Voices of the Church : Youth Fellowship at Street Feeders of KL
On Wednesday the 5th of July, myself and a few of my friends from the Youth Fellowship attended a volunteer street feeding event, organized by Street Feeders of Kuala Lumpur. Street Feeders of Kuala Lumpur (more commonly known as Street Feeders of KL) is a NGO founded by Gary Liew, whose main purpose of starting up this NGO was to extend love and generosity to the homeless, destitute and the urban poor. This organization has been running since 2011 and they have received support from an average of 150-200 volunteers who volunteer themselves to feed the less fortunate in the streets of KL, from Jalan Petaling to Kota Raya and even all the way to Jalan Masjid India. This distribution of food to the poor by this organization is done once every fortnight and we from the youth fellowship were lucky to be a part of it.
Excitement during the event’s briefing
We had gathered at Central Market at 8.30pm for a rough briefing by the people in charge of the activity and then we were split into groups to go to different destinations to feed the homeless. We were tasked with distributing the food packages to the homeless around the Watch Tower and Bangkok Bank area. At both locations, we came across many who were by side of the road sleeping and sitting dazedly, with nothing but a bag or a piece of cardboard to lie on. Witnessing this had already made us realize how The Lord Almighty has blessed us with amazing parents, a home and with food to eat and we knew that we had to reciprocate goodness and blessings to the homeless.
A quick picture with our new friend, a former national figure skater, after a long chat
More often than not, the people we meet are more than happy to sit down and have a quick chat about almost anything, eagerly sharing with us their many stories about their hardships, emotional struggles, and, with much nobility, what aspects of their lives that we should not emulate. One of the most interesting people we met there was a former Malaysian national figure skater. He did not share with us on how or why he ended up on the streets without a home, but he did share with us his fair share of knowledge on sports and life in general. Another person we met who went by the name of Sebastian, was a golf player and was doing decently well until he started getting involved with alcohol and became an alcoholic. His major regret till today is that he spent his money on alcohol instead of saving it. He had no money and did not have a house under his name which forced him to live on the streets of KL when he lost his job.We were thankful for not only being given the opportunity to feed these less privileged people but we also got the chance to sit down with a few of them and have a nice chat.
A final goodbye to some of the uncles we met
This street feeding event that we volunteered for taught us many things. One of the biggest lessons from that night, that still stays with me to this day, is that one big mistake you make can turn your life upside down. One wrong step, without the right people in your life, could lead you to a life on the streets.
We hope to continue our involvement in this event, as a recurring volunteer effort for members of the Youth Fellowship as a means of reaching out to the community and maybe even invite other members of the Church if there’s a large interest.
Thank You.
Written by Kenneth Philip Koshy
P.S. Many thanks to Atishay Joseph for introducing us to the organization and this event.
To learn more about Street Feeders of KL, its volunteer programs and possible donations, you can refer to their website (http://www.streetfeeders.com/) or their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/streetfeedersofkl/)