SINGAPORE: With six children and three part-time jobs to juggle, Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi, the 36-year-old sole breadwinner of her household, may not have much. But what she has – compassion, generosity and grit – she gives freely.

Three times a week before the crack of dawn, she dishes out free breakfast to underprivileged children who live in her Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood. Lydia, a former school canteen stall vendor, started her Breakfast Buddy initiative in February as she had seen first-hand how some students went without recess so that their younger siblings had money to buy food to eat.

“How can we, as neighbours, step up for these kids? I feel I should help to fill this gap,” said Lydia, who lives with her family in a two-room Housing Board rental flat. “Breakfast Buddy is more than giving them breakfast. It’s to let the children know there are resources for them, and I’m here to share my resources. If it’s within my capability, I will give. I’m like an auntie, mother, teacher to them. And they share many things with me.”

Lydia juggles two jobs and also runs a home-based bridal business, while her husband stays home to look after their six children, aged between one and 15. She earns about $3,000 a month on average. Her modest means did not stop her from pursuing her “dream” of providing breakfast to children, although she was initially uncertain how long she could keep the initiative going.

She said: “I have just enough with three jobs and government subsidies. Though I’m concerned about money myself, I went ahead as I thought: Just do it.” Her children are on the Education Ministry’s Financial Assistance Scheme, which helps lower-income families with basic schooling expenses. In the first month, she forked out $300 to $400 out of her own pocket to buy breakfast items for the children. She also asked her friends and extended family members if they wanted to pitch in.

Through word of mouth, more donors came to donate in cash or kind, such as cereals. Most of the breakfast cost is now covered by donations, she said.

More than just breakfast

Breakfast starts at 6.30am at the void deck of Block 228A Ang Mo Kio Street 23, where the children gather at tables to eat. Lydia and her partner for the initiative, Halinah Yatim, prepare a variety of cereals, bread with various types of spread such as peanut butter and Nutella, and biscuits. Drinks include hot Milo, milk and juice. About 15 children show up each time, she said.

They include Aina Adrianna Mohammad Fareez, 11, and her seven-year-old brother, who come three times a week. Their mother, a single mum, works in childcare. Aina, the second eldest of five children, said of the free breakfast: “It fills my stomach. We don’t eat much at home, as my mum needs to rush to work (in the morning). And it has some of my favourite things such as Froot Loops (a type of cereal), Nutella and Milo.”

Halinah, a 52-year-old divorcee, helps Ms Lydia as often as she can with the breakfast initiative, despite her own mobility problems – she has knee and nerve issues. “It makes me happy when I see them eating together and going to school together. They also share with us what they are facing,” said Ms Halinah. Using a mobility scooter, it takes her 20 minutes from her two-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio to reach the breakfast venue.

“We ask them what they want (to eat) to make them feel they have the privilege of choosing. That they can choose also brightens their day.” She speaks from experience, recalling not being able to afford the food her children – aged 10 to 22 – wanted to eat when they were younger. Three of her four children are now working, easing her financial burden.

When Breakfast Buddy first started, Lydia and Halinah served up dishes such as scrambled eggs and hot dog rolls, but were surprised to find that the children did not like such fare. One child told Lydia he always ate sausages at home and wanted something different. So they asked the children what they really wanted. The answer: cereal, especially Froot Loops, and bread with Nutella.

One issue Lydia faced was the lack of space, given the small size of her two-room flat, to store the food items. So the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), which was set up to strengthen the Government’s partnerships and engagements with Singaporeans, linked her up recently with the People’s Association (PA) to secure a storage space at the Teck Ghee Palm View Residents’ Network.

Breakfast starts at 6.30am at the void deck of Block 228A Ang Mo Kio Street 23, where the children gather at tables to eat.

The SGPO learnt about her efforts through Skillseed, a social enterprise Ms Lydia works at. Skillseed is currently helping Ms Lydia to apply for a community grant to fund the breakfast items, with the SGPO and PA facilitating the process.

“Everyone in the community can be a change maker. We are completely inspired by Lydia’s spirit of wanting to help others,” said an SGPO spokeswoman. “Lydia’s Breakfast Buddy initiative is a heartwarming citizen-led, ground-up effort that brings the neighbourhood together, anchored in the spirit of gotong-royong (communal help),” she said.

At Skillseed, Lydia is a mentor guide, where she leads learning journeys in her neighbourhood and shares about her life, as well as the experiences and strengths of the rental flat community. Phua Huijia, founding director of Skillseed, said Lydia is paid per trail as a community guide, and earns an hourly rate for mentoring new guides. Lydia also works on an ad hoc basis at social service agency Allkin Singapore, where she organises activities and programmes that bring people together.

Her giving nature started early, around the age of 10 or 11, when she would invite children she met while playing home for a meal. The eldest of five, Lydia recalled: “If they looked haggard or looked like they were not well taken care of, I would ask them if they want to eat. And my mum never said no when I asked if we could feed another mouth.”

She describes her mother, a retired hawker, as her inspiration for compassion and generosity. Lydia said of her growing-up years: “People say, ‘oh you don’t have enough, then you are poor’. But we don’t feel poor. We had just enough, probably less than normal, but that doesn’t make us less of a person. I feel that the word poor shouldn’t be used to identify or label people. All of us are under-resourced, with time, money and love.”

Source: thestar.com.my