Driving On in the Face of Adversity

A helping hand for our taxi-driving brothers and sisters

To love thy neighbour is a commandment that Christians are familiar with, and indeed, the very first initiative that COOS-3:16 embarked on began with those in our midst. At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, before the Government announced their support measures, there were many incidents of taxi drivers giving up their keys. Ps. Daniel Wee, believing that the church could support her own, came up with the idea of linking up taxi drivers in the church congregation to possible business leads from other church goers.

The Business Ecosystem team then sprung into action to obtain the drivers’ contacts, ensure that their data could be shared, while their charges and surcharges were also made known. This enabled businesses to contact the drivers when there were deliveries to be made; for instance, a healthcare product company engaged several drivers to make deliveries, while COOS-3:16 similarly engaged them to deliver 150 food packets to the Geylang Bahru area every day, for almost a month.

A COOS member enthused about how this scheme has proven to be a boon: “I have been working with Eric (one of our taxi-driving brothers) since the circuit breaker measures were implemented. He has been a wonderful help to me, delivering groceries every Wednesday to an elderly relative. On top of that, he has also patiently ferried the old lady for medical appointments twice.”

We’re also happy to hear that our taxi driving brothers and sisters are getting bookings from COOS members and even their friends from other churches!

This initiative has certainly been a case of the church looking after her own. Looking to the future, it is hoped that the launch of the website and social media platforms will help provide a consistent platform to push business to the drivers.