KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — What happens when you’re travelling to poverty-stricken areas off the beaten track, helping those who don’t have access to affordable medical care, and then you can’t travel anymore?

That was the predicament faced by Autrui Global, a homegrown social enterprise that, according to 34-year-old founder Dr Andrew Kok, provides "a platform for like-minded healthcare professionals to collectively share their skills and resources to serve the wider community.”

Autrui Global began with a conversation. A group of friends, just like any other; except this group of friends is made up of healthcare workers.

Kok recalls, "We would hang out together and talk about the things we had in common, especially what we experienced at work. These conversations slowly evolved over time; eventually we felt that we could do so much more to serve the wider community beyond the walls of our workplaces.”

This civic-minded group of friends started organising humanitarian trips to serve under-served or crisis-stricken communities. They soon realised that there was still much more they could do to help people in need.

"The more we went out to serve the poor and needy, the more we realised that we needed a platform to channel more help towards those who are in need of it. That's when we decided to start Autrui Global.”

The organisation was founded by Kok and three others — Dr Debbie Teh (O&G specialist), Dr Beh Wee Ren (dentist) and Keith Tay (mechanical engineer and life-coach) — in 2019.

On their mission, Kok explains, "We do what we do because we believe that health matters to everyone, everywhere.”

During a humanitarian trip to Manila, where Autrui Global provided dental care to the needy

Their humanitarian missions included trips to Cambodia (July 2019); Manila (August 2019), where they offered dental care; and Kunak, Sabah (Jan 2020) where they served more than 70 adults and children in the village.

And then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, changing everything almost overnight.

The dire situation has been escalating every day as more and more medical staff are overwhelmed by long working hours. Couple that with the anxiety of contracting Covid-19 themselves and the uncertainty of the whole situation.

By mid-March, Autrui Global decided to put all their humanitarian trips on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. How could they continue to contribute though?

"I think prior to the Movement Control Order, I had already heard about our frontliners especially the healthcare workers working tirelessly to contain the situation.”

Kok started to hear from his friends that it was getting difficult for the frontliners to even get food as nearby stalls were closed. Personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies were also running low.

He says, "I really wanted to do something about it but yet at the same time I felt so hopeless staying at home.”

Eventually Kok and the other Autrui Global members started asking their friends who were working in the hospitals what their greatest needs were.

"One was food to keep them going, and the other was PPE to keep them safe. That’s when we decided to harness all of our resources and connections to try and meet these two immediate needs.”

Feeding Covid-19 frontliners is part of Autrui Global’s recent mission pivot

This includes providing lunch daily to the MOH and DrPH team at Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine; as well as at Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM), the OSHE Unit that takes care of PPUM frontliners and healthcare workers and the JKA Unit that leads active case detection on every healthcare worker possibly exposed to Covid-19.

Autrui Global is assembling personal protective equipment (PPE) in partnership with Collective Central and Medicfootprints Malaysia

Working together with Collective Central volunteers and Medicfootprints Malaysia, Autrui Global is assembling face shields as PPE for the frontliners.

At present, they have given 200 face shields to the paediatric department of Hospital Shah Alam, and another 400 to Hospital Kluang, with 1,200 more in production.

Volunteer making faceshields for Covid-19 frontliners

Kok himself also decided to volunteer as a frontliner. He says, "I felt that it was a responsibility as a medical doctor to play my part during this time of crisis. I would have regretted just staying home while watching many of my friends work sacrificially to contain the situation.”

It has been a week since Kok started volunteering as a frontliner and he is glad he made the decision to be of service.

"I really did not know what to expect on the first day of volunteering. We were asked to do screening at an area where there were several people tested positive for Covid-19.”

It was a new experience for him, as it was for many volunteers and medical workers at the frontline.

He adds, "When I first put on the PPE, I started feeling anxious as it felt so warm and I found it hard to breathe. It is like wearing a hoodie and long pants with your head and face covered baking under the hot sun.”

Eventually the young doctor got used to it, after repeating the procedure several times. He says, "I’m just glad that I can play a very small part in this fight against Covid-19. Hats off to all the healthcare workers for their unwavering commitment to serve the nation during this crucial hour.”

And it is in our darkest hour that we are all called upon to serve. Each in his and her own way. Every bit counts, every contribution helps.

Learn more about Autrui Global and how to contribute at www.autruiglobal.com and www.instagram.com/autruiglobal/