Kechara helps a family off the streets!
Encik Faiz and family coming down from KSK’s van
Dear friends,
I wanted to share this really heartwarming news with you. As you know I set up Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) in 2006 with my good friend and student Dato’ Ruby. The aim of KSK is to care for everyone regardless of their race, religion and creed and I am very proud to say that up to this day, Dato’ Ruby has stuck to that motivation.
Anyways a few days ago, I received this really nice update from Siong Woan who is KSK’s treasurer, saying that a man named Encik Faiz is finally off the streets! I was told by some of my students that Encik Faiz’s recovery was not so simple… they needed to put in a little extra effort towards him.
When KSK found Encik Faiz for the first time, they offered to help him find a job. He was very happy and said that he was willing to do whatever it takes. KSK gladly arranged for Encik Faiz to travel back to his hometown with his family. The plan was to have his family stay there, so that they could be better cared for by his relatives. In the meantime, he would return to Kuala Lumpur and start his new job. When he has saved up enough to stabilise his living situation, he would send for his family to join him back in KL.
When they arrived to their hometown, they discovered that their relatives had changed their minds and were not willing to take them in. So they sent Encik Faiz and his family back to Kuala Lumpur!
The family arrived for the second time on KSK’s doorstep on a Saturday night, just before KSK’s regular midnight round. After some discussion, the family was booked into a hotel… being vulnerable with children, the KSK committee did not want to take any risks with their safety.
Since that Saturday night, the KSK team has been making arrangements to help Encik Faiz’s family. With the help of Kwok Wai’s staff and friends, they found an apartment for Encik Faiz and his family just 20 minutes walk from his work place. Their new neighbor is a man named Mr Gilbert Lim. Lim and his lovely wife happily offered a helping hand while Encik Faiz made arrangements to set up the apartment.
To help them start their new life, under Kechara Food Bank, we provide food items such as rice, cooking oil, baked beans, bottled drinking water, soy drinks and biscuits for the children. For their comfort, we also provide new blankets and towels for the whole family.
I’m extremely proud of my KSK team for going all the way with helping this family. Siong Woan and the KSK committee work very hard to help the homeless and urban poor of Kuala Lumpur. It is really a testament of how much our homeless friends trust the committee when they allow the committee to help them all the way like this.
I wanted to share this good news with you and rejoice in the work that our organisation is doing.
Tsem Rinpoche
KSK’s driver, Mr Khor is always smiling
To help them start their new life, KSK’s Food Bank provided them with many non-perishable food items e.g. rice, sugar, salt…
At the apartment’s front door with the entire family’s belongings
Kwok Wai the lawyer hehe… Here, he is vetting through the agreement with the property agent
A group photo of Encik Faiz, his family and their new neighbours. Encik Faiz is third from the right and wife is on far right.
Mr Faiz’s 2 cute daughters
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It’s very heart warming to read this article. Thank you Rinpoche for starting KSK and now that it can help so many people in need. It reminds us to always show kindness, love and care for every living beings no matter what their background is.
Really rejoice to the good work of Kechara Soup Kitchen.
Before i come to Kechara, a friend of mine did ask me to donate towel for homeless peoples. That time i do not know that the towel will be give to the homeless through Kechara.
After i come to Kechara, then only i know that we have KSK to help the homeless.
Thanks Rinpoche for the sharing.
感恩仁波切的分享
一切都因在仁波切的慈爱与加持下，我们能够有机会参与许多的佛法工作，来帮助更多有需要的人
每次我读到有关克切拉香积厨帮助到别人得到的食物，得到一份工作，与家人团聚，不再留宿街头，是如此深深地触动我的心
感恩仁波切，一切都是因为您，我们才有机会接触到更多需要帮助的朋友，并从中学习，学习珍惜现在拥有的，学习关爱全部的人，学习不再抱怨
祈愿仁波切长驻在世常转法轮
Living in the main capital is not easy especially you have a family to feed, pay the rental, and when the children grows up, you need to pay for their education. Nowadays not one but both parents are working because of the high cost of living. If both parents are working the children can be neglected because no adult supervision after school. If the children is still young the wife would have to stay at home to take care of the kids. Now Mr. Faiz is working it is much better for his family because at least now he has income to support his family.
it must be so nice to help a family in such need and i bet the feeling of saving a family is so overwhelming with joy. i am so happy that Kechara got to help a family in such a way, wow, i hope Kechara can keep it up and save lives!
Rejoice for KSK and Encik Faiz!
Strangers sometimes are who help us more…I wish Encik Faiz and family everything good and positive living in Kuala Lumpur.
It great to seen the En Faiz’s family taking care by our KSK group , we are really rejoice ! we have similar case in Johor, KSK Johor group has started to find the Paint Job to our client on yesterday , we hope that our client will accept the job which offer by our KSK Members. Thank you Rinpoche sharing !
It is really cool for KSK to be able to help families of the streets. It is awesome to see what food distribution can lead up to.I remember Kwok Wai once saying that the food is not what a homeless needs, it is also hope and trust for the homeless. Hope is their fuel and knowing that someone out there in this cruel world cares for them fuels them to live. KSK gives that fuel, KSK gives HOPE!
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this news.
KSK team always brings us good and heartwarming news, it’s all from their hard works and most importantly their love and care to everyone. I thank Dato’ Ruby so much for leading the team well and also all the team member like Kwok Wai, Siong Woan, Khor and with the help of volunteers.
From here, KSK uses their actions to prove that true love and care without agenda still exist and there’s always hope and turning points for whatever you face in your life.
Thanks KSK, wish you all the best and continue to spread love and care to the world!
Kechara Soup Kitchen is now widely known by many Malaysians. Dato Ruby, Siong Woan, Kok Wai and team worked hard and have shown wonderful results in helping the homeless and urban poor. True to Rinpoche’s motivation to help regardless of their race, religion and creed, another family has been given new hope to provide a better future for the family. The two girls are very cute. Now that they are settled in, the parents must also ensure the safety of their small children and not to let them wander outside unattended.
曾经，有朋友问我，我在KSK的活动中只提供一餐的温饱给流浪汉，我又能帮助到他们些什么？当时我心中持有一个想法，我是在帮助他们找回希望。现在事实证明了我的理念是对的，从这一篇报道可以看出，只要有希望，人是不会自我放弃的，所以我会坚持我的理念，继续的去帮助一些我有能力帮助的人，希望有一天他们也可以对生命重燃希望。
KSK has made a real difference for Faiz and his family. Just looking at the pictures of the two lovely daughters, I am very glad that they have found a home with the help of KSK. I can only imagine how worried they must have been after being turned away by the family. No one should have to be without food and shelter, especially small children. Of all that KSK has done, I think the most valuable is to give this family not only hope but a genuine opportunity to get back on their feet.
KSK’s slogan is Hunger Knows No Boundaries but by their actions it is also clear that compassion knows no barriers to. Well done KSK and all the very best to Faiz and his family.
Many people think Kechara Soup Kitchen is just giving food. Many didn’t know there are more to that, that is to take homeless off the streets!
It is so good to see Soup Kitchen is doing such a good job in helping people off the streets. Thank you for the ever hard working team of Dato’ Ruby, Siong Woan, Kwok Wai and many other volunteers.
Let’s not forget the long term goal for Kechara Soup Kitchen is to create a place for the people to work and make a living so that they can stay off the streets. Please volunteer and help in any way you can!
Sometimes it is very easy to to look at someone’s situation in isolation and say people should stand by themselves. But we all sometimes just fall flat, like Rinpoche said we should not stay down but we should get up once we have fallen.
The point is that we all have our downtimes and sometimes it is too much for us to just get back up again without some help from others. Watching the ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ was to me quite close to what happens to many people, sometimes we just fall into a hole and need some help to get back on our feet again . Great work KSK!
It is so touching to read about another family off the street with the help of KSK’s staff and effort,i rejoice! Encik Faiz can go to work in peace now knowing that his immediate family members are in safe environment and also so lucky to have kind neighbours MR Gilbert Lim and his wife to help them. Thanks to Dato Ruby,Siong Woan and Kwok Wai.
It is great that KSK is synonymous with helping the urban poor in Malaysia. Rinpoche had been doing this since he was a monk in India. Rinpoche actually wrote quite a nice long blog post explaining his reasons ( http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-soup-kitchen-ksk/why-i-conceived-of-kechara-soup-kitchen-or-ksk.html ) for starting KSK.
I think KSK has rendered great public service to the urban poor of Kuala Lumpur. On top of that, it has provided vital statistics to the government, based on their encounters on the street. It is nice that a spiritual organisation does amazing charitable acts like this to give back to the people of Malaysia. Not many organisations does such amazing work to benefit others. On top of that, the name KSK and Kechara is synonymous and through it, people come to understand what we are all about.
Yay! 1 family off the streets! I am so proud and happy of KSK helping all the needy. I am also happy for En Faiz and family. It is much safer to be in a home because of the wife and kids. Now that they are back on their feet, they should do the best to keep it that way and not take things for granted. Kechara Soup Kitchen do not only feed the poor, they practically do all they can to help those who really need it! Without Rinpoche’s vision, none of those could have happen! Thank you Rinpoche for having something so beneficial for many!
I rejoice sincerely in what KSK has been doing and has done for the above case! I’ve met Encik Faiz and his family when he returned to KSK for the second time. I was there that night to join the KSK Saturday night rounds. Kwok Wai shared their situations with me and I’m really happy that they are finally settled in!
It’s beautiful that Rinpoche’s kind compassionate nature is has blossomed to KSK affecting and benefiting more and more people all around Malaysia and I am sure KSK will grow to benefit the world eventually. And it only took one man’s experience that turned in to kindness in action and from there created the causes for us to have this Soup Kitchen. Datuk Ruby has done a wonderful job not because KSK is now famous in Malaysia but because she trust and believed in he spiritual guide… and this I believe was because she could feel and saw Rinpoche’s kindness through her own experience and realisation… that benefiting another brings happiness to the giver as well as receiver. We are here for just a short period of time… how we wanna live our lives is totally up to us, to just think of ourselves or to create a positive impact in others and ourselves. There is always something more then just indulging in ourselves and when we close our eyes with nothing we can take, how would we feel at that point of time? Is it going to be worries, regrets, fears, attachments or is it gonna be peace and happiness because we know our actions and what we’ve done in this life.
I love reading about how KSK help people back on their feet. Many times, the homeless on the streets are just having a stroke of ‘bad luck’ and they would have remained that way for a very long time if NGOs like KSK did not come along to help them.
I’m glad to see yet another family will have a better life, and their children will be able to live in a safe home/environment, and have the chance to get proper education so that they will have a brighter future.
Congrats to Mr Faiz and his family for starting a new life. I’m glad to see how much Mr Faiz put an effort to make ends meed for his family, although it is obvious KSK helped them out, but if Mr Faiz never put in the effort himself, then the help KSK provided will be wasted.
Great news! Thank you for sharing =)
This is great news about KSK’s help for En Faiz and his family. It is something that a lot of people don’t know. They think that KSK just feeds the homeless and they think that many of the homeless don’t deserve it and look down on them. This story shows the difficulties behind people who are homeless and have a family. Without help, En Faiz would be still on the streets and unable to get a job because he would have to look after his family. By KSK stepping in, at least he has a chance to break the cycle and change things. This is all due to Rinpoche’s teachings of caring for others which inspired KSK. Dato’ Ruby, Siong Woan, Kwok Wai are doing a fantastic job at KSK. They are really unsung heroes. I hope many people will realise that and support them to help even more people.
Dear Rinpoche,
It is very nice to see our very own Kechara Soup Kitchen helping homeless families and people get of the streets, a job or do the best they can to help the homeless.
I have seen and even been on a few food distribution rounds around KL and it is very sad to say that there are a lots of people in Malaysia that have no money to spend no home to stay in no food to eat and all they can do is ether beg for money or collect recyclable items and selling them for just a bit of money.
Every time i read that Kechara Soup Kitchen has helped someone get of the streets, get a job, reunited with their families or getting a home to stay in really touches my heart to know that out of all the beggars in Malaysia i can tell that one of them is of the streets.
This shows as an example that we should appreciate what we have and not complain that other people have something better than us, when we think of that we should think of all the beggars out there that have to sleep on pieces of cardboard and a cold floor.
It is nice to know that a very poor family is finally of the streets and has a good home for him and his family to stay in.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this heartwarming news!!!
Love
Jutika
This is truly remarkable. KSK not only feeds the homeless, they’re helping families in need as well. Thank you everyone in KSK who worked so hard in helping any way they can.. I’m inspired to do more! Hehe
Thank you for sharing, Rinpoche! And Thank you Rinpoche for starting something that can change the lives of so many.. I cannot wait till KFR manifests =)
It is really nice to see that KSK’s efforts have gone from food distribution to helping a family to settle down.
Many times we take things in life for granted. But reading this post makes me feel that for many things in life we should not take them for granted…for karma determines what we have or not have them and when we will lose them.
It is certainly not easy for Encik Faiz and family to have to live without a roof for sometimes. Now that this family has a roof over their heads to protect them days and nights, they can concentrate more on doing other things in life.
KSK team has done a great job in Encik Faiz’s case. Knowingly or unknowingly you have help solved a big headache of the family. How meritorious!