As shops stay shuttered and businesses buckle with fewer customers coming in, Malaysians are finding it increasingly hard to stay afloat financially.
But if even the somewhat well-to-do are struggling to cope, what about the unfortunate people who were already down on their luck to begin with?
The homeless and the poor have been hit the hardest by current circumstances, with whatever meagre sources of income they might have had long cut off since the initial wave of Covid-19 swept the nation.
For these people, just putting food on the table every day is a struggle, and at times, their only way of surviving is to rely on the generosity of kind strangers through donations and aid-in-kind.
Enter Tony Lian, a 70-year-old pensioner who realised that now is the time for all to band together to give their fellow Malaysians a helping hand.
Despite his age, he founded Food4U, a soup kitchen that provides the hungry and homeless of Kuala Lumpur with food and groceries.
Fondly referred to as Uncle Tony by volunteers and contributors, his work sees him and his volunteers going out onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur every Friday to distribute food packs to the hungry.
On Saturdays, Food4U volunteers will visit underprivileged households, primarily those with single parents with many mouths to feed, to provide them with desperately-needed groceries.
“The recipients are recommended to us by NGOs or through word of mouth. This is how we identify and locate them,” said Uncle Tony.
Even the disabled are not left in the lurch as Food4U also provides them with necessities.
“We also provide food, fruits and bottled water to the blind community who are adversely affected as they are not able to work as blind masseurs because of Covid-19.”
Food4U came together after a group of Uncle Tony’s friends and family decided to pool their resources and manpower to pursue the noble goal of alleviating the suffering of the homeless and poor of KL.
As to the question of why he goes out of his way to help strangers, Uncle Tony simply answered, “In terms of humanity, it is only right to provide the needy with the basic necessities in life such as food, lodging and education. Through this, we can create an environment that is beneficial to all Malaysians in general.”
To that end, Food4U maintains a relatively low profile despite having received certificates of appreciation from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry as well as the Norwegian government.
It is as Uncle Tony said – the NGO prefers to focus on its sole purpose and seeks nothing more than to accomplish it.
In fact, Food4U has expanded its scope of work to provide stable employment to the poor.
To support the NGO’s growing list of responsibilities, Uncle Tony hopes that corporations will extend their support to Food4U in the form of job opportunities for homeless individuals.
Members of the public are also welcome to provide Food4U with information on households in need of aid, sponsor household essentials or simply provide financial aid.
Help feed the hungry by donating essentials to Food4U’s distribution centre, donating to its account (Public Bank 4826007307) or calling Uncle Tony at 0178812666 for further information.
Food4U,
No 4, Jalan P 2/18
Sekyen 2
Bandar Teknologi Kajang
43000 Semenyih
Selangor