Reader's Digest

(avery) #1

36 | July• 2018


Agency oicer and the National En-
vironmentAgencywereevencalled”
sayshisdaughterAnne.“hehouse
wasillingupwithvolunteerstohelp
cook prepare and deliver the food.
We were like st rangers in our ow n
home.”
hen one day they ran out of rice
needed to make the 1000 meals
needed for the next day. “We’ll pray
aboutit”Tonyrememberssayingto
his worried family. It worked – be-
foreday’sendaricemerchanthad
giventhemanexcessshipmenthe
needed to off load. Soon after the
family’s entire house – the living
room kitchen and bedrooms – was
illedwithsacksofrice.

ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK
Singapore is a high-income economy.
But local economist Yeoh Lam Ke-
ong estimates that there are between
110000–140000 households living in

time with his family and grandchil-
dren when he eventually retired.
“Distributing the bread reminded
me of the times when I had to queue
for food and nobody asked why” he
says. “The temple just gave the food
to us.”
SoonafteranothernunaskedTony
to distribute unsold vegetables from a
wholesaler to the poor. While distrib-
utingthevegetableswithhiswifean
elderlymaninarentedgovernment
lat approached them and asked for
food.Hewaslivingbyhimselfand
could not cook. The couple began
making and delivering a home-
cooked meal to the man every day.
Over time the number of meals
Ton y w a s c o ok i n g i n h i s k i t c he n a t
home grew and two friends decided
topitchinandhelp.Butasthenum-
berofmealsgrewsodidtherubbish
andcomplaintsfromhisneighbours.
“A policeman a Land Transport


Willing Hearts serves up to 7000 meals a day to disadvantaged households

PHOTO: ALAMY
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