Lee with her husband Ting, in front of the Kuching CSSC.
FOUR years ago, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, local communities rallied to help those in need.
In Kuching, creative designer Shen-Tel Lee, 42, started Kuching Food Aid (KFA) in a bid to assist with the daily struggles of Kuching’s poor.
It was Lee’s first foray into community work. But like all of her other endeavours, she gave it her heart and soul.
What started very small grew through word of mouth and consistent efforts from hundreds of donors and volunteers. In the first two years, she built a network to mobilise donors and local non-governmental organisations (NGO).
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The Covid-19 pandemic may have been over, but Lee says KFA can never fully meet the demands of the people in the community. — Photos: SHEN-TEL LEE
“I used the power of social media to share the concerns of many in my local community who were quietly battling food insecurity. And I communicated through videos and photos, the realities of what later became known as the white flag movement,” Lee says.
“My aim was simple; to encourage people to donate, and use donations to only buy aid, get it packed quickly and into the hands of volunteers who used their own funds to transport them to those in need. Within a year, we managed to distribute to well over 30,000 families,” says the eldest daughter of cardiologist Dr Lincoln Lee and Betty Lee.
But unlike many Covid-19 community efforts that have stopped after the pandemic, Lee has decided that she will grow KFA to help people who are still having a hard time.
“The pandemic might be over, but a new battle arose – the rising cost of living.
We are now the only NGO with the sole focus of providing food aid throughout the state of Sarawak and to date, volunteers have delivered over 250,000 food aid parcels across Sarawak, including remote areas in Kapit, Sibu, Bintangor and Miri.”
From the get-go, Lee says she worked closely with suppliers to make sure they get the best rate.
“Some suppliers even offer us a charity rate. They want to do their small part to contribute.”
Currently, KFA is operating out of Kuching CSSC (Community Social Support Centre), a community space dedicated to NGOs and local government welfare agencies.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that all donations are only spent on food and that our volunteers give their time, transport and transportation costs for free, so more of Sarawak’s hungry are fed,” she adds.
‘Small light of hope’
Like all NGOs, Lee says the lack of consistency in donations is always a challenge.
“For every 10 requests, we can only help one and this is something case workers and volunteers struggle with. Who makes the list and who doesn’t? How do we decide who needs it the most?”
When people come asking for food, Lee says, it is often the start of bigger issues at play.
“In a country with so much excess and waste, so many people are still going without the basics.”
Volunteers packing bags of food to send to recipients.
She adds that volunteers and case workers take time to sit down and ask about their lives and the reasons are always heartbreaking.
“I have learnt that so many plunge into extreme poverty due to illness, mental health issues, loss of jobs and even financial scams. I have seen how drugs destroy whole families, how homelessness is a way of life for many.
And we see how poverty is a hard cycle to break,” she adds.
As the cost of living rises and salaries have not risen to match it, Lee says she doesn’t know how the thousands of families under KFA will ever break out of poverty.
“What I know is that we are just a small light of hope to so many because people with financial means trust us to get aid to those in need. For many, our aid means they can afford petrol to get to work, send their kids to school or afford rental to keep their room.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Lee says she knows the model KFA runs on is not sustainable.
“At times, it is highly frustrating. As a business owner who is able to successfully sustain profit-driven businesses, KFA on paper is a total mess. I suffered from burnout trying to pretend that it didn’t bother me that the demand for aid would always outweigh the donations.
“I would see families and I would hurt over the sadness that comes from being in this line of work. When someone asks for help, how do you say no?” she asks.
Another issue is tax exemption.
“It is not an easy process in East Malaysia. So many NGOs locally, in my opinion, are able to do more if the process isn’t riddled with so much complexities. Larger organisations want to help smaller charities, but without tax exemption, many don’t ever get the funds they need to really make an impact,” she adds.
‘For every 10 requests, we can only help one. Who makes the list and who doesn’t?’ Lee asks.
A space to call their own
Some time in her journey, Lee wanted a place where all NGOs could meet and work together to help cases collectively so the funds are used better.
“I was fortunate to be in a position to speak with the Welfare Ministry to propose this space in Kuching. The centre is in my parents’ four shoplots and my husband Bobby Ting, who is a property developer, renovated it under his company’s CSR programme,” she says.
Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah agreed to grant the centre its operational costs as well as the support of local welfare agencies so that it could partner with local NGOs.
That’s how the Kuching CSSC was born, and the site can now accommodate community activities to address the needs of the people.
“There’s a soup kitchen (run by Society of Kuching Urban Poor), a food bank (run by KFA) that helps families with essentials, counselling and support groups for vulnerable women, and a permanent home for local welfare agencies to connect with the community,” Lee says.
Since its opening last December, 16 government welfare agencies and 20 NGOs operate out of it. It has hosted 254 community events attended by 19,000 visitors.
A total of 413 cases have been documented by case workers who have connected individuals with the necessary assistance from either government welfare or NGOs.
A changed family
Lee’s family is thoroughly involved in KFA, and she called them “the OGs”.
“Initially we had 20 family members packing aid for three months. It was always important to me that they all contributed.
“I will be honest when I say I know we come from great privilege, but KFA found us and gave all of us life and a purpose like no other. I can’t tell you how much it has changed all our lives for the better,” she says.
She says for her kids – Benjamin, 11, and Kingston, nine – she hopes they find their community service the way she found hers.
“I think it takes real life experiences for anyone to really be passionate about engaging in community work. It takes kindness, compassion, tenacity and a deep calling within.
“My boys are still young, and even with their involvement with KFA, I hope they find their own social, environmental or political injustice cause to support,” she says.
Lee also admits that KFA will only exist if the community wants it to.
“It takes the power of the collective to drive what we do. As more people have given their time to help KFA behind the scenes, it has given me more time to focus on what I do best, to ‘rally the troops to give and dig deep’.
“I have kept going because the need for assistance never stops. I am also in a position to use my free time to run this NGO like a full-time job.
I am proud that I have remained true to the donors, that the money is only spent on aid so more food goes into the bags for those who need them,” she concludes.
