Charity group Food4U continued its outreach in Kuala Lumpur during recent festivities, rescuing three homeless individuals and placing them in shelters with medical care.
PETALING JAYA: As the capital city recently marked its Chinese New Year and Aidilfitri celebrations, charity group Food4U said its weekly outreach to the disabled, poor and homeless continued on Kuala Lumpur’s margins.
Its founder Tony Lian, 75, popularly known as Uncle Tony, said three homeless individuals were rescued and moved into shelter and medical care during the festive period.
In a statement, he said the effort was carried out with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s Social Work Medical Department and members of the public, as Food4U continued serving dinner at its centres every week throughout the festive period.
The group said the three individuals were placed at The Sanctuary 1 and The Sanctuary 2, where food, shelter and medical aid were provided.
One of them was a homeless woman who had suffered severe burns and was treated at Kuala Lumpur Hospital before later being placed under shelter care.
“She has recovered and is homeless. She is now staying at The Sanctuary 2.”
Another case involved a man found sleeping along a street in Medan Tuanku. He was first rescued and placed at Pusat Khidmat Gelandangan Medan Tuanku, with Food4U saying further arrangements were being made to move him into longer-term shelter support.
“Food4U will bring him to The Sanctuary 1 and provide shelter, food and medical care.”
The statement, however, did not provide further details on the third individual, but indicated that all three were assisted during the same outreach period.
Lian also said the group was moving ahead with The Sanctuary 4 as demand for male shelter space continued to grow.
“Food4U is embarking on The Sanctuary 4 as the occupancy for men has exceeded our expectations.
“Compassion transcends race, religion and political affiliation.”
Food4U was founded in 2015. According to its website, the ongoing project took off when Lian ran a soup kitchen out of his own kitchen with help from family and friends, initially distributing bread and water to about 80 people in the city centre.
As demand grew, he brought in volunteers and expanded the operation. The group now has a 15-member team and is able to serve up to 300 people with hot food, fresh fruits and vegetables, drinks and other necessities.
In a separate earlier profile published by an English daily, Lian described his humanitarian efforts as an inspiration from his mother, who had once sheltered four homeless women despite the family’s own financial difficulties.
Food4U continues distributing food to the disables, poor and homeless during its weekly outreach throughout the festive period. – PIC COURTESY OF FOOD4U.
