The People Who Build Our Cities
Every day, millions of people pass by construction sites, cleaning crews, and delivery workers without a second thought. These migrant workers are the invisible backbone of modern Singapore - constructing skyscrapers, maintaining infrastructure, keeping businesses running. Yet for all their essential contributions, they remain largely unseen by the very society they help build. For Tvisha Jhamb, a student in Singapore, these workers were impossible to ignore. Walking past her school every day, she witnessed their reality firsthand: workers sweating under the harsh sun, carrying heavy loads, pushing through physically demanding days.
The Hidden Struggle: Access Over Affordability
When Tvisha began investigating the challenges migrant workers face, she expected to find issues related to wages or working conditions. What emerged instead was something more insidious precisely because it was so ordinary: the difficulty of accessing affordable everyday resources. Workers often don't know where affordable options exist, face language obstacles, live far from affordable areas, have no time after 12-hour shifts to search, and are trapped paying premium prices at convenience stores near their worksites.
I think seeing their struggles and looking at so many migrant workers near my school sweating and doing so much work - I wanted to do something for them. After researching a lot, I found that one of the most significant concerns was finding accessible resources, and hence I tried solving for that problem.
Tvisha Jhamb, Founder of Open Door
Technology as Bridge, Not Barrier
Tvisha's solution emerged from a crucial insight: while migrant workers face numerous challenges, most carry smartphones - the one tool that could potentially bridge the information gap. Enter Open Door: an AI-powered chatbot designed specifically for migrant workers in Singapore. Rather than creating another app that requires downloading and registration, Tvisha built a conversational assistant that works through familiar messaging platforms.
A worker can simply ask "Where can I find cheap groceries near Jurong?" and receive immediate, relevant recommendations. The AI understands context, remembers conversations, and provides increasingly relevant suggestions - available 24/7 in multiple languages.
Building with Empathy, Not Assumptions
What distinguishes Open Door from typical technology solutions is its foundation in genuine empathy rather than assumptions about what workers need. Tvisha didn't build what she thought would be useful - she researched, observed, and designed around actual challenges migrant workers expressed. The design choices reflect this: simplicity first, language that treats workers as valued community members, minimal data collection, offline capability for areas with poor connectivity, and cultural sensitivity around dietary restrictions and remittance patterns.
I feel that they already have so much to do and so much workload that making their life easier by providing them resources can ease off some of their stress and workload.
Tvisha Jhamb
The Philosophy of Small Ideas, Big Changes
I would advise people to do anything they can for the betterment of society, and changes don't always come from grand inventions but from small ideas. Even like this simple chatbot I have created can give the migrant workers a choice, a way forward, and an area of upbringing.
Tvisha Jhamb
Open Door challenges us to reconsider who we see as part of our communities. Migrant workers aren't temporary visitors or invisible labor - they're community members with the same fundamental needs who deserve the same access to resources that we take for granted. Open Door is live and accessible at tvishajhamb.github.io/MigHelpBot/, helping migrant workers across Singapore find affordable resources right now.