With the extension of Movement Control Order (MCO) until April 28, as announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last Friday, many of you must be getting quite frustrated with the boredom of the stay at home quarantine.
If you miss being able to do things as a community, here are some ideas that have been carried out by Country Garden Forest City (CGFC) to enrich the lives of its residents during the MCO period. You can also adopt these ideas as ways to spend quality time with your friends and family while staying home, staying safe, and staying healthy!
1Virtual Talent Show
CGFC held a Talent Show over one week which saw residents submitting pre-recorded videos of themselves showing off their talents. The videos were sent the property management, who in turn posted those videos on TikTok.
Each video was given a unique QR code, using which viewers could vote for their favourite video by giving it a “Like”. The videos with the most “Likes” won prizes.
You can also organise talent shows with your friends and family by using social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram’s IGTV, Facebook live, or show-off your singing skills using the Smule app.
2#WhatIAteToday
If you browse through social media today, you might notice people whom you’ve never known to have touched a wok or peel a single onion, suddenly now whipping up mouth-watering dishes.
Riding on this trend, CGFC hosted a virtual food-sharing competition where residents were asked to submit homemade videos of meals or desserts that they had prepared, to the property management.
These videos were then also uploaded onto TikTok and each were given a unique QR code which viewers could use to vote by giving the video a “Like”. Similar to the Talent Show, the videos with the most “Likes” won prizes.
Show off your (new-found or existing) culinary skills, and get your family and friends to do the same. Nothing brings Malaysians together the way food can.
3#StayHome Photo-taking Contest
From capturing your pets in their cute antics, to taking artsy shots of objects around your house (mugs, stationary, a dripping tap), to taking wide-angle photos from your balcony or front gate, there’s lots to photograph at home!
CGFC organised a photo contest, encouraging residents to take pictures and videos from their home balcony. Participants submitted their photos on Forest City’s WeChat platform and stood a chance to win awesome prizes.
You can also organise a thematic photo-taking contest with your friends and family. Each participant can vote for submissions besides their own. The best shot gets bragging rights or an IOU for drinks after the MCO is over.
4Online Reading Group
Join one of the many online book clubs available today (among them, the newly formed Quarantine Book Club) and share your thoughts on what you’ve read. You can also start one with your friends and family via Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype or any other virtual conversation platforms.
Encouraging its residents to read together under its Smart Community initiative, Forest City collaborated with digital content provider Overdrive to launch a community digital library called Readlife.
Readlife is offered through Forest Life, Forest City’s Smart Community app. Through the app, Forest City residents can choose and borrow from a vast library of e-Books.
5Online Exercise Classes
Staying at home doesn’t mean that you need to compromise on your fitness goals. Today you can join online exercise classes organised by fitness trainers all over the world.
Get your friends and family to commit to a regular collective workout schedule via videocall, so that you can motivate one another to keep the exercise momentum going. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work.
CFGC has encouraged its staff and residents to stay active and healthy by doing regular home exercises.
6Celebrate life via delivery services
Don’t miss out on celebrating birthdays, other special occasions, or just Fridays with your loved ones during the MCO.
Send them a treat, a meal, or even groceries, by using delivery services like Grab, Food Panda and Honest Bee. Then get them on a video call and catch up over a meal or a drink as you would under normal circumstances.
You can even use these delivery services to extend kindness in the form of a meal or supplies, to those in need, like the elderly, the disabled or the poor, who could especially use a helping hand during this MCO period.
For their residents, CGFC provides free delivery service throughout the MCO. The service includes delivery of groceries, medical supplies, healthcare products and meals, right up to the residents’ doorsteps.
CGFC also conducts daily disinfecting of public spaces and regular body temperature monitoring to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its residents and staff.
Read also: 5 Exercises to Keep You Healthy While Social Distancing
