A Shared Experience

For married couple Karthikayen Jayasundar and Rianne Karthikayen, their work in the COVID-19 efforts brought them closer.

In April 2020, Karthik was seconded from the Health Promotion Board to join the Emergency Preparedness and Response division under the Ministry of Health (MOH). He worked the night shift for five months, providing care and support to the people undergoing quarantine.

“Taking on a leadership role was quite daunting as the only other time I had leadership experience was in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, during my National Service. But after a month, I got the flow of things and grew comfortable in my role,” he shares.

Unlike Karthik who was assigned to his role, Rianne volunteered for hers. She served as the Team IC in Information Operations under the MOH, and her duties include managing the movement of infected persons to and from various facilities and assisting in repatriation cases.

“As a young and able-bodied person, I felt it was my duty to join the national effort and contribute however I could,” she says.

While both of them found working at the MOH intense and tiring, they agreed that the support and camaraderie from their colleagues made the work lighter.

“Our team lead would treat us to McDonald’s, and we would help each other get bubble tea to keep our spirits up,” Rianne quipped.

And although she and Karthik didn’t work in the same team, their shared experience proved invaluable as a source of support and comfort to each other.