients. However, I talk to the volunteers after and they share their experiences.” This is not the first time Low has come forward to volunteer his services. He shared that there was once he helped some polytechnic students who had to clean the HDB flats of terminally-ill individuals. They needed help to get to various locations over three days. “If I took them to those locations by meter, it would have cost them a lot of money! I just asked them to pay me S$20 for petrol.” In the end, after collecting the S$60, Low used the money to buy rice and biscuits, and ended up giving them to the Singapore Cancer Foundation to donate to its beneficiaries. “I also topped the amount up with S$40,” said Low. He added: “I am happy to volunteer. It is a natural thing for me to do. I hope to inspire others, as well as my two sons.” And for the recipients, the initiative could not be more appreciated. Shared Tay Bee Lian, “I am glad that NLB provides this opportunity for less mobile folks to read and gain literacy.” Added one of the recipient’s husband, Anthony Tan, “The volunteers are very friendly and helpful. They understand our needs. We are very grateful with this service.” Packing the books For undergraduate student from Indonesia, Sucan Sutanto, 25, it was more out of curiosity about Project Deliver Me that made him come onboard. He had been volunteering in the past and wanted to continue doing so. “I liked the criteria that it had to fit one’s schedule. At the time, I had classes at night as well as on weekends,” he said. He attended the orientation in 2009 and was hooked – “I wanted something to do that was meaningful.” As a new volunteer, he received training on the processes and initially, there was a buddy system where both could learn from each other during the deliveries. He comes to the library every 10 weeks. Double-checks the recipients’ book orders and listens to the briefing before he sets out to at least four homes. Sutanto shared that on his route, he usually has the same recipients each time but sometimes it may be different if the recipient is not at home. At the home, he and another volunteer talk to the recipient and also check if there are changes in his or her reading preference. Asked about the recipients, Sutanto remembers fondly his first delivery. “I was new and tagged along with an NLB staff volunteer who drove. The recipient was Ms Pauline who was paralysed from the waist-down. I had no experience dealing with less mobile people. Despite her physical challenge, she was cheerful and I think I talked to her for one hour! Eventhough, I don’t serve her now, I still keep in contact with her through e-mail and she has even offered to tutor me!” Besides his volunteer work at Project Deliver Me, since 2009, he has been also helping out at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, in its events for patients and he volunteers at NLB in its storytelling activities, administration and even, dresses as a mascot. Sutanto shared about his work on Project Deliver Me – “I have gotten to know new friends, including the volunteers and recipients. I also learned how to interact with people. When I first came to Singapore, I didn’t speak good English and have since learned how to present myself and not offend people. This has really helped in my studies and in presentations.” One other thing he has learned is “to appreciate the good things in one’s life,” he said. For his contributions and clocking in more than 100 hours of volunteering a year, NLB recently awarded him the top Youth Volunteer. He goes well beyond just delivering books to the recipients and has even given them gifts. “In doing the deliveries for so long, I know what they want. Ms Daisy got watercolour paint while Alex got a headphone set because he set up a business online.” Project Deliver Me have given both volunteers Low and Sutanto more meaning in their lives and an opportunity to give back to society. This story was first published on SALT (www.salt.org.sg), an e-magazine by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre. Additional info provided by cataloguer: The article is accompanied by two photographs consisting of volunteers sorting out the materials into bags and three volunteers looking at the list for their deliveries.