Volunteers needed to help with frontliners’ admin work
As the number of positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Malaysia, our healthcare capacity is inching precariously close to breaking point each day. While the pandemic has been rough on everybody, our frontliners are the ones who have borne the brunt of the work.
They risk their lives and health, sacrifice their time with their loved ones, and have been working almost non-stop for a year all for the nation’s benefit. Although we can’t be of direct help if we’re not in the medical or security sectors, Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) is actually in need of volunteers to assist with equally important admin tasks.
Registration, ushering, coordination & data entry among list of tasks
Image credit: Jace Chong
Volunteer Jace Chong shared a Facebook post on 28th January, detailing her experience as a volunteer and to prompt other Malaysians to join in too.
Image credit: Jace Chong
Her post was written with a spirited tone to share the plight of the frontliners. Chong mused that after joining the task force as a volunteer, she now understood how exhausting their work is and how each extra pair of hands would really make a difference – as it gives the frontliners more time to rest and recharge for their duties.
Chong shared that aside from medical volunteers, the frontliners also need a lot of manpower to help out with admin tasks such as registering, ushering and coordinating patients, data entry, and the like.
Image credit: Jace Chong
While these tasks sound menial and tedious, Chong emphasised how this was all the more reason to take them off medical frontliners’ plates, so that they can focus on more pressing worries at hand.
Healthy Malaysians with flexible schedules encouraged to apply
As volunteers will need to commit at least one to two weeks of their time and be placed in high-risk health centres, healthy Malaysians with flexible schedules are encouraged to apply for the role.
Image credit: Jace Chong
Chong shared that the process is simple as you just need to fill up a Google form here first. You can pick which health centre you want to be assigned to and the list of tasks you can do.
If your application is successful, a representative will contact you via WhatsApp. You are then required to attend an online briefing and go for a swab test before reporting to work.
Chong also reiterated that meals and transportation are not provided, and no allowance will be given, so do plan ahead if financials are an issue.
KKM looking for volunteers
Nobody wants to go to war, but the pandemic resembles one. As Chong pragmatically put it, “If the pandemic does not stabilise, the outbreak will spread to the entire Selangor, and then, the entire nation would fall. I do not wish to see our only defence collapse.”
She also added that the work culture among her team is positive and encouraging, as they prioritise efficiency and sufficient rest time, so you won’t have to rough it out too much if you choose to volunteer.
Any amount of help is better than none, but most importantly, stay safe and take care of yourself while you’re at it!
Stay alert with more COVID-19 updates here:
- Healthy Malaysians above 18 to be vaccinated by Q3 2021 or later
- State of emergency declared by Agong in Malaysia
- Netizen deplores MAEPS quarantine centre
- Mutated, more-transmissible COVID-19 strain found in Malaysia
Cover image adapted from: @nishapuvan and Jace Chong
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