Dentist helps make healthcare affordable for migrant workers
When Dr Simon Mahendran was about to open his dental clinic one morning in the early 1990s, he saw a group of migrant workers sleeping on the floor near the entrance.
They weren’t sick or anything of the sort, they just didn’t have a place to sleep at night.
Moved by this, the 62-year-old Singaporean felt he needed to help the workers any way he could, and soon after, set subsidised rates for foreign workers who needed dental services at his clinic.
Dr Simon has been running the Simon Dental Surgery in Chander Road at Little India since 1988. It’s a place he says that is “familiar to many migrant workers”. Beyond providing dental services, he also listens to their grievances and about the challenges they face at their workplace.
“I feel sorry whenever they share the problems they face at home and the challenges they face at the workplace,” said Dr Simon, a father of four.
In 1994, Dr Simon established the Karunya Community Clinic – also in Chander Road – offering migrant workers affordable healthcare delivered by a team of pro-bono doctors on Thursday and Sunday evenings. The clinic sees an average of 70 patients every week.
“I wanted to expand my volunteer service. Just providing dental services at subsidised rates was not enough. The workers also have various medical problems and they’re afraid to go to the hospital due to the hefty bills they have to pay,” Dr Simon said.
“I was not able to do this alone. I had to enlist the help of my friends who are doctors and also other volunteers to help run Karunya.”
Mr Solomon Joseph, 69, who has been volunteering at Karunya since its opening, said: “I help with translation whenever the workers struggle to understand what the doctor says. I get emotional when the workers receive the service and say thank you.”
Dr Simon also started a non-profit organisation called Jeevan Frontiers in 1996, where volunteers offer advice and moral support to help migrant workers overcome numerous challenges – from mental health and debt issues to chronic health conditions and alcohol addiction.
Dr Simon said some migrant workers have volunteered at Jeevan Frontiers as well. “It warms my heart when I serve the workers first, and then they serve others like themselves later on,” he said.
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