Free Market Johor (FMJ) is a non-government and non-partisan organisation that coordinates activities to help the needy and less fortunate. Launched in 2015 by Yayasan Pasir Gudang (YPG), FMJ aims to ease the burdens of the urban poor through their unique solution of providing daily necessities to the low income groups for free.
“When we talk about urban poor, we mean the communities’ in Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Pontian and Senai. Aside from distributing necessities, we also conduct educational activities. We’re a different kind of platform; our free market provides goods like a flea market but the currency of the day is gratitude,” said Zaharah Raishan, coordinator of FMJ.
The programme is set up exactly like a regular flea market and the recipient family can take any item they need that is available on display. The organisation identifies specific communities and families by engaging and conducting surveys and discussions with community heads before proceeding to crowdfund resources for the free market.
FMJ provides about 20 types of raw materials as well as pre-loved goods such as clothes and books for recipient families. Each family can take up to 10 items per visit. Since the inception of the organisation, more than 600 families have benefitted. Most of these families hail from the B40 segment.
“We also target specific schools with our Free Canteen programme. These schools normally have a substantial amount of children coming from urban poor families. We would pick a day and provide them with free food, some extra goodies such as healthy snacks and stationaries as well as a token to the school. This token is used to pay any outstanding fees the children may have,” added Zaharah.
Zaharah also explained that these are not the only activities FMJ conducts. They also host a very special programme with Kenangan Old Folks Home in Larkin called ‘Pasar 20 Sen’. Since 2017, the residents of the home are given the opportunity to buy any item they please for just 20 cents. Zaharah explains that the ability to purchase something for themselves is empowering and leaves a positive impact on the residents. All proceeds from this programme are donated back to the home to be used as funds for any future activities.
