Projek KASEH4U volunteers deliver aid to 400 people on any given night throughout the year. Photo from its Facebook page.
Every Tuesday night, the folks who run Projek KASEH4U distribute food and drink to the needy at the lane outside the Tune Hotel at Jalan Sultan Ismail Rahman in Kuala Lumpur. They have made a regular gig of it since 2013, and the group — started by a husband and wife team — rely on donations and volunteers to deliver their aid to roughly 400 people on any given night.
Often, they also offer help in other forms, such as paying rent for homes or kitting children with school necessities. In a nod to the fact that the Tune Hotel is part of the Tune Group, Projek KASEH4U modelled their own tagline after the hotel’s sister company AirAsia: “Now, Everyone Can Eat”.
Another NGO, Region Of Love, is also active in that respect. They feed the homeless and the unfortunate who live at Jalan Chow Kit every Thursday and Saturday, and the ones in Klang every Saturday, coordinating with a few other volunteer organisations to help their less-fortunate neighbours. In fact, the group
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often does more than just offer food; it offers skills and lessons to help these lessfortunate citizens create something of value to help their own financial situation, based on the “feeding them for a lifetime” principle.
For example, a group of volunteers made monster plush toys based on designs and drawings by the children of the streets themselves — who are all represented by Kolektif Anak ChowKit — and the toys were sold under the Tangan Kechil (“Small Hands”) brand at the beginning of December, with the proceeds going to benefit the children. It is just one of the many items they have created for sale to contribute to the pockets of the less fortunate. And encouragingly, there are still many other groups out there who are doing social welfare projects like this as well, all across the nation.
All of this shows that more and more Malaysians are aware and appreciate the circumstances surrounding other people. Far too often, locals give off a “selfish” vibe and attitude, whether on the road, when cutting queues or when holding positions of power (both major and minor). It is awe-inspiringly encouraging to see that despite rising costs, difficulties in finding/holding employment, and an uncertain economic future, the rakyat still have the need to help the helpless – and not just as a one-off feel-good measure either. These selfless Malaysians, who are represented by people from all sorts of cultural heritages, have proven that you do not need to be a Christian nation — or even Christian — to practise Christian charity.
In fact, we can all marvel and be grateful that these home-grown heroes are proving that the Spirit of Giving extends beyond the Christmas period. The beauty of it is that the Spirit of Giving does not require you to belong to any particular denomination of faith — or even to have any faith at all. And it is clear to see that such efforts and cooperation actually strengthen one’s faith, rather than weakening it, as some naysayers love to trumpet. For the readers out there who want to join in the giving, the best advice is to find out which groups are active near your area and help. This not only avoids possible duplication and wastage, it is the most practical way for you to help.
Appropriately enough, Star Wars returns once more to the big screen at this point in time, and the third official trailer for The Force Awakens has a line that goes: “The Force; it’s calling to you. Just let it in.” It takes no stretching of the imagination to replace “the Force” with “the Spirit of Giving”. Looking at these selfless Malaysians, you can certainly say one thing about each of them: “The Force is strong in this one.”
Merry Christmas, everyone, and may the Force be with you. Always.
by Ahmad Azrai:
Projek Kaseh4U 