Coordinate the soup kitchens
MUCH has been written about the growing number of soup kitchens in Kuala Lumpur and other urban areas to cater for the poor, homeless and needy. Many ad hoc groups also sprout up to offer the same service during Ramadan and the Lent season.
The intentions are noble but the law of unintended consequences has inevitably set in – there is now excess food leading to rampant wastage.
In the KL city centre, especially in hot-spot areas like Kota Raya, Pasar Seni, Pudu Raya, Medan Tuanku, Chow Kit and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, more food is being distributed than can be eaten. Recently, one homeless person was reported to be receiving up to eight packets of food in a single night!
In a way, there is some sort of “friendly” competition among the NGOs in terms of who gets to feed the homeless first. It is unfortunate that each NGO wants to do things their way and some also claim territorial rights.
There have been many calls and pleas for coordination among the numerous soup kitchens in each urban centre. But who is taking the first step to do so? Will the relevant authorities help?
The starting point is to have an updated database but the question is who has the authority to collect the required information. Would the private sector be kind enough to step in to fund such a worthy CSR project?
To get the basic information on the soup kitchen NGOs, a survey or census needs to be carried out in each urban centre. The essential information required would include the number of soup kitchen NGOs operating in each area, their details and address; when and the number of days per week they distribute free food; how many people they cater for each meal; and what other services they provide besides food and water.
If collected properly, the information can serve as a basis to start coordinating and planning the work among soup kitchens. A coordination committee could then be set up.
A census also needs to be done on the number of homeless people in each area. Of course, this figure will change even on a daily basis but a ballpark figure would serve the purpose. The database would enable the matching of the number of homeless people in each area with the number of food packets distributed each day to minimise wastage. I’m willing to compile the information on the KL area if the soup kitchens here would submit their answers to the questions mentioned earlier. I can be contacted at polasingh@gmail.com.
Finally, we need to ask if street feeding is an effective way to help the needy and homeless. Would the hand-outs make the homeless and urban poor lazier as they are idle most of the time and sooner or later would become dependent on such free food? Who qualifies for such hand-outs? These are issues that the coordination committee could deliberate on in close consultation with the relevant government agencies. DR POLA SINGH Kuala Lumpur