‘They really have the heart for us’: Why this volunteering couple is loved by Chai Chee residents 

Every Saturday morning, Madam Lee Khiew Yoong gets busy in the kitchen, whipping up trays of food such as curry puffs, sesame balls and tapioca kueh.

The sprightly 92-year-old is not a caterer but a resident who simply enjoys feeding volunteers at the Ping An Green Residents Committee (RC) in her Housing Board neighbourhood. Ping An Green RC is located at the Kampong Chai Chee housing estate in Bedok. 

Being regular volunteers at the RC, Mr Ong Pang Yaw and his wife, Ms Annie Pan, can attest to Madam Lee’s generosity and culinary prowess. 

Watch to learn how this married couple is contributing to the Ping An Green neighbourhood.

“Without fail, Rong Jie will prepare something delicious for us every Saturday,” says Ms Pan, referring to Madam Lee as “Sister Rong” in Mandarin. “She will go to the market to buy fresh ingredients and pay for them out of her own pocket.” 

While Madam Lee prepares treats for the volunteers out of her own goodwill, she is also a beneficiary of the RC’s weekly vegetable distribution programme. 

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Launched in 2022, the aim of the programme was two-fold: rescue imperfect produce from wholesalers that would otherwise be discarded, and provide free vegetables to the residents, some of whom are seniors with mobility issues and others from disadvantaged families.

“I love socialising and this programme allows me to mingle downstairs with my neighbours and make new friends. If not, I’d just be listening to the radio or watching TV at home,” says Madam Lee.

She soon realised that she could play her part in her community too by cooking meals for the RC volunteers, who put in a tiring shift every Saturday without fail. 

Over 30 of them take turns each week driving to the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre to pick up rescued and donated produce, which can amount to 3,000kg. They then sort, clean and pack the vegetables for the residents, in addition to making home visits for those unable to leave their flats easily.

This kampung spirit is what Mr Ong, who is also the chairperson of Ping An Green RC, and Ms Pan hope to nurture in their neighbourhood. The couple has been living in Chai Chee since 2010.

Ms Pan is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who came to Singapore in 2009 from Hainan, China, and took up Singapore citizenship in 2009. She started volunteering at the RC a decade ago when she came across residents painting a wall mural and roped in her husband to help with the painting.

While Mr Ong and Ms Pan’s volunteering experience might have started by chance, the deep meaning behind it convinced them to continue offering their time and effort at the RC. In fact, Mr Ong became so involved that he rose up the ranks to become the chairperson of the RC in 2021.

“I started during SG50 and now that it’s SG60, it is very meaningful to me that I am still a volunteer! It’s not easy to start volunteering but you can do it little by little at first,” says Ms Pan.

The 42-year-old is happiest chatting with fellow residents and seniors who gather at the void decks. 

“In the past, my husband and I would just come home from work and watch TV or scroll through our phones, but now we have more purpose,” Ms Pan shares. 

Thanks to the weekly vegetable distribution programme, a strong community spirit has also developed. Neighbours now greet one another in the lift instead of just looking at their phones, she says.

“The most valuable thing is how we have got to know our neighbours better. They have grown from ‘invisible people’ to ‘family members’,” shares Ms Pan with a smile.

Mr Ong, who works in sales, spends his evenings and weekends coordinating the vegetable distribution programme and getting sponsors and funding for the RC’s events. The 49-year-old reckons that about 120 residents, who come from the 10 HDB blocks in the Ping An Green estate, benefit from this programme every week. 

Building an eco-system of love and care

While it started as a means to salvage imperfect produce, the vegetable distribution programme has grown over the years to include donations from generous suppliers and vendors wanting to do their part for the community.

Calling it a clockwork process, Ms Pan says that volunteers start cleaning the fridge, tables and chairs, and forming queue lines from 9am. “I feel so touched because it is truly a heartwarming scene.”

Another grateful beneficiary is Madam Woo Yuet Sim. The 75-year-old, who lives alone and has mobility issues, appreciates the care that Mr Ong and Ms Pan show towards the elderly neighbours.

“They really have the heart for the residents here,” says Madam Woo about the couple. “At the distribution, I get to make new friends so I feel more energetic and, of course, I’m happy as I don’t need to make the effort to shop for or pay for vegetables on my own!”

Mr Ong has also tried to get sponsors to donate more food items including bread, canned food, beverages and biscuits. His RC recently joined the FairPrice Foundation’s Protein Pledge, which sees the supermarket chain commit to distributing $1 million of fresh protein to Singapore’s vulnerable communities.

This means Ping An Green residents get to receive 10 eggs for each household every other week until December this year.

His team also organises free haircuts for seniors aged 60 and above and cleans the flats of residents who are not able to do so themselves.

Volunteer Philip Choo is full of praise for Mr Ong and Ms Pan. The retired taxi driver has lived in the area for 40 years and started volunteering about four years ago. “I really admire Mr Ong’s spirit of helping residents. He and Ms Pan have such a great sense of responsibility,” the 74-year-old says.

But Mr Ong credits his neighbours for building this community spirit. He says: “Everyone in these 10 blocks here helps in their own way, whether it is donating money or volunteering with the vegetable distribution program. And this is what we want to create: an eco-system in our neighbourhood.”

Giving back to the community for 40 years

Madam Sandy Goh is a familiar face in the Bedok Reservoir estate. As the long-term volunteer and

ST Singaporean of the Year Finalist 2024

puts it, she is the “advisor, dispatch driver and supplier”.

Known for her years of community work in the area, the 57-year-old moved to Bedok Reservoir Road in 2006 and began helping illiterate, elderly neighbours to read their letters.

She decided to scale up her volunteer efforts in 2011 and set up an SOS station at the void deck of Block 702 Bedok Reservoir Road where residents could pick up free food, toiletries and assessment books.

Later, Madam Goh also started a food rescue programme to reduce food wastage, save the environment and encourage beneficiaries to “share, care and love one another”.

She adds: “This programme lets the beneficiaries feel proud of themselves as well. Besides receiving, they are also contributing to their own community.”

She has since helped other communities to set up 18 vegetable distribution corners across Singapore, linking them up with her wholesale supplier contacts. One of these communities is the Ping An Green Residents’ Committee.

The mother-of-three also organises free haircuts, art workshops and tuition classes as these encourage residents to show up, take part and use their skills to care and share for others.

Inspired by the selfless actions of Mr Ong, Ms Pan and the volunteers at Ping An Green RC? This SG60, take that step to give back to the community in your own way at

Giving.sg

Celebrating SG60 with the Ministry of Culture, Communications and Youth