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Heroes Unmasked: They give free meals to private hire drivers, needy Muslims breaking fast and others

SINGAPORE — After learning that some of his friends who were delivery riders were getting by on just S$30 of income a day as the Covid-19 crisis deepened, Mohd Razib, 55, who does freelance food catering, decided to help out by providing meals for them and other private hire drivers.

Ms Qurratu Ain, 47, with her husband distributing meals to Malaysians stranded in Singapore and needy Singaporeans.

Ms Qurratu Ain, 47, with her husband distributing meals to Malaysians stranded in Singapore and needy Singaporeans.

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As Singapore battles the Covid-19 pandemic, TODAY’s Heroes Unmasked series highlights those who are doing their bit to spread kindness and compassion during this period. In this instalment, we speak to a group of volunteers who have been distributing free meals to cash-strapped delivery and private hire drivers, as well as Malaysians who usually commute from Johor Baru but are stranded here after Malaysia’s lockdown. Another spin-off from this effort is providing meals to needy Muslims breaking fast during Ramadan.

SINGAPORE — After learning that some of his friends who were delivery riders were getting by on just S$30 of income a day as the Covid-19 crisis deepened, Mohd Razib, 55, who does freelance food catering, decided to help out by providing meals for them and other private hire drivers.

So four weeks ago, Mr Razib and about 10 friends took turns to park their car outside the Mukmin Restaurant in Bedok North to distribute packets of food for dinner to these workers.

Earlier this year, they had already launched a similar service around the island to help provide meals to Malaysians who used to commute daily from Johor Baru but are stranded here for work reasons, as well as to needy Singaporeans.

In this more recent effort, every Monday and Thursday, private hire and delivery drivers including those from Grab, Gojek, and ComfortDelGro have been invited to drive by the volunteers’ parked car that contains the meals to receive a packet of food — similar to a "drive-through" concept.

A volunteer at a 'drive through' at Bedok North distributing meals on April 27, 2020 to private hire and delivery drivers. Photo: Mohd Razib

The team invited friends who were private hire drivers to spread the word about the meals on their personal Facebook pages.

“The drivers would drive by our stationary car, roll down their windows and take the food, it’s all done very quickly,” Mr Razib said.

Four to five volunteers are stationed at the makeshift drive-through and all wear masks.

Mr Razib and his team started giving out 50 packets of meals including nasi lemak, chicken rice or fried rice during lunchtime in March.

Some donors placed orders for the meals at eateries for the team to collect. Other donors gave the money to Mr Razib’s team so they could place the orders.

Mr Razib was unable to estimate how much had been collected in donations in total, but said that he and his friends have had to top up the donations out of their own pockets to the tune of a few hundred to cover the cost of the meals.

Some meals have been sponsored by restaurants such as Nurz Muslim Food in Kaki Bukit.

The free meals programme has also provided some Muslims with a meal to break their fast.

Since the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began on April 24, the team has given out about 200 packets in a day as demand for their meals grew. They also changed the distribution time to dinner time so the meals are fresh when Muslim delivery riders break their fast.

“Last week, the 200 packets of food were given out within 30 minutes,” Mr Razib said, chuckling with satisfaction at the success of their initiative.

One reason for distributing the meals was that mosques usually give out porridge or other meals and drinks to allow Muslims to break their fast. But they have closed during this period, so Mr Razib wanted to ensure they had meals.

“I also wanted to help give out the meals because I know what it’s like growing up poor and being hungry,” he said, adding that he had to skip meals while he was in primary and secondary school.

“I want to spend my last years doing something to benefit others, however I can provide for them.”

But running the “drive-through” also meant that volunteers such as real estate agent Ms Qurratu Ain, 47, part of the effort to spearhead the initiative, had to break her fast midway during the distribution instead of doing so at home with her family.

“We have to break our fast on the pavements instead of at home together with our family because we can never reach home in time,” Ms Qurratu said. Sometimes they eat in their car, she added.

Ms Qurrtu Ain, 47, breaking her fast with her husband while they completed their food deliveries to Malaysians and needy Singaporeans. Photo: Qurratu Ain

DAILY MEALS TO MALAYSIAN WORKERS AND THE NEEDY

Mr Razib said that 10 to 20 volunteers have been distributing about 500 meals every day islandwide since Malaysia went into lockdown, to needy Singaporeans and Malaysians who used to commute back and forth from Johor Baru daily for work here. The aim is to help this group with their daily necessities.

“They told us that usually, they would have breakfast in Malaysia before coming over for work and then return home for dinner in Johor Baru, but now they need to have three meals here which is more expensive for them,” he said.

Ms Qurratu has also been volunteering to deliver those meals daily after hearing that some Malaysian friends had missed their meals.

“Some of these Malaysians I know are cleaners with a pay of about S$800 a month, so they said they cannot afford to have three meals,” she said.

“They had to rely on instant noodles or biscuits or eat only one meal a day even before the fasting month.”

Each day, Ms Qurratu would drive to collect the meals and distribute them to the people living in Sembawang, Yishun, Bras Basah, Bukit Merah and Redhill.

Ms Qurratu has to juggle the daily deliveries for a minimum of eight hours a day on top of her real estate work, but she believes that it is worth it.

“We never think it’s tiring because we’re facing a pandemic and there are people who need the support,” she said.

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