TEN-YEAR-OLD old Rueven Chia went on a seven-day cooking spree to prepare 140 lunchboxes for those who have fallen on hard times in Johor Jaya, Johor during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Called the 7-day Loving Lunchbox Project, Rueven took it upon himself to prepare 20 lunchboxes a day to be distributed to families in need with the help of local councillors. His project ran from July 22 till July 29.

He picked up the recipes, which include vegetables, eggs, chicken and pork, from YouTube by himself.

And while he was in charge of cooking, his parents, both educators, were responsible for buying the ingredients, the money for which was provided by Rueven himself.

Rueven’s mother, Tan Mui Kim, 39, said her son came up with the idea to cook for those in need when he found out that there were many people who have committed suicide as they were not able to cope during the pandemic.

“My husband and I were talking about how people were having a difficult time during the pandemic and Rueven was listening in,” Tan told The Malaysian Insight.

“He then asked us why no one was helping these people. I told him there were people who were helping, but maybe it was not enough.

“He remained silent when I explained (this) to him, and then, he suddenly decided that he would use his pocket money to prepare lunchboxes for those who need food aid.

“When he said he wanted to provide lunch to those in need, I approached the local councillors on the feasibility of this plan and they helped us find a suitable location (from which) to distribute the lunchboxes.”

She was surprised when her son came up with the idea as he was frugal and had saved most of his pocket money.

“He is very careful with his money. He would even compare prices in the school cafeteria before deciding whether it was more economical to bring his own lunch from home,” said Tan.

She said her son spent around RM500 for the seven-day project.

Tan and her husband took turns to watch over Rueven when he was in the kitchen during the seven days. They helped to cut and clean the ingredients.

“I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to prepare 20 lunchboxes and would need a lot of our help. But I was impressed that he was able to do it without much help,” said Tan.

“The first day was the hardest. It took him three hours to make the meals, so we stepped in to help speed it along. After that, he improved, and the cooking time became shorter.”

Pitching in

Tan’s six-year-old daughter, Dionne Chia, has also volunteered to help her brother. She is in charge of packing the food and writing messages to accompany each lunchbox to provide a personal touch and warmth to the recipient.

Tan said she was not too concerned about her son hurting himself in the kitchen as he loved to cook and usually prepares breakfast for the family.

“When he was five years old, he started helping me with housework, washing the dishes and clothes. He is self-sufficient,” she said.

“As parents, we just want our children to grow up to be responsible, disciplined and self-sufficient individuals, so we don’t have to worry about them in the future.”

Tan, who was worried that her son would not be able to juggle between school and cooking, had suggested that he shorten the project to five days, but he remained steadfast in his plans.

Upon completing his project, Rueven said although it was a challenge, he took pleasure in helping those who were in need of food aid.

He said he has to study hard to ensure that he ends up with a well-paying job in the future.

He understands that to solve the poverty problem, it must start with education.

Rueven joins a long list of kind Malaysians who help those who are hard hit with food and cash aid during the pandemic.

In the past 17 months, Malaysia has experienced three lockdowns to curb the spread of Covid-19. The lockdowns have led to a severe economic downturn, with many B40 families and daily wage earners losing their means of income.

The white flag movement, which began on social media on June 28, encouraged those who needed help to raise a white flag to indicate they were in need of help.

To facilitate the movement, a few enterprising Malaysians came up with a website and an app for those in need and those willing to help.

Another platform that has popped up is Waymaker, which allows those in need to request specific forms of aid, be it cash, food or other items. – August 8, 2021.