Duo who fed Ukrainian refugees are first award nominees

When Mr Priveen Suraj Santakumar watched the Russia-Ukraine war break out, he was so moved by the plight of the refugees that he flew to Poland to help feed those displaced by the conflict.

There, he met Mr Charanjit Singh Walia, who has been based in Poland for the past 25 years, and was helping to provide food to Ukrainian refugees at the Polish border.

The Singaporean duo are the first nominees for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award this year. The annual award, now into its eighth year, aims to recognise a Singaporean person or group for making an impact in society. The award is presented in conjunction with UBS.

Last year's award went to Mr Sakthibalan Balathandautham, who donated part of his liver to a one-year-old child after he came across a plea online from a young couple.

Mr Priveen, 34, learnt about the war when he was watching the news on TV in February. He was upset seeing pictures and videos of the situation there, and could not stop thinking about it.

He contacted the Rotary Club of Singapore - of which he is a member - to find out how he can help those affected by the war.

The former nurse, who is single and now owns a cleaning business, then packed his bag with medical supplies, including first-aid kits, and booked a plane ticket to Poland.

He said: "I told my family I had to try to do whatever I can to help."

Although his father was initially worried about his safety, the family gave him their blessing, and Mr Priveen flew to Poland in March.

Mr Priveen, who worked as a nurse for four years, planned to provide medical assistance to the refugees. But when he landed in Warsaw, he found himself with a wok in his hand instead, as part of local humanitarian efforts.

An avid cook in his spare time, Mr Priveen whipped up potfuls of Singapore-style fried rice and helped to feed thousands of refugees.

He would start his day at 8am and end past midnight, partly due to a lack of volunteers.

He said the biggest challenge during his month in Poland was managing his emotions when he saw the refugees, most of whom were women and children.

The temperature there, which dropped to about 2 deg C, also worried him. "I am a full-grown man and I felt cold despite all the layers of clothes I was wearing. I couldn't imagine the children having to brave that weather, especially on empty stomachs."

During his sojourn, Mr Priveen crossed paths with Mr Charanjit, a fellow Singaporean, who was also in Warsaw helping to provide food for the refugees.

The younger man had learnt about Mr Charanjit's work from a newspaper article and linked up with him on Facebook.

Mr Priveen helped out with Mr Charanjit's food distribution after the two met.

Mr Charanjit, 64, had moved to Poland 25 years ago to open a restaurant, but later noticed there were many hungry people in his community who could not afford a meal.

He saw many who had to dig through rubbish bins and eat half-eaten food to get by. He started cooking free vegetarian meals for the needy there in 2017.

Mr Charanjit, who is divorced, said he was at home in Warsaw in February when his Ukrainian neighbour came running to his door with news of the war. He said: "I am not usually an emotional person, but I felt sad that there were people at the border hungry, so I knew I had to do something."

On his first day at the border with Ukraine, he distributed more than 350 meals. His latest distribution session on July 21 saw around 700 people get fed.

"I think that everyone deserves a hot meal. That is what my religion taught me."

Mr Charanjit said he would also often cook at Sikh temples when he was living in Singapore.

He said he was heartened to see Mr Priveen and others like him fly all the way to Poland in the past few months to help out.

The two still keep in touch after Mr Priveen returned to Singapore, and when Mr Charanjit was here in May, they met for coffee.

Although cooking is hard work, Mr Charanjit said there has never been a day when he felt it was tough to continue his charity work.

"I will do this until I die. As long as there are hungry mouths around me, I will continue to feed them to the best of my ability."