Share A Pot Outreach – A Pilot Project
SMOM President Dame Rose Lu hoped that the initiative would be “a springboard to more collaborations: we are diverse, yet we share the same mission and goals.”
At the heart of the Share-a-Pot@Home initiative is LOVE. This collaboration between the Sowers at Novena Church, Sree Narayana Mission (SNM) and the Order of Malta, Singapore demonstrates a synergy that benefits and impact not only the beneficiaries but volunteers and organizers. Three distinct entities sharing the same passion to care and serve the needy and under-served. This love for the needy links and binds the three collaborators together – an awesome partnership.
Each collaborator contributed unreservedly to ensure the success of the project. Over the six months of preparation, much time and effort was spent and significant contributions were made, some of which are mentioned herewith. The Sowers arranged and facilitated the collaboration of this amazing partnership, provided and coordinated the logistics and administrative support. Fr Eugene Lee, Rector of St. Alphonsus Church gave us his blessing to use the kitchen at the Scala canteen to prepare and cook for the needy.
Through Sree Narayana Mission (SNM), a dietician curated a nutritious meal of fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and chicken soup for the beneficiaries who are mostly elderly and have dietary needs. Sree Narayana Mission also provided the necessary training for the volunteer chefs and befrienders. The Singapore Association of the Order of Malta recruited chefs, befrienders and drivers.
To qualify as being “competent” in the kitchen, volunteer chefs comprising homemakers, members and volunteers of the Order attended a full-day Food Safety Training Course sponsored by SNM’s sponsor. The syllabus was comprehensive and the course was rigorous. Thankfully, everyone passed and was graded “Competent”.
Likewise, Befrienders had to go through a training course conducted by SNM’s trainer. The session was informative and the Befrienders had fun while learning. At the end of the course, participants were given the thumbs up!
Equipped with the knowledge and know-how, our newly competent chefs donned aprons, put on head covers and gloves, and started working in the kitchen from Saturday 2 July noon until evening, only to resume work at 7am the next day.
A peek into the hot kitchen at 8.30 am on Sun, 3rd July saw the chefs busy at work – some were putting the final touches to the soup while others were frying the bee hoon and egg omelette.
Three assembly lines of happy packers filled bio-degradable containers with bee hoon and chicken soup. The drivers and befrienders then took over and loaded the food containers packed in insulated food grade bags into their cars.
320 meals were prepared for 80 needy families.
At 11.30 am, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Marek Zalewski flagged off a convoy of “home delivery” cars that went on their delivery rounds. This marked the grand finale of an extraordinary celebration of love.
Read more about this event on Catholic News:
https://catholicnews.sg/2022/07/24/spreading-christs-love-through-sharing-a-pot/
