Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong flagging off close to 200 volunteers, who will walk the streets to help raise funds, on Dec 20. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: About 200 volunteers took to the streets of Singapore on Saturday (Dec 20) to raise funds for Gaza in support of relief efforts by the inter-faith non-profit group, Humanity Matters.
With donation cans and One Nation, One Humanity stickers in hand, the volunteers were flagged off by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong from the Armenian Church in Hill Street.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, DPM Gan said many Singaporeans of different races and religions, and local charity organisations, had been looking for ways to help the people of Gaza the last few years.
“We also saw many migrant workers and foreigners who were here, doing their part towards this very worthy cause. This is complementary to the Singapore Government’s approach,” he said.
The Street Collection for Gaza Relief event was held in conjunction with the UN International Human Solidarity Day.
It was the third street collection organised by Humanity Matters, which is leading ground-up efforts for humanity from Singapore to war-torn Gaza.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong interacting with interfaith religious leaders during the fund-raising event on Dec 20. - Photo: ST
The chairman of Humanity Matters, Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, who hosted the year-end event, said: “How we respond to crises around us defines us as individuals, and as a society of humane endeavours, supporting each other in times of adversity, particularly when natural and man-made disasters strike.
“It is therefore very heartening to see so many volunteers of diverse backgrounds coming together this weekend to participate in this Street Collection activity to help raise funds to alleviate the humanitarian crisis facing the population in Gaza.”
Before the flag-off, the volunteers joined senior interfaith, community and corporate leaders in a minute of collective observance in reflection over the recent Bondi Beach shooting and the ongoing regional humanitarian crises and challenges across places like Sumatra, southern Thailand, Cagayan and Cebu in the Philippines, central Vietnam, the Thai-Cambodian border, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
With the recent adoption of the latest resolution on the Gaza peace plan by the UN Security Council, Humanity Matters said it is prepared to continue aiding and accompanying the acute and recovery needs of the civilians in Gaza, when more borders reopen.
The group has been actively coordinating with its institutional partners in Jordan, Egypt and Palestine to send in further relief supplies.
To continue with the relief support for Gaza, and provide platforms for people in Singapore to constructively express their compassion or even frustration, Humanity Matters said it will continue to raise funds until February 2026.
This latest street collection was sponsored and co-presented by the Pacific International Lines (PIL).
The company had signed a memorandum of understanding in March, under a three-year partnership with Humanity Matters, to contribute up to S$1 million in shipping and logistics services, and to support its humanitarian relief and resilience programmes for victims of conflicts and disaster-prone communities in Asia.
PIL executive chairman Teo Siong Seng said: “We are glad to have been able to contribute to Humanity Matters’ humanitarian efforts for victims of the conflict in Gaza since March 2024 by providing sea freight and land logistics for shipments of containers from Singapore to Gaza via Aqaba, Jordan.
“In addition, against the unsettling backdrop of climate-related disasters in the region, we are seriously exploring and planning with Humanity Matters to do more together, including disaster resilience initiatives.”
The street collection was also supported by the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, Hindu Volunteers Network, Soka Gakkai Singapore, Bencoolen Mosque, Mahakaruna Buddhist Society and Sultan Mosque.
Between November 2023 and August 2025, Humanity Matters delivered more than 84.4 tonnes of relief supplies into Gaza through the Rafah, Kerem Shalom, Erez and Zikim crossings, along with several airdrops, to help address hunger, hydration, healthcare and hygiene needs of victims of conflict.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), in a statement to the media, said the Government will contribute $1 million as seed money to support public fund-raising efforts for humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
This amount will be equally disbursed to the Singapore Red Cross, Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, Humanity Matters and Mercy Relief to fund water, sanitation, hygiene, food and other relief efforts in Gaza.
The seed money formed Singapore’s 11th tranche of humanitarian assistance for affected civilians in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, totalling over $25 million.
MFA said the Republic will continue to work closely with its partners in the region as well as non-governmental organisations in Singapore to support the pressing humanitarian needs in Gaza.
The ministry said Singapore continues to urge all parties to facilitate the swift and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, adding that it is vital to maintain the current ceasefire and to make progress towards the next phase to allow for the reconstruction of Gaza. - The Straits Times/ANN
