Feed The Gelandangans

Assalamualaikum and hello !

Last Sunday night, I had the opportunity to join a volunteering program (feed the homeless, to be exact) in Jalan Hang Lekiu, KL that was organised by ANSARA Balik Pulau. That was the first time ever I joined a volunteering program (kalau tolak semua volunteer sapu sampah time sekolah rendah dulu :p). To make it more memorable, that event took place on my birthday ! Hahaha. 

To be honest, it was like a dream come true. Mmg dah lama sgt aku bercita cita nak join event2 kesukarelawanan ni. Kenapa ? Sebab aku nak cuba rasa kepuasan membantu mereka2 yg memerlukan. Bukan nak kata yg kalau tolong keluarga / kawan x puas. Puas jugak. Malah mmg sepatutnya kita tolong mereka2 yg dekat dgn kita dulu sebelum tolong org2 yg kita x kenal (mengikut keperluan). Tapi kepuasan dia berbeza. Perasaan tolong org yg 'less fortunate' dgn 'fortunate' ni berbeza. You need to try and experience it yourself la kot. Baru boleh faham. Papepon yg penting niat ye rakan2. Kalau takat rasa puas tapi niat sbb nak tunjuk kita ni baik. Takda guna jugak. Niatlah nak tolong dorg ni kerana Tuhan. Tuhan jugak yg bg peluang kat kita join program2 mcm ni kan. Jadi hamba yg bersyukur sikit huhu. 

For a first timer like me, I had no specific idea on what to do during the event. The organizer told us(volunteers) to gather at this one particular location (xtahu nama apa. kebetulan je jumpa tmpt tu) for a briefing session by Bro Ichwan and do'a recitation by ... (xtahu nama bro tu apa sbb xda sesi taaruf ye rakan2). During the briefing, Bro Ichwan briefed about how the packing should be done, what should be put inside(tapi mcm biasa la. aku blur2 lagi time tu. so aku xclear dgn briefing die. hahaha) and he told us to not taking any of the homeless' picture to secure their privacy and sensitivities (come on..even the gelandangans have feelings too).

Bro Ichwan then, told us to carry a few boxes/plastics of food (that were brought by the organizers) to Jalan Hang Lekiu which was located just a few meters away. Upon arrival, we were asked to pack the food into plastic bags that were provided. Kan aku kata tadi aku xclear dgn briefing Bro Ichwan, jadi aku taktahu apa yg aku patut letak dalam plastik tu. u_u Time tu lah aku baru terhegeh hegeh nak tanya org apa yang aku kene letak (hahaha). Lepas tanya org tu baru la aku tahu apa yg perlu ada dalam plastik tu :-

1. Sebungkus makanan berat (nasi/bihun)
2. Sebiji buah (pisang/oren)
3. Sepaket kerepek
4. Sepaket sandwich
5. Sekotak air kotak
6. Sebotol air Mineral

Time sibuk packing tu aku terdengar ade a group of people ni dok kecoh2 kat dpn sana. Aku ingatkan a group of tourist (tourist mana pulak nak buat kecoh malam2 ni huhu) sbb dorg ramai and nmpk mcm kenal satu sama lain. Rupa-rupanya dorg tu gelandangan ! Tobat ramai ! Patut la dok kecoh2. Excited nak dapat makanan mungkin :') And then aku perasan ade sorg organizer ni bg arahan kat sekumpulan gelandangan tersebut utk beratur dulu sambil tggu volunteers2 yg tercinta (amboi) packing makanan (kalau tak dorg akan serbu je weh).

Nak packing pon kene ade sistem tau. Mcm kitorg haritu ade bbrapa kotak makanan berat, minuman, buah-buahan. So, mmg kene ade bbrapa org yg jaga setiap kotak supaya dorg ni bole hulur makanan/minuman/buah-buahan kat pembungkus makanan. Teratur and jimat masa. Less serabut.

Penghulur - Pembungkus - Pemberi(Lulz. Xjumpa perkataan lain) - Gelandangans - Sistem penghadaman gelandangans (lebih kurg mcm ni la flow dia)

When most of the packing had been done, the organizer asked the gelandangans to line up near the 'pemberi' and the pemberi pon did their job la (which is to give , ofcourse) . Bila semua gelandangan yg beratur tadi dah dpt makanan (hopefully all of them dpt), segelintir drpd kami diarahkan (in a proper manner) oleh organizer utk pergi ke hujung jalan utk bg makanan kat gelandangan2 yang sakit & tak boleh jalan jauh.

Dalam masa yg lebih kurg sama, aku perasan organizers tgh dok agih2kan baju kat gelandangan sekitar Jalan Hang Lekiu. Berebut dorg nak ambil baju ! Berkecai ego aku ! Sedih !

After we had done all that, all of us (volunteers & organizers) gathered in one place to take pictures ! Hahaha . Waktu smua tgh sibuk nak kumpul, ade sorg bro ni kata something like this "Ni la tujuan sebenar aku dtg !  hahaha". Aku tersengih je dengar . Bole tahan gak dorg ni.

Lepas sesi fotografi sbnrnye sambung feed the homeless lagi. Dekat area menara Maybank lak. Katanya kat situ pon ramai gelandangan. Tapi aku rasa ckup dlu experience aku utk malam tu. So, aku pon balik . Malam tu ade AJL ! hohoh

*Footnote :

1. ANSARA BP will organize volunteering program once a month. To those who want to join you can contact them via twitter @ANSARABP 
2. Kpd sesiapa yg nak join feed the homeless tu, mohon pastikan mereka di rumah sudah di'feed' terlebih dahulu ye.
3. Sebenarnya aku x smpt nak borak2 or face to face dgn the homeless. Maybe next time aku akan try approach dorg and share experience tu :D
4. Rajin2 la tegur other volunteers/organizers time join event2 mcm ni. Make new acquaintances.   

    Before briefing session.

    Photography session hoho. Can you find me ? :p