28/12/2025

ON SUNDAY December 28, 2025 II theSunday Special

A tribute to the Malaysians whose everyday acts are feeding, uplifting and transforming the entire communities Honouring the hands that change the people BY AQILAH NAJWA JAMALUDDIN

I N a year shaped by rising costs, wid ening social gaps and an undercur rent of fatigue felt across Malaysian cities, there remain people whose hands continue to move with quiet purpose. They stir pots in back alleys, rescue IRRG IURP ODQG¿OOV UHEXLOG OLYHV WKURXJK dignity and opportunity and remind us that community is not an abstract concept but a daily practice. These are the people who show up long before the cameras arrive and long after the headlines fade. They do not seek applause. They seek continuity. As 2025 comes to a close, we spoke to three social founders whose work has touched thousands of people. Their stories remind us that impact does not always roar. Sometimes, it ladles soup into a paper bowl. It redirects a perfectly good chicken from the bin to a family’s table. It teaches a refugee mother that her skills still have worth in a country that refuses to recog nise her on paper. It whispers quietly yet consistently, “Your dignity matters”. The spark behind a movement For The Lost Food Project (TLFP), the journey began not in a boardroom discus sion or a grand strategy, but in something

deceptively simple. The sight of food being thrown away while families struggled to eat. “ :KHQ , ¿UVW VDZ KRZ PXFK SHUIHFWO\ good food was being thrown away while so many families struggled to afford meals, it just didn’t sit right with me. It’s completely illogical and totally avoidable,” said Suzanne Mooney, co-founder of TLFP. What started as a handful of volunteers driving personal cars and rescuing surplus produce has since grown into one of Malaysia’s most recognised food rescue movements. TLFP now redirects millions of meals each year, yet the organisation’s heart remains deeply human. “No one should go hungry in a world with so much abundance,” Mooney said, a principle that continues to underpin every rescue run, every warehouse shift and every community distribution. PichaEats’ story began in a university classroom and grew in the corridors of a refugee learning centre. Its co-founder, Kim Lim, remembers the moment every thing shifted. “We realised that many students were dropping out because they had to support their families. Refugees are not allowed to work, so many had to take odd jobs to survive,” she said.

Their Sunday gatherings are now a familiar sight in central Kuala Lumpur, where volunteers and those experiencing homelessness stand side by side, sepa rated not by hierarchy but by humanity. The small moments that become impactful In the flurry of weekly operations, the most extraordinary changes often unfold quietly, almost unnoticed unless you are close enough to see them. At TLFP, a carton of rescued produce can transform a family’s week. “Food restores dignity, hope and con nection. When a mother tells us she can now feed her children healthy meals or when volunteers come together across backgrounds, that’s the real magic,” shared Mooney. These moments remind the team that they are not merely redistributing food. They are redistributing possibilities. At PichaEats, Kim deliberately mea sures their progress. “We’ve done impactful work, yes, but I GRQ¶W WKLQN ZH¶YH PDGH D KXJH GL̆ HUHQFH to the refugee community as a whole. What we’ve done is give hope, a reason to ¿JKW IRU WKHPVHOYHV ´ VKH VDLG M RUH WKDQ SHRSOH KDYH EHQH¿WHG directly from PichaEats’ model, many of whom now have the stability to send FKLOGUHQ WR VFKRRO D̆ RUG PHGLFDO WUHDW ments and build new routines anchored in dignity. Impact, as Kim sees it, is not a sweeping gesture but a slow strengthening of lives once held together by uncertainty. Dapur Jalanan sees its impact most vividly in the people who return.

Resilience is built not just by resources, but by people coming together with shared purpose.”

Mooney

What began as boxed meals cooked by refugee families soon expanded into full catering operations and partnerships with hotels, corporations and community organisations. In the process, PichaEats carved out a rare space in Malaysia - one where refugee chefs could earn sustainable income with dignity, skill and autonomy. Meanwhile, Dapur Jalanan emerged IURP DQ HQWLUHO\ GL̆ HUHQW HFRV\VWHP 3XQN gigs, activist spaces, literary circles and cultural rooms formed the backdrop for a collective that believed solidarity begins with ordinary citizens, not institutions. “We started in March 2013 with zero budget, zero structure. Just pots cooked in Kelab Bangsar Utama, transported in cars and shared on the streets,” the team shared. For them, food distribution has never been a charity. It has always been solidar ity; an act rooted in dignity and equality rather than pity.

Volunteers from TLFP sorting rescued produce for redistribution to communities in need.