Reach Org - Food For All Campaign - Feeding the Homeless

Through my friend Sazzy Falak & the power of Twitter I found out about an organisation called REACH ORG who's is made up solely by volunteers and who's main purpose is to 'inspire' the homeless and urban poor to get back on their feet by providing aid (food / medical aid) to these people directly on the street, and through developing a communicative pathway to the relevant Government groups who can help in the the long term (for more info click here)

Any one of you can start helping by joining in on any of the 'Street-feeding' campaigns. I went to my first on Saturday night. All that was required of me was my time - it's as simple as that!

The adventure begins at midnight when all volunteers for said 'shift' meet up at a specific mamak resto. I met with the Reach Org team (family) which is headed by local Scotsman Peter Nicoll and was brought up to speed with REACH's aims and end game. Everyone is then given guidelines on the street-feeding exercise.

I don't want to get too much into the detail as I believe the best way to get to know more about this wonderful and inspiring charity is to join for one street-feeding shift.

The best I can offer you right now is to share my experience and sentiments:

My only experience I have of homeless people is seeing cardboard cities outside the various main train stations in London (Like Charing Cross, Kings Cross) & Tokyo and areas in London where tourists frequent like Soho and Picadilly Circus. As in the shanty towns of Brazil where you see small landscapes of corregated iron/steel which are the roofs of make-shift homes, 'cardboard-cities' is what I saw in London - make-shift homes created out of old cardboard boxes.
Imagine being exposed with nothing but a thin layer of cardboard to protect you from the elements (in London particularly the very wet & cold winters).


I spoke to an old lady on the street on Saturday night. She had made her home at the bottom of one of the main escalators leading up to May Bank in Puduraya. She lay on a bed of newspapers, beside her a small bag of her belongings and that was it.

I asked if she was hungry - "yes'

And I handed her a 'meal package' consisting of a bottle of water, sweetened bread, an orange & a packet of nasi lemak

Meal Package

She hurriedly took at from me and proceeded (hungrily) to open up the bag

I asked her how long she has been on the streets and she said only a few days.

When I asked her how she became homeless, she went on to explain that she had come to KL from Johore for a job to wash dishes. Only when she arrived at the place of work the employers insisted that they did not want to hire anyone above the age of 45.

She came to KL to WORK and with no work, she had no money to get her back home to Johore.

Name : Cheah Yoke Yun
Age : 58
Address : Maybank Escalator, Puduraya

Now there is only ONE very simple story that resulted in the very COMPLEX issue of

homelessness

The latest update I've just received is that Reach Org will be on NTV7's The Breakfast Show tomorrow (Tuesday 20th April) at around 9am - do tune in to learn all about this great organisation and how you can contribute.

There is also an up-coming fund raising event for Reach Org packed with entertainment including a fashion show by Calvin Thoo, a performance by the beautiful Atilia and a DJ Set by celebrity Daphne Iking. The event will be hosted by the stunning Yasmin Hani & Sazzy Falak

Details HERE :

April 23, 2010
9pm to late
Kings Club, Brem Mall, Kepong
I'll be heading there this Friday too - hope to see you there :)