Community service: (From left) Tengku Zatashah, Cheah, Azliza Baizura, AEON BIG Wangsa Maju deputy store manager Norasrina Abd Malik and store quality controller Hazreezam Ali marking the World Food Day 2024 Campaign. — ONG SOON HIN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite her hectic schedule, Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah makes time to ensure the underprivileged do not go hungry.
The Selangor princess, who has been supporting Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) since 2015, regularly rolls up her sleeves to pack boxes of food for communities in need, underscoring her hands-on commitment.
During her visit to KSK yesterday, Tengku Zatashah spent over two hours interacting with volunteers and staff, offering words of encouragement and motivation for them to keep up their impactful work.
Yesterday also marked the launch of KSK’s World Food Day 2024 Campaign, in collaboration with Lotus Malaysia, AEON Co and AEON BIG.
For 16 years, KSK has been dedicated to providing food and essential supplies to Malaysia’s homeless and underprivileged, regardless of their background.
Justin Cheah, KSK’s marketing director, expressed his gratitude for Tengku Zatashah’s pivotal role in connecting the organisation with key food distributors.
“Her involvement over the last decade has been instrumental in securing partnerships with AEON for our programmes, significantly accelerating our efforts. Thanks to her contributions, KSK has expanded its impact,” he said.
Cheah added that with her esteemed support, KSK has grown its services to include collecting surplus food from eateries and hospitality venues, further enhancing their reach to those in need.
“We often take for granted the food on our tables, but for some, it’s a distant dream,” he said, highlighting the ongoing challenge of food security and calling for nationwide efforts to combat hunger.
“Currently, we support over 4,000 families regularly, but we face constant supply shortages. To continue our work, we need more people to step forward and contribute,” he said as he appealed for more to come on board.
Cheah shared that while they aim to distribute 1,000 tonnes of food this year, they are struggling with the financial burden of sustaining the programme.
On the plus side, KSK’s partnerships with AEON and Lotus have already led to the rescue of over 4,000 tonnes to benefit more than 180,000 individuals.
Azliza Baizura Azmel, executive director of corporate services at Lotus Malaysia, reflected on their initial collaboration with KSK for the food rescue drive at their Mutiara Damansara outlet.
“The positive response led to ongoing daily food collections, and today, 69 stores distribute surplus food each day,” she said.
Edna Dasan, senior manager of the AEON Foundation, praised KSK’s work and looked forward to continuing the partnership.
“We are proud to support their noble cause, and are excited to explore more opportunities together. Despite the challenges in securing sponsors and resources, the KSK team has shown remarkable effort and achieved significant growth,” she said.
