They include people out of jobs and charity homes in need of help to feed their dependants.
StarMetro speaks to a few soup kitchens and restaurants that have stepped up to lend a helping hand.
Raashi Kitchen
Its owner Raman Rajagopal had been busy offering free meals to people in need since the movement control order was implemented early this year.
“We are sponsoring cooked food to those who need it.”
He has been practising what he believes, in not letting anybody go hungry.
“I was about to open my restaurant in March 2020 when the first MCO hit.
“I focused on takeaways and deliveries but the situation got better when dine-in was allowed.”
The other day, my 12-year-old daughter, Apsara, broke her guitar, though not quite in the Jimi Hendrix fashion.
“Do you know how many chibis you have to draw to get a new guitar?” I asked. “You have to get 20 orders for your chibis.”
The calculation works out as: RM20 per chibi x 20 orders = RM400.
Apsara earns pocket money by drawing chibi, which Dictionary.com defines as “an art style common in anime featuring characters with large heads, large eyes, and small bodies.” The Japanese word comes from the verb “chibiru”, which means “to wear out and become shorter”.
When she was seven years old, Apsara developed an interest in drawing cartoon characters.
Credit: Charlie s Café/Facebook
Charlie’s Café has two big missions: to empower the indigenous community in East Malaysia, and help the underprivileged in the community.
These are not goals that can be achieved easily, but owners Desonny Tuzan and Debra Leong are determined to keep their social enterprise-modelled restaurant running – even with difficulties brought on by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Giving back to the community, one dish at a time
Desonny and Debra have always wanted to do something that can deliver positive impact to the communities around them.
“We use our talents – my wife and I – to set up a food and beverage (F&B) business specialising in comfort food, like laksa, nasi lemak, and chicken chop,” explained Desonny. There’s no doubt about the East Malaysian couple’s culinary talents, as Charlie’s Café is said to serve one of the best chicken chops in town.