A line of about 130 people patiently stood in queue, each with a red melamine plate in hand to receive food from a group of volunteers. On three makeshift tables were a bucket of rice and dishes like chicken curry, vegetables and sliced watermelon. They took their food and then sat down along the pedestrian walking area, peacefully enjoying their meals together.
Two large shallow buckets and one black plastic bag had been placed. Everyone who ate the food had the discipline to return their utensils into one bucket, empty plates into the other. Trash and leftover food were thrown into the black plastic bag. These people may not know when their next day’s meal will come from, but they can be sure that the volunteers from the Society of St Vincent De Paul Conference of Immaculate Conception Johor Bahru (SSVP CIC JB) would return to the same spot at that back alley once a week to feed them again as they have been doing for the past three years.
The essence of love is the secret ingredient to the food provided. All meals are homemade and prepared by the volunteers from their own kitchens. Though focused on the homeless community, SSVP does not deny nor refuse anybody who wants a meal. There is no need to register or show proof of financial difficulties – it’s all based on trust, anybody who queues up to eat is served.
“Johor Bahru’s homeless community is mostly made of migrants,” said Hugh Dason, President of SSVP CIC JB. People from all over Malaysia, including East Malaysia, come to JB to respond to job openings in Singapore. When things do not go as planned, they return to Malaysia via JB, but do not have sufficient money to go back to their home states. As a result, they end up on the streets, living day in and out looking for a job or a way to sustain themselves. Sometimes, outpatients from the nearby hospitals also sleep on the streets – travelling from afar with only enough money for treatment but not enough to put up in hotels or to pay for transport to return home. Money saved from eating the meals served by SSVP could mean money for some other important expense.
SSVP members walk around town at midnight to visit the homeless and give out food vouchers to use at nearby eateries. They use the opportunity to keep in touch with the homeless, listen to their needs and to help them out.
“We look for the poor. The poor do not look for us,” Hugh added, saying that SSVP helps individuals on a one-on-one basis, not as a big organisation. This ensures an assessment and a response to their unique needs and situations. When called for a job interview, SSVP helps the homeless get groomed to present themselves well to their prospective employers. Their aim is to keep the homeless off the streets.
SSVP also believes that education is key to staying out of the cycle of poverty. Children aged 9 to 12 from underprivileged backgrounds who are unable to cope with lessons in schools are picked up and sent to tuition centres – completely free – to help them catch up with lessons.
“We must treat people with dignity,” said Hugh.
