When the lockdown was imminent, the government instructed the shutdown of our daycare centres, which acted as activity centres for children. Already struggling with funding, the lockdown magnified our financial dilemma. All plans for my organisation went down the drain and I had to take time to reflect on what to do.

I do not consider myself a frontliner; more a backliner because I take care of my staff needs but more importantly, our beneficiaries. Feeding them was priority, so we put out word and secured donations in kind and cash through crowd-funding. Subsequently, we started online classes for the children with assistance from partners who provided tablets and internet data which made studying accessible.

Though heavily pregnant, I still met with the children to ensure they were fine. My biggest concern was their mental health because many lived in disrupted homes where parents constantly fight, there is abuse and often no TV for distraction. I wanted to help make their lives better, so we monitored them by establishing constant communication with counsellors.

After giving birth, I did not take maternity leave. I was back in the grind within a week, ensuring everyone played their part to keep every child sane and safe. My sister who is a doctor kept nagging me because of my constant contact with youth and children from high-risk COVID-19 areas. For me, when you have people calling for help, you become almost myopic, wanting to help, like it’s an addiction because time and helping hands are both limited.

Despite issues throughout lockdown, I truly felt validation for my leadership when I returned to work after having my baby and saw excellent teamwork amongst my staff. I was proud because this was a testament for the work culture I had built within my organisation.

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