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Former police officer & bodyguard gives out free porridge to the needy each month

To bring warmth to the community, a young hawker has teamed up with a charity platform to give out 500 free bowls of porridge every month to holders of blue and orange CHAS cards.

27-year-old Lim Hwee Yi, a former police officer, previously served as a bodyguard to Presidents Halimah Yacob and Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

According to Shin Min Daily News, she accompanied Madam Halimah to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.

But in June last year, she made the difficult decision to leave the force and take over her ageing parents’ hawker business, running two porridge stalls.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

Since 11 June, both Botak Cantonese Porridge outlets — located in Our Tampines Hub and One Punggol Hawker Centre — have partnered with Give.Asia to provide 500 complimentary bowls of porridge monthly to those in need.

Those with blue or orange CHAS cards simply need to show a valid card to redeem any porridge dish priced under S$4.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

Each person is limited to one bowl per day, for dine-in only.

Helping elderly residents & families in need

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Ms Lim shared that she believes warmth shouldn’t come with conditions.

As her values aligned closely with Give.Asia’s, the partnership was a natural fit.

Together, they hope to reach elderly residents living alone or in need, as well as young families quietly struggling to make ends meet.

One customer, Mr Ye, a 76-year-old retiree and long-time regular, said he visits the stall at least twice a week.

He found out about the initiative through a friend, and noted that the portion size and quality remain the same, even for the free bowls.

Another diner, Madam Huang, 70, also retired, praised the effort, saying it’s a great help for seniors like herself.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

She hopes more people hear about the initiative and benefit from it.

‘Surprise the Botak’ giveaway adds a playful twist

Since April last year, the porridge stall has been running a light-hearted initiative called ‘Surprise the Botak’, where the first bald customer of the day receives a free bowl of porridge.

The team also records the reactions of these “lucky baldies” and posts short clips on TikTok, with nine videos uploaded so far.

Ms Lim shared that the idea came about because the stall is named “Botak”, which means “bald” in Malay.

“We thought it’d be fun to treat customers who share the same hairstyle,” she said. “It started off as a fun TikTok idea, but it unexpectedly became a unique way to spread joy.”

@hawkergirl98

Bruh just how many times did I say Thank you 🙂

♬ original sound – Botak Porridge – Botak Porridge

One of the clips has gone viral, racking up over 103,000 views and attracting a wave of comments.

Many netizens called the featured botak uncles “very cute” and said the campaign was both fun and wholesome.

Some even joked that they were tempted to shave their heads just to join in the fun.

Also read: Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre to open on 19 March, all stalls offering discounted meals at S$3.20

Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre to open on 19 March, all stalls offering discounted meals at S$3.20

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Shin Min Daily News.