We distributed 1,451 packs of food to the homeless and urban poor in Kuala Lumpur of which 481 packs were given out from the Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) building during the week, 245 packs from our mobile kitchen, 68 packs in the evening round and 657 packs in the midnight rounds.

Kind Sponsors

• Silver Bird
• Giant Supermarket
• Sykt Roti Jaya Bread Shop
• Alice Ng
• Mr Lee
• The Celadon Royal Thai Cuisine
• Café 21
• Boathouse Restaurant
• SOGO KL

Distribution from our Soup Kitchen

Monday 16th – Friday 20th May 2011 @ 1100 to 1300 hrs

A total of 481 packets of food were distributed from our soup kitchen during the week, except for Tuesday (Wesak Day).

A new client, Mr Teh, came to soup kitchen asking for food. He had heard about us from one of our regular clients. Mr Teh, who is 60 years old this year, has previously worked as a plantation worker. Despite his old age, Mr Teh still appeared to be strong and mobile, and expressed a willingness to work. However, Mr Teh said that his former employer had terminated his employment based on his age.

Mr Teh grew up as an orphan. Despite having no one to care for him in his old age, Mr Teh was against the idea of taking shelter in an old folks’ home. He left soon after the conversation with our volunteers, saying that he would find a way on his own.

Distribution from our Mobile Soup Kitchen

Monday 9th – Friday 13th May 2011 @ 1330 to 1430 hrs

We distributed 245 packets of food in Kampung Bellamy this week.

Residents in Kampung Bellamy asked our volunteers if there was any more food from hotels. They were hoping to be able to eat the food sponsored by Le Meridien last week. Our volunteers gently told them that hotel food is available only once a month.

Mobile food distribution went smoothly throughout the week.

Midnight Rounds

Saturday 21st May 2011 @ 2130 hrs

65 volunteers distributed 673 packets of food to our clients tonight.

Master chefs from Celadon Royal Thai Cuisine Restaurant prepared 500 packets of vegetarian fried rice to be distributed that night. They were the seventh of a series of hotels and restaurants participating in this community project undertaken by the founder of Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) Dato’ Steve Day.

Celadon’s Restaurant Manager was at our soup kitchen to distribute food to walk-in clients. Our volunteers distributed the remainder to our clients on the streets via our usual rounds.

Our volunteers spotted a new client near Masjid India. The middle-aged man, who only wanted to be known as Murli, was resting on the verandah when he was approached by our volunteers. They gave him an empty cardboard box to use as a makeshift bed. According to Murli, he was formerly very wealthy but had been cheated by his family members. He said he was very sad and depressed with his current situation, and had made several attempts to kill himself. He appeared calmer after talking to our team who consoled him. Murli was given detailed directions to our soup kitchen if he wished to receive further assistance.

Murli was not the only client that KSK dealt with that night, who had ended up on the streets due to financial issues. At Dang Wangi for example, the KSK team had a conversation with Selvan, a client hailing from Johor Baru. Our volunteers learned that Selvan ended up on the streets after he was cheated of all his money by a friend. To add salt to the wound, his personal belongings were stolen after he ended up on the streets. Selvan was referred to our soup kitchen for further assistance.

The team at Bangkok Bank completed their distribution early as many of their clients were not at their usual spots. The team leader reported that their rounds went smoothly and volunteers did not encounter any problems along the way. The leader also reported that the number of clients on the Masjid Negara route is highly unpredictable. Because they had few clients to distribute to, the balance of their food allocation was distributed in Cahaya Suria.

Food distribution went smoothly and ended around 12:45am.

Evening Rounds

Sunday 22nd May 2011 @ 1700 hrs

Seven volunteers distributed 68 packets in Brickfields and Petaling Jaya this evening.

The team at Petaling Jaya came across a potential client in the Kampung Cempaka area. He was squatting by the roadside and drawing on the street divider. Upon further investigation, our volunteers say they believe the man is mentally challenged.

The team covering Old Klang Road and Petaling Jaya reported that they found a young man sleeping under a crossover bridge en route to PJ Old Town. They went down to check if he is a homeless and gave him a packet of food.

Team Brickfields reported that they found Mr Tan again after a six-month absence. Mr Tan was as happy to see the volunteers as they were to see him. He told them he was missing for six months because he had been admitted to Hospital KL for treatment of tuberculosis. Although pale-looking, Mr Tan declined the food, saying he cannot eat any solid food as yet. Our volunteers brought him porridge instead, and left some soft food for him.

Food distribution went smoothly and ended around 6:45pm.