Spreading Light This Deepavali

Kapar, Selangor – A young girl pranced into a room, excited when she saw a line of baking utensils and ingredients laid out on the table in front of her. She was joined by 17 of her friends, aged between 12 and 17 years old from Persatuan Rumah Kebajikan Rita (Rumah Rita), as they spent their morning baking cookies and cakes to celebrate the upcoming Festival of Lights.

The fun-filled baking session was organised by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&NHB) as part of the Group’s corporate social responsibility to spread cheer to underprivileged children and to give back to its surrounding community, in anticipation of the festive season.

In addition to the baking workshop which was conducted by Chef Choong Keng Chuan and assisted by his team from Monster Chef, F&NHB presented Rumah Rita with a commercial-sized mixer and baking utensils comprising a weighing machine, cake tins, cooking baking trays, measuring spoons, spatulas and baking sheets as well as ingredients for cookies and cakes.

F&NHB’s contribution will not only give the residents more opportunities to test their baking skills in the kitchen but also will help the home generate income for the upkeep of the centre and to cover the children’s daily expenses such as school fees, clothing and food.

Cariessa Goh, F&NHB Corporate Affairs Manager said that this year marks the second time the Group has been engaging with Rumah Rita to celebrate Deepavali with the residents and caretakers of the home.

“Deepavali is a festival of joy and togetherness. We feel humbled and privileged to be able to bring smiles to the children once again and we hope that our contribution will help empower them to live independent lives and to ease the caretakers‘ burden in taking care of the children’s daily living needs and the home’s maintenance,“ she said.

Goh also praised Rumah Rita for taking the initiative to sustain themselves and expressed F&NHB’s desire to push them further ahead. “The two-tier oven that we gifted them last year helped accelerate their baking business. It was touching to see them fully utilising it and selling their oven-baked delicacies. We hope that our continued contribution this year will offer them with more avenues to experiment in the kitchen and get additional income to keep the home running.

“We are grateful to be able to make even the smallest difference in the lives of the residents at Rumah Rita and hope that they will have the opportunity to celebrate this festive season merrily with their loved ones. I am confident that with the residents’ continued hard work and dedication, their baking business will snowball into something larger and more profitable in the near future,” Goh added.

Meanwhile, Chef Choong Keng Chuan, the founder of Monster Chef did not hesitate when his team was presented with the chance to work with F&NHB and Rumah Rita. “We have worked with other orphanages and old folks homes in the past where we simply dropped off lunches or dinners for the residents. It was more meaningful for my team and I this time around because we actually had the opportunity to interact with the residents. Besides giving them baking lesson, we spent the day sparking conversations with the caretakers and the residents as well as playing with the younger children. It was truly a memorable experience.

“During the baking session, we taught the residents and their caretakers on the right way of preparing the ingredients, measuring, mixing, folding and how to use the mixer to create delicacies such as semprit, peanut cookies, pineapple tarts and butter cakes. Although the home consists of residents with a wide range of ages, it was easy and fun to work with all of them. The children and teenagers were excited to try their hand at baking while single mothers in their thirties who were staying at the home would help out the younger kids to ensure they do a good job,” Chef Choong added.

While the older children and teenagers were fully immersing themselves in the baking session, the younger kids were entertained by a clown performance apart from taking part in face painting and playing fun activities such as the memory card game and musical chairs with F&NHB staff. Besides having a joyous time, the children also won prizes for their participation in the games.

Ritanamala d/o Rajagopal, the founder of Persatuan Rumah Kebajikan Rita expressed her joy as she saw how excited all the children and teenagers were baking and playing during the event. “I would like to extend my utmost appreciation to F&N for providing a platform for the kids to learn new baking skills from professionals. All of them were beaming with excitement as they gave their full attention to the demonstration by Chef Choong. The look one their faces were priceless when they saw their cookies and cakes came out beautifully of the oven.

“I would like to thank F&N for returning to Rumah Rita to celebrate Deepavali with the residents this year. We actually started our baking business long ago but we were not fully equipped to make as much delicacies as we could. We were truly grateful when F&N gifted us with the oven last year as it enabled us to make double the amount of cookies and cakes that we were used to. Together with the new pieces of equipment and utensils presented by F&N this year, we won’t have to use our hands for most of the baking process anymore. Now, we can bake a variety of cookies and cakes quicker and in larger batches,” she added.

After the baking workshop ended at noon, a scrumptious and nutritious lunch was served to the 100 residents of Rumah Rita. The residents were also treated to the delicious cookies and cakes that were prepared during the baking session.

Persatuan Rumah Kebajikan Rita provides a safe space for 100 residents in five different categories — orphans, senior citizens, single parents and people with mental and physical disabilities. Besides baking, the children and teenagers at the home are also trained in sewing to get their creative juices flowing. Additionally, the caregivers ensure that stateless children are properly educated at the home, despite the fact that they cannot receive proper schooling.