SINGAPORE: Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West student Nur Shafiqah Muhammad Hafidz had a memorable encounter with a migrant worker during a beach clean-up in April 2025.
“He talked about how he missed his two kids and wife, but also about how he wanted to do some good and give back to the community while he was living here,” the 17-year-old said.
“I was very touched that he wanted to do good here as well – I could tell how much he loved our country,” added Shafiqah, who is pursuing a Higher Nitec in Mechanical Engineering.
Motivated by her experience in 2025, Shafiqah joined more than 400 participants – including 110 migrant workers in fields such as domestic work and construction, as well as other students – for the 2026 edition of the event on April 19.
The event was organised by 24asia, a volunteer-led non-profit that organises upskilling workshops and community events for migrant workers, including domestic helpers, in Singapore.
The annual event was first held in 2022, with the 2026 edition being the organisation’s largest to date. The clean-up took place at West Coast Park and Pasir Ris Beach.
Among the participants, 275 were aged 25 and under, including students from Nanyang Junior College, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and various ITE campuses.
On the day of the event, participants were divided into groups of 17 to 20 people, each responsible for a specific area in the parks.
Armed with trash bags and tongs, each group went around picking up tissues, cigarette butts and even plastic chairs.
The volunteers collected more than 270kg of rubbish across two locations during the four-hour event. The collected waste was later sorted so that plastic bottles, paper, cans, cups and bags could be recycled.
Nanyang Junior College student Vincent Du Ren Hao said he joined the event “to directly contribute to a cleaner environment”.
“It’s one thing to talk about the environment, but being on the ground and witnessing the amount of waste in the area is quite eye-opening,” the 17-year-old said. “It reminded me that even small actions can lead to meaningful change.”
Forging unlikely bonds
Other young people found additional meaning in the bonds they forged with the migrant workers they met through the event.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) student Rebecca Tang Shean Sing, 20, spent six months helping 24asia volunteers, many of whom are migrant workers, organise the event by liaising with various community service clubs in NP, recruiting students and handling administration and logistics.
“Usually (community service) projects are done for migrant workers, not with migrant workers, so it was especially fun and meaningful to plan this event with them,” the banking and finance student said.
Through her experience organising the clean-up, she also gained a newfound admiration for the migrant workers who participated.
“These people already work so hard and have limited free time, so seeing them commit their limited free time to volunteering was so admirable.”
Migrant workers from 24asia who helped to organise the clean-up said the event was a success.
“We almost didn’t sleep last week because we had meetings almost every night for this event,” joked Mary Cris Intervencion, a domestic helper who has worked in Singapore for nine years.
“I’m very proud that we in the migrant community were able to do this.”
The 36-year-old added that the event helped her forge unlikely friendships and come out of her shell.
“(Some) students said to me that this experience is very different from just learning in the classroom. Coming here and being exposed to migrants like us helps to build special connections in the community,” she said.
“Coming from the Philippines, sometimes I feel introverted and shy. But today, I felt very accepted.”
Tanjin Ahmad, who has worked in the construction sector in Singapore for four years, said: “As humans, we have some responsibility to protect our nature. I feel good that I could do something for the environment.”
The 30-year-old also added that he made new friends – both local and migrant – through the event. “The volunteers treat us like friends and colleagues,” he said.
Josef Tan, 20, president of 24asia and a third-year computer engineering student at Singapore Polytechnic, said the event “fosters inclusivity and unity”.
“It provides an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to connect, make new friends and learn from each other… It helps migrant workers feel valued and integrated into society, showing that everyone can contribute to caring for the environment and building a stronger, more cohesive community.” - The Straits Times/ANN
