The world of Tzu Chi April 2021 (Vol.133)

2021 • 04 36 Covid-19 Relief Relief Aid for Trishaw Riders Report and photos by Low Siew Lian Translated by Lee Marn Fung The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the tourism industry, causing loss of income to trishaw riders and bringing further hardship to their already hard lives. Therefore, on December 2, 2020, Tzu Chi Malacca volunteers began distributing cash aid amounting between RM400 and RM600 to help them tide over their plights. I n 2020, more than two weeks after the conditional movement control order (CMCO) was lifted, the Dutch Square that used to be a bustling tourist hot spot on weekends, was quiet with only a handful of pedestrians. The nearby hotels and cafés were also quiet. Gone were the days of busy scenes before the pandemic. Trishaw riders waited at the tourist sites with no sight of tourists. They were destined to go home with zero income for that day. Since March 2020, with the rising of Covid-19 cases, tourism and its related services have been badly affected. Businesses struggled to cope and survive after the uplift of CMCO. Before they could recover, the Government re-imposed CMCO in November because of increasing concern over rising Covid-19 cases. Malacca was amongst the many states in the Peninsular affected by the order, which also banned interstate travel. The ban stopped