KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities have allowed several volunteers to help the homeless during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Sister Fatima and her small group of volunteers are one example. They were given permission by Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the police to provide food and essentials for the homeless.
They make their rounds in front of City Hall’s Anjung Singgah YKN centre for an hour every morning.
Sister Fatima and her volunteers from the Samaritan Hope Home are well known among the homeless here.
“I was formerly with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Cheras,
but then I realised I had to help those who live on the streets here.
“Sadly, Covid-19 has hit our country hard, and the MCO has made it difficult for the homeless as they have nowhere to go for shelter and refuge except the 1.5m-long walkways in front of shophouses and office buildings,” she said.
She said the group could serve breakfast and lunch meals for up to 200 or more people.
“However, with the current situation, few of us could still provide them food and essentials on a daily basis,” she said.
On Monday, the authorities told her that she could no longer distribute food at Anjung Singgah but could do so at the Homeless Transit Centre in Jalan Pahang, located a few kilometres away.
“We will adhere to the latest instructions, as the local authorities have been very kind, allowing us to continue operating.
“I pray and hope that more Malaysians can and will do whatever they can to help the less fortunate,” she said.
Meanwhile, mamak eatery operator Jamal Mohamad, 62,
is all too familiar with the homeless who usually seek refuge and congregate in the area around his shop.
“It is sad to see them out in the streets with nowhere to go.
“Usually, a kind-hearted person will enter the restaurant and order up to 100 packs of food and mineral water bottles for them.
“Even now, there are still people who do it,” Jamal said, adding he recently had someone buying roti canai and mineral water bottles for more than 200 of the homeless.
A few blocks away from Jamal’s restaurant, a woman was seen driving along the shoplots and stopping where the homeless were to distribute food and essentials.
The woman, who wanted to be known only as Leen, said she found out about the situation from her friends.
“I know that we are supposed to adhere to the MCO, but I am worried about the homeless.
“Together with a few friends, we pooled whatever money we had and got another friend to cook and prepare the meals.
“Some of us us will go out and distribute them,” she said, adding that she had been doing this the past few days.