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GEORGE TOWN – Moved by the plight of trishaw peddlers as reported by The Vibes, a woman here has taken it upon herself to ease the burden of these riders by gifting them goody bags full of essentials.
Elaine Lee Yew Mei, 47, single-handedly set up a fundraiser, bought and packed items into goody bags, and roped in her family members to distribute them to the riders plying their trade in upper Penang Road and Armenian Street here.
“I knew that a good number of them lived in their trishaws and were often living hand to mouth,” she said.
“When I read the story on The Vibes highlighting their plight due to Covid-19, and with international borders closed and no tourist dollars to earn, my heart was so moved and tugged into doing something.
“I shared with family and friends about the hardships that they were going through due to the pandemic, and I told them of my intention to distribute goody bags.”
Lee took two weeks to raise RM2,400 after the news report was published. However, plans to distribute the bags were thwarted due to the conditional movement control order and other logistical issues.
The goody bags set to be distributed contain cream crackers, assorted biscuits, two cans of Nescafé, two boxes of Milo, layer cakes, three bars of soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, hand sanitiser and face masks. Each bag costs RM40.
“My initial plan was to get just enough donations for five goody bags, pack them in my car, and give them to the first five trishaw peddlers I came across,” Lee said.
“The response was beyond my expectations. I got enough donations to pack 60 goody bags. I am so happy to know that despite the turbulent times caused by Covid-19, there are still people out there filled with kindness and compassion to help the needy and unfortunate.
“I feel so privileged to be able to help this marginalised group of people. It also made me realise that it was time to convert compassion into a verb.
“I believe that we can start from where we are, with whatever we have. I am just a housewife who saw the need to help and decided to no longer just talk about helping, but finally act.
“I spoke to a few of them and realised that many of them have been trishaw peddlers for 20 to 30 years.
“They have either little or no education. Based on their senior age, lack of education and work experience, it will be challenging to employ them in other fields of work.
“This is the only way of life that they know, and it will be difficult to change their mindset or train them.
“I think the public can help by engaging their services. These trishaw peddlers are more than willing to earn their keep.
“Companies and organisations can help them by engaging their services for excursion rides during family day or other events.”
Trishaw peddler Steven Teoh Mun Kong, 60, said many riders have given up plying the trade, but continue to receive aid from the Penang government.
He hopes that the state will closely monitor and identify the bona fide riders, now totalling an estimated 100, as opposed to 300 before.
There are also talks by state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin to set up a new system to help boost the income of trishaw peddlers, but his office has yet to confirm when the plan will be rolled out. – The Vibes, January 8, 2021
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