Singapore united: 20 extraordinary moments we witnessed in 2020

2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year thanks to Covid-19, but that just means more chances to flourish in the face of adversity.

There've been amazing moments aplenty on our Little Red Dot and we're throwing the spotlight on 20 of them, just to provide a glimpse of the extraordinary we've experienced this year.

Love thy neighbour: SAF personnel help fight Australia bush fires

Remember the Aussie bushfires at the start of 2020, before Covid-19 was a thing? Our SAF personnel were deployed to help firefighting efforts in Australia, as well as to evacuate Australians living in areas affected by the bushfires.

One united people: Singaporeans stand together against Wuhan coronavirus

Even in the early days of Covid-19, Singaporeans were banding together against this new threat to our community.

Thank this couple for helping your Ah Ma, Ah Gong understand coronavirus

This couple created precautionary videos on Covid-19 in Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew to communicate these healthcare precautions to dialect-speaking seniors.

In Singapore, everyday heroes perform acts of kindness during novel coronavirus outbreak

The Covid-19 outbreak saw ordinary citizens stepping up to become good samaritans to their neighbours and others within their community.

S'pore pro wrestlers fight for healthcare workers - literally!

In February this year, local pro wrestling fitness school Grapple MAX hosted an online charity wrestling show to raise funds for the frontline medical workers battling Covid-19.

Coro-NAH: Young S’poreans produce music video promoting compassion and cleanliness amidst Covid-19

To encourage healthcare professionals and volunteers, a group of young Singaporeans created a music video promoting both cleanliness as well as compassion during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Must watch: Song for healthcare workers by Pri 6 student is damn power

This Primary 6 student composed a song to show support for healthcare and frontline workers, as well as rally Singaporeans in the fight against Covid-19.

What you didn't see during the home singalong: Migrant workers singing, too

During this national singalong of "Home", our migrant worker friends enthusiatically joined in as well.

Exclusive: These Guys are running 4,107km to raise $20k for migrant workers

To raise funds for migrant workers in Singapore, amateur football club Purple Monkeys banded together to run a total of 4,107 km - the distance between Singapore and Bangladesh capital Dhaka.

1000 free meals for the needy: If you can cook, you can help

The #KindCooks initiative by GoodHood.SG rallied Singaporeans to use their cooking skills to bless those in need by preparing free meals for them.

Who strawberry? Not these millennial pandemic pivoters

Forget Strawberry generation; these millenials proved that the youth of Singapore are capable of thriving even amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Special National day shows take illness off their minds

To take patients' minds off their ailments and raise their spirits, Alexandra Hospital organised two unique National Day performances for them.

Covid-19 can't stop these architects from building hopes in Africa

Despite the closing of international borders, these architects stepped up their humanitarian efforts in Africa to build hope by sheltering and educating the next generation there.

This teacher goes the extra mile to put on shows for kids with special needs

With live performances cancelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, this teacher and her team transformed their multi-sensory performance for special needs kids into an online adventure to engage their audience even at home.

Singapore high jumper makes leaps in helping the elderly

During CB, this local high jumper launched an initiative to reach out to the elderly and help ease their feelings of isolation.

Singapore tennis player serves his best on and off the court

Meanwhile, this tennis player used CB as an opportunity to help the less fortunate by raising funds for and providing meals to migrant workers during the Hari Raya weekend.

World mental health day: She created an app to provide on-demand counselling

Covid-19 blues getting you down? This millenial created an app for text-based mental health coaching to help you work on your mental health.

Despite pandemic, virtual charity swim meet raises $166k, attracts over 4,300

Over 4,300 Singaporeans came together to raise funds for those in need through Swim For Hope, which was revamped into a virtual charity swim meet this year.

This included 3,300 men and women from the Republic of Singapore Navy, who clocked 76,641 laps comprising more than 80 sessions at different locations across the island for a total distance of 3,832,050 metres!

Song of hope: Local singers band together to help children with cancer

As we entered the festive season, local singers created a cover of I'm Gonna Be Loved (This Christmas), a Christmas song by local band The Sam Willows, as part of a donation drive for the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF).

Singapore hawker culture: Wah UNESCO See Us Up Leh!

What's this? Our hawker culture finally made it to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity? This (almost) makes 2020 totally worth it!

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.