Kindness Virus Spreads Hope for the Hawkers
Anyone born and bred in Singapore would unabashedly declare that eating is a national pastime and food is a national obsession. At the centre of this food passion are the hawker centres housing various tenanted food stalls, largely run and/or owned by small multi-generational families. It is the epicentre where people congregate from breakfast to supper.
For the uninitiated, Singapore hawker centres are basically large food courts with stalls around the perimeter serving everything from full meals to snacks and drinks. You'll usually find a selection of local dishes as well as flavours from across the world, including Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Western. (source: sg.hotels.com)
Over the years a strong hawker culture has taken root. Singapore’s landscape without busy, boisterous hawker centres dotting the Island Republic is simply unthinkable. Now they are at risk of shuttering their humble stalls due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
How all hawker centres looked like during the pandemic.
But hope springs eternal.
In a city where eating hawker food is an integral part of Singapore life comes an inspiring story of bridging the great digital divide with the elderly. Elderly hawkers see light at the end of a tunnel as a group of young Singaporeans help create and raise awareness of their favourite elderly hawker stalls via social media.
Like millions of older adults around the globe, elderly hawkers are not digitally savvy and do not know how or where to get assistance to market themselves in this fast paced and ever-changing business landscape. Confronted with the need to keep their business afloat, Where To Dapao helps hawkers stay above water.
Where To Dapao (@wheretodapao) is an Instagram account that was created at the height of the pandemic to bring awareness to the stories and plight of elderly hawkers, and to influence the public to dapao. “Dapao”, which is also spelled as tapao, means takeaway or takeout food in Singlish.
ABC Satay Chicken Wing at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre
It started with 24-year-old Jocelyn Ng posting and writing her personal anecdotes about her visits to different hawker stalls where she showcased different specialties such as chicken rice, noodles, satay, bak kut teh, ba mian and so much more.
Everyday Tea Stall at Cheng San Market and Food Centre BLK 527
The circuit breaker no-dine-in safety measure propelled @wheretodapao into action. With the help of her two sisters, Jasmine and Jacquelyn, the following grew as it encouraged other people to upload photos and stories. It is now a cohesive and viral movement to bring more attention to the plight of elderly hawkers.
It has been reported that @wheretodapao gets 29,000 followers a week. (source: pride.kindness.sg)
Through an online form, @wheretodapao invites the public to make a difference by visiting a stall, connecting with the elderly, and sharing their personal story with the following instructions:
Take a picture of the stall owner in front of their stall. You can also take a picture with the owner if you and they don’t mind.
Strike a conversation with them and understand their situation. The point is to just get to know them a little better and empathise.
Write a short story about the stall owner. Ask how badly their business was affected by Covid, how long have they been a hawker or any topic that will help you connect with them.
Provide stall location and opening hours.
Share the info with @wheretodapao through WhatsApp +65 97549865 or through their Google form.
Shun Fa Satay Bee Hoon
Rong Yi Pau Dimsum
Shun Fatt Roasted Delight
Another event collaboration is with social entreprise Just Dabao to help reduce food wastage in Singapore. To help push the unsold food of elderly hawkers, Just Dabao provided incentive to their customers through a discount on the platform. Because of this, the elderly hawkers would be able to operate at reduced cost due to no food wastage.
@wheretodapao’s viral success is due to real stories told by real people – mostly elderly hawkers sharing their struggles with the hope that things will get better. The outpouring of support for this viral initiative does not only bridge the digital divide, but it also forges a bond in the community.
We all wish the unwelcome Covid-19 virus (and its mutants) to go away. But @wheretodapao’s viral spread is certainly one we welcome. Kindness, after all, is contagious.
Tisha | ws
Images courtesy of @wheretodapao | Just Dabao