FEATURE WRITING

Out of the 440 voluntary welfare organisations, there is one humble agency that serves the neighbourhood in Jalan Klinik. When one sees the poor, the only solution one would think of is to donate money. At Beyond Social Services, these group of people opened windows of opportunities for them to explore their passion and make a sustainable living income.

 

Reaching its 50th year in operation, Beyond Social Services has always been dedicated to helping young children and youths from less privileged backgrounds by providing guidance, care and resources. They offer programmes such as Youth United, Healthy Start Child Development Centre (HSCDC) and Learning Is Fun and Exciting (LIFE) to help ensure the less fortunate to stand on their two feet in society.

 

In 2017 alone, they have reportedly provided services to a total of 7,043 persons from 2,907 families, a remarkable achievement for the organisation with a passionate bunch of bakers headlining their efforts in a project called Bakers Beyond.

 

As one of the biggest projects of the organisation, Bakers Beyond was first formed in 2015 through an original group of five passionate bakers living in Anderson, as part of a CSR hamper initiative which was to be given to less fortunate families during festive seasons.

 

With the efforts of the five women, they managed to bake 15,000 cookies over the span of 8 to 9 days for Hari Raya, a massive success that generated not just income, but a tight-knitted community of bakers.
 

Stella Jayanthi, 57, a social worker who has been with Beyond Social Services for 14 years, took charge as the lead worker for their very first project.

 

“We realised the potential of this group because it gave women opportunities that otherwise they wouldn’t have," explained Stella. " Opportunities to come and grow as a little community.”

Stella has continued to oversee their current projects, including their most recent hamper making for Chinese New Year.

“Bakers Beyond is [my] community. I am part of that community. We are one. I’m not there like macam[like] case worker, no no no. We’re actually one team and we brainstorm, we talk, we disagree, everything happens there but at the end of the day, we’re one family. They look out for me as well,” Stella mentioned.
 

 

A Haven for Empowerment
 

Now, Bakers Beyond has become a workspace, a learning hub for technical skills, a common room for the women to discuss potential projects outside of their own community and a conducive environment for the women to develop themselves and gain confidence and ownership in their work.

 

Yashmin Ali Abdullah, 45, a mother of two, is just one of the women who have found her place in Bakers Beyond. Having joined four years ago after an invitation from Stella, she now heads down weekly to the workspace in Jalan Klinik to assist in baking or to learn a new skill.

 

“From that day onwards, Zero to Hero. I don’t know anything about baking, I don’t know how to weigh something, I don’t even know what ingredients to put in. At Beyond, they trained me,” explains the 45-year-old.  

 

The income generated from the initiative has helped her alleviate some of the financial burden that comes from having been a single mother for the past few years. Her willingness to learn and courage to provide for her two children has only fueled her passion to continue on as a member of Bakers Beyond.

 

Stella continually encourages volunteers within the community to come down and learn, as it offers a win-win situation for both Beyond and its volunteers.

 

“I’m always talking about it so people are very interested, because it’s a very tangible way of impacting someone’s life. I mean 5-6 days of work, they earn 900-$1000 over dollars. And it’s a lot of money. They earn more money than I do,” chuckles Stella.

 

In retrospect, Bakers Beyond has also provided a stepping stone for the mothers to pursue self-sufficiency. Stella emphasised her role in bridging opportunities and contacts for the members to step out into the society and earn an independent income.

 

“Some of them who are part of the original first two to three years have now gone on to run stores in schools. We did a bit of micro financing for them or pulled someone to do micro financing and now some of them are running a stall at Kuo chuan presbyterian. So they move like that, you see?”, Stella asserted.

 

 

To Jubilee and beyond! 

 

As business continues to flourish, the small little kitchen in Beyond’s Headquarters in Jalan Klinik has proved to be too small for them to expand their skills in baking. The group has decided to raise funds for their very own baking studio, so as to open up more opportunities for women who are interested to bake.

“I mean I’m hoping that we can get this thing going.” Stella remarks. “That not only bakers benefit, but other women in the community, other agencies, if they have mothers who cannot bake in their 2 room rental flat they can come and bake in a baking studio that’s got equipment.”

The baking studio also aims to be a community workspace that is also convertible to a space for the group to teach other skills such as sewing and making handicrafts.

 

As Beyond Social Services reaches its 50th year of operation, the agency has plans of compiling a series of stories of the lives they have touched and the feet they have firmly rooted to the ground.

“I think for me, who’s been part of Beyond, I think I’m very proud of the organisation, that we dare to dream bigger and that we dare to trust the people. That’s the crux. We believe in the people.” Stella remarked. “Our strong belief in the people has moved the work. Because the work is not about us, work is about the people.”