Nepal Relief Packing by Humanity Matters – Speech by Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Manpower

4 October 2026

Good morning, everyone.

• Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Chairman of Humanity Matters

• Mr. Abdullah Tarmogi, Permanent Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights

• Mr. Lars Kastrup, CEO of PIL

• Mr. Tolentino Mendoza, MD of Credit Agricole Bank

• Leaders, members of faith-based organizations, volunteers, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning.

It's indeed very heartening and humbling to be here this morning amongst Humanity Matters key and active stakeholders here this morning to support fellow humans, fellow global citizens in Nepal who have been struck by a terrible tragedy.

I must thank Humanity Matters for organizing and inviting me to this relief packing event. It is the third and final stakeholders' engagement over the past three weeks, but I'm sure the work will not stop on the ground. This is especially commendable because simultaneously we're also preparing to kickstart our next phase, which is the Shelter for Orphans project in Nepal.

As you know, once disaster struck, many of the kids, when we read the secondary school were able to evacuate but many of their parents were not able to. And in fact, a large majority of them have become orphans. And I think this particular project will be able to at least give them some basic needs, some shelter, comfort. I don't think their lives will ever be able to renormalize but at least give them a stable set of foundation to restart and find meaning again. So, thank you, Humanity Matters. and representing us, all Singaporeans here, this small group, and representing us and doing the good work in Nepal.

I'm truly encouraged this morning because we see Singaporeans, people, PRs, foreigners amongst us, different ages, the very young ones as well, in their 20s, to the more senior ones in their 80s, races, religion, nationalities, professions gathered here today. And what unites us is extremely fundamental, that we have a deep belief and conviction that all of us have the right to a decent life, access to water, basic food and shelter, that all of us be able to lead with some dignity. Many of you have given up your Sunday today and many of you were here before giving up many Sundays in fact packing and doing this important work so I salute each and every one of you for your graciousness, for your generosity and your selflessness.

Today marks the exact 40 days since the disaster has struck and we've seen the incredible tragic videos sweeping away hundreds of kilometres of homes, destroying lives, and just uprooting the many things that they hold dear. But more importantly is that, as you know, many Gurkhas live amongst us in Singapore, and many of their families were most affected. As you know, the Gurkhas have grown up with us pre-independence to post-independence to today. They are active members of our Singapore community, and it is only right for us to band together to do more for their communities. Many of them are unable to go back to Nepal for various reasons - access to transportation, access to the disaster site, and many of them are anxious, and many of their family members are still stuck there, desperate in need of help, and that's where we are able to then respond.

In fact, Singapore was one of the first, if not the first, within 24 hours to respond to the Nepal disaster relief, and having many groups of support after that. It shows our commitment to the global citizenry, it shows our commitment and response to help people in need, it shows our readiness, it shows our responsiveness, and above all, it shows our core values and professionalism as a country.

The three key things that you are packing today. Ambassador Ong has mentioned about the collapsible jerry cans. Those who have served NS and went to an NS camp before knows that we used to carry those huge, green-coloured jerry cans. Those are not very practical, carries a lot of water, but it also requires insurmountable strength, even I won't be able to carry one today. And these collapsible jerry cans, as you can see, is able to then distribute water to the communities in need.

The second one that you'll be packing today is the inflatable pillows. As you know, the conditions there are not great. Some of the disaster relief volunteers as well as the family members have no proper place to sleep, and a small inflatable pillow will bring much comfort and joy. A well-rested population is a population that can recover well and do more for those in need on the ground.

The third and last one, as you know, today it's already October. Although in Singapore, the most that we can have is 200 PSI unhealthy smog and haze these days. In the words of Game of Thrones, winter is coming. And winter in Nepal is harsh, extremely harsh, especially in the high altitudes, especially in the mountains, especially lack of access to heating. Even if there's firewood, there's no trees -- there's not much trees there to chop down, to burn for heating. And I think the blankets that you'll be packing today will bring extreme amount of at least basic comfort to those who are stuck in the highlands over there.

I really want to thank the team of Humanity Matters, the volunteers. Shall we give them a big round of applause, please? As you can see, the short video that we have seen, they're there on the ground, difficult conditions, but doing a lot of the good work representing us. And I thank them for being very nuanced and well-curated volunteer experience and bringing the right items there that will change lives on the ground.

Last but not least, I want to say that our work goes beyond just acute emergency relief. Yes, it brings a lot of purpose and meaning to help those people around us, but most importantly is our upcoming work, which will be sustained for at least a few years to come, which is our impending shelter project for the orphans.

And I hope that Humanity Matters can also let us know, as a citizen, what more can we do to support this particular orphanage, because they will grow up and there will be many more fitting out needed for this orphanage, and we will continue to do more.

Last but not least, special mention to all the religious organizations here today, coming here together to do this work. It really reflects our core values on how Singapore truly is. And I want to thank Miss Mo Shuyi for supporting the maintenance of the existing orphanage since 2015, and we will continue to do more above and beyond. And with that, everyone here today, have a good Sunday, making friends, networking, and that's where we are binded together in deep, purposeful and meaningful work for Singapore and for the world.

Thank you very much.