Stressed M’sians in Singapore can now seek emotional support

Helping hand: Preshela (right) with her friends Visvani Balan (left) and Ain Zaidatulazira Omar have said they would be willing to help Malaysians in Singapore who need someone to talk to during the pandemic.

JOHOR BARU: A Malaysian social worker in Singapore has taken the initiative to provide free emotional and psychological support to fellow Malaysians in the island republic who are facing a tough time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and closure of the border.

P. Preshela, 30, who has been working as a social worker in Singapore for almost two years, said she decided to act after listening to the plight of many Malaysians in Singapore who were overwhelmed with the stress of work and not being able to see their families.

“I wanted to start this earlier when the border closed in March but I assumed that people were doing fine at that time.

“However, when I heard about the emotional and psychological struggles Malaysians are facing here, I told myself that I needed to step up and offer help immediately, ” she said in an interview from Singapore yesterday.

She said she started by putting up a post on Facebook. She informed people that she would like to offer emotional support for free.

“I have also set up a Telegram chat where people can share their stories or reach out to me to set up a counselling session for them, ” she said.

Preshela, who is also a certified counsellor with the Malaysian Board of Counsellors, said three of her friends offered to help should the number of those seeking help increase.

“Our plan is to conduct a gathering for Malaysians in Singapore. But we have to put it on hold for now due to standard operating procedure (SOP) restrictions, ” she said, adding that her friends were also Malaysian social workers in Singapore.