Every morning at 5 am when most people are asleep, a figure would be busy in the kitchen, cooking meals until the rest of the volunteers arrive. Day in and day out, Mr Tay and his team prepare, cook, pack and deliver the food to various parts of the island.
His journey started when one of his neighbors, Lisa, asked him to collect vegetables and give them away at Bukit Ho Swee, a poor and less-privileged neighbourhood, and thus, he continued to do so for a period of time. During one of these visits, his wife noticed that the elderly folk did not take the vegetables. Asked why, one replied that she could not cook, so she only ate the rice delivered to her. Mrs Tay then offered to cook for her, and that single meal sparked Willing Hearts, which has since served about 650,000 meals.
The soup kitchen sees many volunteers, some of whom are new, while others have been around since the organisation's early days. They learn how to cook, interact with people from all walks of life, pick up different languages, gain greater knowledge about social issues, and most importantly, they will form a strong tie with one another. Through Willing Hearts, Mr Tay hopes to make "the country's backyard" known to the younger generation, to allow them to see and experience firsthand what goes on behind closed doors.
As a non-profit organisation, Willing Hearts depends heavily on donations and food collections. However, this does not faze Mr Tay. He believes that you have to let things flow in gradually, and not be stopped by concerns which create an unnecessary amount of stress. He calls the volunteers of Willing Hearts the organisation's eyes and ears, as they are always on the lookout for the poor to lend a hand.
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