Parents' generosity inspired sisters to set up soup kitchen

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Inspired by the generosity of their late parents, three sisters have come together to provide free vegetarian meals to the needy.

Krsna's Free Meals, which was started in 2018, offers free breakfast and lunch daily to migrant workers, the elderly and anyone else in need.

Ms Chandralatika Devi Dasi, 57, Ms Gandhini Devi Dasi, 54, and Ms Latha Govindasamy, 51, who are sisters, are behind the soup kitchen.

They are joined by Mr Raghupati Das, 57, who is Ms Chandralatika's husband; and Mr Lee Chee Seng, 54, who is married to Ms Gandhini.

Krsna's Free Meals is located at 16 Veerasamy Road in Little India. Breakfast is available for takeaway from 6.30am to 9.30am, and lunch is served from 11am to 2.30pm.

Ms Govindasamy, a former teacher, said: "My parents instilled in us the value of sharing, and they told us you don't have to be rich to share."

Her father was a driver, her mother a housewife, and they had eight children. Her father was a man of modest means, yet he would invite poor people, including those he met at the temple, to eat with them at his home.

Ms Chandralatika, a housewife with two children, said her family was also inspired by the teachings of spiritual teacher A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, who exhorted his followers to feed the poor so no one goes hungry.

Ms Chandralatika, who is one of the cooks at Krsna's, said: "My passion is cooking. And my children are grown-ups, so it's easier for me to do this."

Apart from Mr Lee, who is a logistics supervisor, the other four are volunteering full-time at Krsna's Free Meals.

It has been registered as a society, and the group is in the midst of applying to become a charity. It now provides up to 800 breakfast packs and 700 lunch boxes a day.

The five are aided by a pool of more than 300 volunteers who work in shifts, with safe management measures in place, to cut the vegetables and pack the meals.

The sisters, Mr Raghupati and Mr Lee initially forked out a five-figure sum from their own pockets to kick-start the soup kitchen, said Ms Govindasamy. But over time, donors have stepped forward with food and cash.

"Singaporeans are a very generous lot," said Ms Govindasamy.

The donors include vegetable wholesalers and migrant workers, some of whom will give a 5kg or 10kg pack of rice on payday.

Ms Govindasamy said that one reason why the group decided to offer free vegetarian meals was that none of the other soup kitchens in Singapore provided such fare.

Many migrant workers are vegetarians, she noted.

Those who receive the free meals include cardboard collectors and elderly individuals who are poor.

Some unemployed people, victims of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, are also coming forward for the free meals.

"Anyone can come and take the food - no questions asked," said Ms Govindasamy.

Retired butcher Gulam Hussan, 81, who is unmarried and lives in a rental flat, has been among those receiving free meals for the past year.

He said: "The free meals are very good for poor people like us. And the food is good."

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

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