For many, running a successful business is a major life achievement. However, Uncle Tony, a retired 76-year-old businessman, he chose to leave his career behind to help feed the homeless and senior citizens who were left behind.
To him, he has accomplished everything he set out to achieve in life and now sees it as his responsibility to give back to the world.
Uncle Tony is the founder of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called ‘Food 4 U’ and has been dedicated the past 11 years to serve the underprivileged community around Kuala Lumpur.
‘Food 4 U ’ provides shelter, meals, and medical care to those in need and renders help to everyone regardless of race and religion.
What inspired his journey?
Before his current work life, Uncle Tony was a successful businessman who was content with the lucrative salary he earned.
But over time, he felt that there was something more meaningful to pursue in life than just earning money.
“One day when I was having lunch one day in Kepong, a man came and sat beside me and I realised he was a beggar. The man told me that he was hungry and thirsty and I invited him to share my meal with me.
“However, the restaurant owner came over and tried to drive the beggar away. I then told the owner that I would pay for the bill.
“At that moment, I experienced something that deeply touched my heart and I knew that helping others was a path I wanted to pursue in the future,” he recounted.
After Uncle Tony sold off his business, he used some of the funds to start ‘Food 4 U’. At the start, his family, friends, and relatives supported the initiative by spreading the word and today, its operations are largely dependent on donations from the public.
‘Food 4 U’ operates on the streets five days a week and serves both lunch and dinner. Preparations begin at around 6am and workers will work till evening before calling it a day.
The only rest days are on Wednesdays and Sundays, but their dedication is apparent in every meal they serve. ‘Food 4 U’ also runs two sanctuaries for men and women respectively.
When Uncle Tony first started this mission many years ago, they were handing out just 300 packets of food a week. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 3,000 weekly.
Each packet of rice costs around RM7, and with 100 people getting fed every day, the scale of operation has gotten bigger. Looking back, Uncle Tony has witnessed how much ‘Food 4 U’ has grown and transformed lives along the way.
‘You must have the desire & passion’
Uncle Tony said that if there’s one thing he would like to share with everyone, it would be this:
“If you are passionate about something, you need to be motivated and fully committed. When you do it from the heart, you’ll enjoy it and neither tiredness nor boredom will matter.
“However, the job is physically demanding as it involves heavy lifting and long hours on the road, which makes staying healthy even more important.
“While my wife fully supports what I do, she has one condition: and that is I take care of my health,” he said.
Challenges faced by ‘Food 4 U’
Fighting back the tears, Uncle Tony urged Malaysians, especially the younger generation, to stop turning their backs on their elderly parents.
“Many of the elderly people I help were left behind by their own children and forced to fend for themselves.
“They raised you, took care of you, and this is how it ends? Being abandoned and left on the streets?”
“This hurts me deeply. People need to know this is happening. We must create awareness about this,” he added.
Uncle Tony recently opened a shelter that takes in people from various backgrounds, including hospital patients, the homeless, and individuals without family support.
However, space is limited and one of the main challenges is opening more shelters as there are many elderly and homeless people who are in urgent need of care and assistance.
Despite the challenges, Uncle Tony doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon and looks to continue to lend a hand to the hungry, homeless, and abandoned one meal at a time.
READ ALSO:
