I hadn’t shared about our Chinese New Year experience at Willing Hearts, but since we received an interview from an old friend who had seen our pictures on Facebook, just thought it’d be interesting to share it in this way!
Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with me. With this interview, I hope that our staff and colleagues will be inspired to volunteer, whether over festivities or not, whether alone or with their family and friends. Here are the questions!
- 1. I understand that you volunteered on Day 1 of the Chinese New Year (CNY) with Willing Hearts.
- a. What motivated you to volunteer during CNY?
Chinese New Year is a time where families and friends gather together. However, like Christmas, the sense of loneliness and grief can also be more acute for those without loved ones. A few days before the long 4-day holiday, I asked the cleaning lady at my office who is from China if she was looking forward to the break. I was surprised to hear her say she would have to report to work every single day, even through the Chinese New Year holidays. As I opened my eyes to the people around me- security guards, cleaners, food vendors… I realized that we were blessed to be able to enjoy the new year holidays. Not everyone is as fortunate as us. We can do something for others, at a time where we may have excess. When we are celebrating, someone could be mourning.
So my husband and I started a mini-project on our own. We started packing ‘ang pows’ (traditional Chinese red packets) packed with money and a little note which wrote “Thank you for working so hard, we appreciate your hard work. God bless you” and gave them out to the people who truly give themselves to their work for our benefit, day in, day out- be it a busker that we saw or a cleaner whom we may have overlooked, but who may be underappreciated by society. Each time we did, we stopped to ask the person for his name, and made more friends. This made us see another aspect of holidays- that whenever we have reason to celebrate, we also have reason to bless.
The next day, this usually downcast and sullen cleaning lady whom I had given a red packet and a tin of pineapple tarts to opened up to me. Her countenance was different toward me and she said something in mandarin I would never forget, “No one has done this for me before.”
It showed me, it doesn’t take very much to spread and share a bit of love. We have so much, why not share?
When I shared this with my husband, we agreed there were many more people in need out there, who might be spending Chinese New Year alone. So when we saw the long holiday, and remembered we once chanced upon Willing Hearts, a soup kitchen for the needy, on Facebook, we decided to drop by for our first time. They’re open 365 days a year, and volunteers can drop by anytime (though they are busiest from 6 to 9am), without notice. So we decided to drop by on the first day of Chinese New Year at dawn, since we thought there may be shortage of help due to the festivity celebrations.
- b. Was it especially meaningful for yourself and the recipients?
Yes, it most certainly was. We didn’t deliver the food directly to the people, but being part of a team of people who were giving up time on first day of the Chinese new year felt especially different, and meaningful in a special kind of way.
- 2. Could you describe the experience briefly? I.e.:
- a. What did you have to do there
When we got there, we were surprised. In fact, many Chinese people from OCBC bank were helping out! My husband Cliff and I got “lucky”. We were tasked to get into the thick of the action, and helped the cooks to cook! Some were elderly uncles and grandmothers who were there at the crack of dawn for the very reason to bless others- that was inspiring.
We started off first with “manual labour”, by helping to move and hand the cooks ingredients, which came in HUGE containers that my husband and I had to carry together (imagine cooking large batches of food in woks as big as tables!), but before we knew it, we were ‘promoted’ to cook beehoon, boil chicken and stir chicken curry. It was great fun, and good early morning exercise too!
- b. Who were the recipients?
Many of them are the elderly, adults or children in need all over Singapore. Willing Hearts aims to work with the underprivileged, and other marginalised members of society. A major part of their work is conducted through the operation of their soup kitchen which serves about 75,000 meals per month.
- c. How was the food distributed?
There were volunteers driving vans to drop food off at the different drop-points. If you drive and want to help, they need you!
- d. Were there many volunteers there?
We were surprised, really. Housewives, young people, grandmothers, uncles… people from all walks of life were there. It was unique in that even though everyone was from a different background, everyone shared that common bond to be there at dawn to help in the hustle and bustle. The busiest period is from 6am to 9am daily!
Many of the volunteers were from OCBC bank, and that was heartwarming for me. I saw the significance of corporate teamwork and social responsibility, and was really touched by the sense of community and giving. If it weren’t for them all, the work would have been a lot harder! Many hands make for light work!
- e. Were there any particularly memorable moments?
When my husband and I walked home hand in hand, smelling of mouthwatering chicken curry and feeling deeply blessed by the experience.
- 3. You have volunteered in the past, but this was different – you went with your hubby. Was it especially special for you, volunteering as a newly married (congrats!!) couple?
Yes. My husband has the biggest heart for people. He is truly my best friend, through and through. In fact, it was a really spontaneous decision to go and help that day, as we had never been there before. I woke up at 6am in the dark and nudged him from sleep. “Want to go to Willing Hearts today?” He got out of bed faster than me!
Volunteering as a couple is always special. It not only is incredibly rewarding, it bonds you in a very deep and special way. Just helping my husband stir the chicken or share the common experience of being in a soup kitchen was very memorable.
- Lastly, any words of encouragement for our staff who would like to volunteer, but have yet to take the first step?
It will always be on your mind, and there will always be a reason to put it off. But there is no better time than NOW! 🙂 Our free time is precious, and we may think we could better spend it resting. But ask your friends, colleagues or family to join in too, and you might be surprised to find that it would not only be a fun and refreshing activity, but a wonderful way to bond too. 🙂
