KFC & Pizza Hut Malaysia’s social responsibility initiative, World Hunger Relief (WHR) 2015, collaborated with PERTIWI Soup Kitchen to put a big smile on the faces of the homeless and less fortunate by handing out delicious KFC and Pizza Hut meals recently.
A team of volunteers along with KFC and Pizza Hut staff, as well as the recently appointed WHR spokesperson, actress and TV Host – Scha Alyahya, were present to give out hot meals to the needy. The session which started from 9 pm till 12 am fed more than 700 less fortunate people.
It was an extraordinary day for the crowd as it came as a surprise that they were served KFC’s fried chicken as well as Pizza Hut’s delicious pizzas in addition to the nasi bungkus and drinks provided that night. “The crowd was full of excitement as none of them knew that the night would be any different until they saw the boxes of KFC and Pizza Hut. Many of them have not had a KFC or Pizza Hut meal in years whereas some had not even tried it before,” a volunteer said. What the volunteers enjoyed most was the camaraderie with the ‘diners’. The crowd was “very upbeat”, happy and friendly despite their difficult circumstances.
“There are a great number of independent charities out there doing amazing work towards getting people off the streets, such as the PERTIWI Soup Kitchen, and we are here to support wherever we can,” said Ahmad Taufek Omar, Chief Digital Marketing & Information Technology, KFC Malaysia.
PERTIWI, a non-governmental organization that has been around for 48 years with its mobile soup kitchen, has been operating on the streets of KL for the past five years. The mobile soup kitchen feeds 500 to 700 individuals four times a week at Chow Kit, Kota Raya, Masjid India and Masjid Negara. The meals distributed consist of rice, proteins, vegetable and fruits, together with a drink.
“We provide these folk with the much needed essentials but every once in a while it’s great to see their face light up with these surprise treats. We are very thankful to KFC and Pizza Hut for their WHR programme which manages to help so many people,” said Pertiwi Soup Kitchen Chairman, Munirah Abdul Hamid.
In addition, through the WHR funds, RM100,000.00 was donated to PERTIWI prior to the event to continue to provide meals for the less fortunate.
The World Hunger Relief (WHR) Campaign, a yearly initiative from KFC and Pizza Hut Malaysia to help eradicate world hunger was launched on 17 June 2015 with a list of enthusiastic efforts in raising funds. Similar to previous years, the WHR campaign will raise funds through the special “World Hunger Meal” promotion at KFC and Pizza Hut, whereby meals under this promotion will be charged an extra RM0.50 which goes directly into the fund. The three-month campaign starting in June will also have donation boxes placed at KFC and Pizza Hut outlets. In addition, the campaign has further expanded its efforts by going online, where funds will be raised through a donation portal on the World Hunger Relief Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WHRMalaysia. Created for the first time this year, the portal gives the caring public another avenue to donate conveniently online through just a few clicks.
Throughout the years the campaign’s focus has been food related where funds have been utilized to help feed the less fortunate. The WHR Distribution Programme launched last year has further expanded by involving NGO’s to act as vehicles to distribute the funds. Apart from PERTIWI Soup Kitchen, the WHR Distribution Programme is working closely with several NGOs including HOPE Worldwide Malaysia, KECHARA soup kitchen, Malaysia Red Crescent, the Yayasan Orang Kurang Upaya Kelantan (YOKUK), as well as the Welfare Department and Education Department.