What do those less fortunate think when they look up to the glitzy skyscrapers and skyscrapers? Geri ponders as she distributes food to those less fortunate in Jalan Besar.
Though we may feel insignificant individually, the small acts of kindness we perform perhaps can make life a little kinder and easier for those around us.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Though we may feel insignificant individually, the small acts of kindness we perform perhaps can make life a little kinder and easier for those around us.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
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CreativityTranscript
00:00I often wonder what the old people or the families who look out at the glitzy skyscrapers here think.
00:11So my name is Jerry. I volunteer with The Soup Kitchen and we are a group of volunteers who
00:17distribute food around the Jalan Besar area to rental families who either have a lot of children
00:23or are elderly and cannot help themselves. We first pack food from a vegetarian restaurant
00:29in the area and then we distribute it to various blocks in the area, namely about five or six
00:35blocks. We start from the top, then we go down and sometimes when we give out food,
00:43we also make sure that the welfare of the residents are okay. So The Soup Kitchen project
00:49is an ongoing project that has been around for a while. I've been doing this for 13 years but
00:56the founders themselves a few more years than that. In the past, they had a cafe at Rowell Road
01:02where they would buy tofu and vegetables and rice from Sheng Siong to cook and distribute.
01:09So every Tuesday, I would go to this vegetarian restaurant. After packing for about an hour,
01:15the aim is to pack about 400-ish packets of bee hoon to distribute to the six blocks. The
01:21volunteers would then go from door to door to make sure that the recipients of the bee hoon
01:28get their bee hoon and are okay.
01:30After packing the food from the vegetarian restaurant, the volunteers would then deliver
01:52the packets of bee hoon. We usually check in on them to make sure that their living conditions
01:56are fine or that health-wise it's fine and if they're not, then we would make a note about it
02:02and then maybe help report it to the family services centre nearby so that the social workers
02:10can follow up with the units and check in on them. By the time everything is distributed,
02:16it would be about 7-7.30pm. Sometimes there's not enough bee hoon so we would buy extra packets
02:21of bee hoon from the MRT station nearby to ensure that there's sufficient food for the
02:26recipients on the list. About 7-7.30pm, the volunteering would be done. Sometimes we hang out
02:33for a drink or if not, then we just go home because the volunteers come from
02:37work or school and have busy schedules so it's part of their weekly routine.
02:52Two packets. I'll take your time. Hello, hello, Glen. Two packets.
03:01One, three, four. Three packets, right?
03:11Two packets? Okay.
03:13Let's go to the sixth floor. I know it's very hot. No, no, sixth floor. So we have to go down two flights of stairs.
03:28Here.
03:43It's very hot today. It's hot?
03:45Where do you listen to Cantonese dramas?
03:47Do you have a radio?
03:49Auntie, take good care of yourself.
03:51Hello, Hafiz.
03:55Uncle, I'm sorry.
03:57Rice noodles, rice noodles.
03:59I like it.
04:01Thank you so much.
04:03Hello, Mr Rizran.
04:05Hi, sorry.
04:07Bee hoon.
04:09Sorry.
04:13I will put it on your door.
04:15Because it says
04:17difficulty walking, hang on door.
04:19Hello, Auntie, Uncle.
04:21Auntie, rice noodles.
04:23Do you want rice noodles?
04:25How many packets? Three packets, right?
04:27Take your time.
04:29Rice noodles, sweet.
04:33I'm sorry.
04:37Thank you, sorry.
04:39Okay.
04:55Yeah, we'll come back with one more packet.
04:57Okay.
04:59Sorry, we'll come back, we'll come back.
05:01We're short of one packet, so we're going to go pick up one packet
05:03and then bring it back.
05:05So I guess
05:07all of us have a very personal
05:09and vested interest in the people receiving the bee hoon
05:11because we have formed personal relationships
05:13with them after being here for so long.
05:15But at the same time, it's also
05:17really nice to
05:19help alleviate the cost of living
05:21in Singapore a little bit.
05:23I met an old lady and she picks up
05:25cans and cardboard boxes for a living
05:27because I think the standard
05:29of living in Singapore is getting to be a little bit
05:31more expensive for the elderly people who don't
05:33earn so much, right, or they don't
05:35really make an income. I was a bit surprised
05:37to hear that
05:39she understands political trends
05:41in the world because of the price of
05:43metal, for instance, but
05:45that also makes me feel
05:47sad because the old lady has a
05:49hand-to-mouth subsistence, so
05:51if she doesn't go out and pick up
05:53cans, she will not be able to maybe
05:55buy herself a pack of food
05:57at the coffee shop today. For me,
05:59I feel very heartened
06:01when I maybe go back to the
06:03same unit and see the same person, but they're getting better.
06:05But there are some recipients
06:07who are a bit older,
06:09such as this Madam Ong from
06:11Block 7 in the area.
06:13When I first started, she was very healthy
06:15but now she's got dementia, which
06:17is very heartening for me to
06:19go every week just to make sure that she's fine.
06:21Distributing food to
06:23them and talking to them
06:25sort of maybe alleviates
06:27that loneliness a little bit.
06:29Given how Singapore
06:31is progressing as a society
06:33so rapidly, we're modernising
06:35so quickly,
06:37I think there are still some people
06:39who are
06:41left behind a little because
06:43they're either older
06:45or they're unable to keep up with technology or they don't
06:47have the skills to do so because
06:49they're unable to do so.
06:51Very small, you know.
06:53Maybe I'll give you two more.
06:55These few blocks in the Jalan Besar area, they're surrounded
06:57by glitzy skyscrapers,
06:59high-rise buildings.
07:01You can actually see them from
07:03the buildings that we give out
07:05food to. I think in
07:07order to be a
07:09balanced human being,
07:11I am still in the process
07:13of trying to be a balanced person.
07:15Part of it is
07:17for me, is being of service to
07:19the society and the community at large
07:21regardless of other
07:23commitments that I may have.
07:25To me, volunteering means a lot
07:27and I enjoy it.