‘Zubedians’ walk the talk By Yvonne T. Nathan

Ready to serve: Zubedy (right) and his team volunteering to help Kechara Soup Kitchen distribute food for the homeless

ACTIONS speak louder than words decided Anas Zubedy, who with his employees, kicked off the #SaySomethingNice campaign (#SSNC) with #ServeSomethingNice.

The ‘Zubedians’ led by their managing director and founder Anas Zubedy, found their own way to give back to society by volunteering at Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) on Merdeka Day to provide food for the homeless.

Nazrin Fikri, 20, came up with the idea for the campaign after seeing the tears shed by a grateful man he had offered food to.

“In my view, people’s perception is that if we feed the homeless, they just get lazy; but although giving food is just a small thing to us, it means a lot to those who haven’t had a proper meal in days,” he said.

The employee of Zubedy Sdn Bhd’s discovered KSK, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to providing basic necessities to people without a place to call home.

The sentiment which echoed the core ideals of #SSNC culminated in a fund-raising effort for KSK, as well as the eager participation of 25 ‘Zubedians’ alongside KSK volunteers in distributing food to 650 people around Kuala Lumpur, irrespective of race, gender or beliefs.

The programme began with the orientation of all newly-registered volunteers by KSK committee member Justin Cheah.

Cheah related the common misconception many have that providing the homeless with food and other provisions only encourages them to continue living on the streets.

“This isn’t just a touch-and-go service, our main goal is to reduce homelessness; so we first develop their trust and help with job placements or persuade those in need to seek help through other forms such as counselling,” he said.

KSK committee member Wong Kwok Wai knows most cases by heart; he recounted the story of Sulaiman, an employed man unable to afford the high rental in Kuala Lumpur who has been sleeping in a bus stop for 14 years, so he can send the money he earns back to his family in the village.

Passing the place where Sulaiman sleeps, Wong said, “He carries all his worldly possessions around in the two bags next to him, that’s why you never really know what people are going through or what they have been through so why judge?”

Everyone had the genuine desire to help the appreciative and generally good-humoured people in need.

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