Inspired by White Flag campaign, private food drive to help five areas in KL
A private food drive inspired to help the needy has grown into an initiative involving several parts of the city, according to project founder Ekhnath Vivekanandar.
Ekhnath said he was inspired by the White Flag movement and roped in two friends to assist with cooking and food distribution around Kuala Lumpur, with the aim of distributing food three to four times a month.
“Over the last month, we had done (the food drive) every week.
“My two friends and I have been cooking...
A private food drive inspired to help the needy has grown into an initiative involving several parts of the city, according to project founder Ekhnath Vivekanandar.
Ekhnath said he was inspired by the White Flag movement and roped in two friends to assist with cooking and food distribution around Kuala Lumpur, with the aim of distributing food three to four times a month.
“Over the last month, we had done (the food drive) every week.
“My two friends and I have been cooking at home and giving food to needy people in Masjid Jamek, Chow Kit and Pudu,” said Ekhnath, a 29-year-old banker.
He added that he had never organised a food drive prior to the nationwide lockdown which began last month.
On average, the group hands out roughly 150 to 200 meals, as well as hand sanitisers and face masks for free on each of their trips.
Since then, the self-funded group is said to be expanding its reach to areas such as Setapak, Wangsa Maju, Little India (Brickfields) as well as some PPR flats in Cheras, among others, on its next round of food distribution on July 24.
Ekhnath said that this will be the group's biggest food drive yet, with them looking to feed 1,000 people in this next round taking place later this month.
In preparation for the forthcoming food drive, he said, the group has negotiated with local restaurant Tajudin Nasi Beriani to purchase the 1,000 meals at a lower price and have them delivered to the various food distribution sites.
Asked about the sustainability of such a project, Ekhnath said that he expects the project to run until the pandemic is over or the group is no longer capable of continuing its operations.
He also shared that his efforts have even drawn the attention of Kollywood actor R Madhavan, who shared his Instagram reel which showed Ekhnath distributing food.
The video has since garnered 192,000 views on the social media platform.
The White Flag movement is a community-led initiative that encourages struggling individuals to seek help by raising a white flag outside their homes as a signal for others to provide help.
The campaign started as a way to address the dire needs of the rakyat in the country’s current economic and health crises from the Covid-19 pandemic.
