The Walk Walk - Project Hawker Boleh!
A week ago, we shared a new initiative — A Jurong Circuit Breaker Lunch Delivery Special — with Mdm Yu who is one of our Project Zero stars. Over the past months, her business had taken a toll with the COVID-19 situation. Following the Circuit Breaker, Mdm Yu was faced with the challenge of even fewer customers. Although she had wanted to register as a partner with food delivery companies, she was rejected.
Throughout her life as a hawker, she confronted various challenges — from poor business to a fire at the market her store was located. When she realised that there wasn’t a demand for Yong Tau Foo in the morning, she learnt to prepare economic beehoon and wakes up at 4am daily to prepare the ingredients. When she realised that her store wasn’t attracting the younger crowd, she started selling Nasi Lemak and provided more options like Chee Cheong Fun. Time and time again, Mdm Yu innovated and pushed through, driven by her love to cook.
Indeed, the COVID-19 situation was no exception. We worked with the ever-innovative Mdm Yu and her daughter, to develop lunch set meals. Then, we connected them to Spider, a cyclist in Jurong, who so readily agreed to support with delivering the meals on a short notice.
The initiative faced its challenges — with only several orders each day. Yet, it evolved and has taken a life of its own as Project Hawkers Boleh! Learning about Mdm Yu’s situation, a group donated 50 breakfast sets. Together with Loving Hearts Multi-Service Centre (Jurong), Bold At Work, and residents’ committees, Mdm Yu and her daughter managed to identify residents who would benefit from these breakfast sets and has been distributing them.
Project Hawkers Boleh! (Image taken from https://give.asia/campaign/hawkers-boleh#/)
Today, 100 residents has been identified to benefit from these breakfast sets. The vegetarian and fishball noodles store owners at Blk 496, recognising how the initiative not only supports hawkers but also benefits others, has joined their initiative too. Project Hawkers Boleh! Is currently raising funds to expand the initiative to support more hawkers and others in the community who would benefit from the breakfast sets. You may contribute to the initiative by clicking this.
During Project Zero’s Picnic, we decided to explore how to turn rejected ideas into opportunities in Jurong. Mdm Yu’s rejection from food delivery companies and the lacklustre response to the original lunch delivery paved the way for Project Hawkers Boleh! to not just support hawkers but also look out for others in the community. As Project Zero continue on our Walk Walk journey, we are excited to uncover other rejected ideas and explore how to turn them into opportunities.
At the same time, Kampung Jurong Zine will be making a comeback! This time featuring stories of small local businesses — like Mdm Yu — who are trying their best to adapt the COVID-19 situation and the connections forged within Jurong. If you are interested in exploring and shining light on the community — from home — do contact the team at aboldkampung@gmail.com.