Singapore's special hawkers: disabled but dignified

Jayson Tang, 22, can whip up a perfect dish of crispy fish and chips just as well as he can chop and put together a plate of fragrant Hainanese chicken rice from scratch.

He is a perfectionist who prepares every serving with great attention and focus.

Unlike just any hawker though, Jayson is autistic. He is one of over 100 Singaporeans with physical, mental or learning disabilities who have graduated from social enterprise Dignity Kitchen -- with a set of marketable skills and a good chance at finding a job.

Dignity Kitchen was started three and a half years ago by engineer and management consultant Koh Seng Choon, 53. The project, at first, comprised three hawker stalls in Balestier, all run by physically and mentally challenged Singaporeans.

Koh had decided that he wanted to give back to society by training the underprivileged and disabled and helping them find jobs in the food and beverage industry.

"I want to change people's perception of my students -- they may be disabled, but we can give them new abilities," said Koh, who re-mortgaged the offices of his business to start Dignity Kitchen with nothing but passion and a dream.

"Instead of just giving them fish, I wanted to teach them to fish."

Dignity Kitchen eventually moved to the first floor of Techview building in Kaki Bukit Industrial Estate to accommodate the growing number of interested students and trainers.

From strength to strength

Today, the 14,000 sq ft Kitchen houses seven food stalls, a training classroom fitted to simulate a mini food court and serving counter, as well as an open concept office housing their marketing and accounts department.

"Students", aged from as young as 17 to as old as 76, are patiently trained by special instructors for eight weeks before they start work either in Dignity Kitchen or other restaurants like Boon Tong Kee, Aston's, Ma Maison, and Spize.

"Our syllabus includes principles of business administration like profitability, supply chain management and costing, but we modify it according to each individual as they all learn differently. The most important thing is patience," explained Koh.

In the three years since he started out, Koh and his team have managed to convince big names like celebrity chef Eric Teo, who runs ET Culinary Arts, as well as the chefs from popular local chicken rice chain Boon Tong Kee, to mentor some of his students.

Graduates of the Kitchen include those with polio, Down's Syndrome, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, the deaf, blind and mute. Some are also single mothers with children to support or the elderly who are able to work but cannot find jobs.

Koh, a trained engineer, is completely devoted to his social enterprise and to improving the lives of his students.

He enthusiastically describes how he saw a prototype for an automatic ramen cooking machine in Tokyo and decided to make a cheaper version here.

"This machine will help stroke patients or those with weak arms cook and "shake" the noodles better so they don't get tired easily," said Koh.

Other implements include special hooks designed to make moving whole chickens easier as well as blown up schedules complete with pictures to help the mentally disabled understand more clearly.

Facing challenges head on

For Koh, his team and his students, running Dignity Kitchen has been anything but easy.

First, there were public prejudices against buying food from disabled hawkers.

"I used to have a employee who had some bumps on his arms, not infectious at all, but some people refused to buy from him -- it can be really demoralising for them," said Koh with a tinge of sadness.

He has also met unscrupulous people who try to cheat his blind cashiers by giving them Malaysian ringgit instead, as the cashiers "read" Singapore notes based on their size, and the two are very similar.  

"Sometimes you ask yourself, why do people do this? But no point wasting time thinking about that, instead we focus on changing the way people look at them," said Koh.

The Dignity Kitchen family faced another crisis earlier this year when they were told to vacate their current premises by the end of October.

They have since found another more central location to reopen, but challenges like these keep Koh and his team on their toes and always working to make things better.

"A small proportion of people do look down on us, on people who have limitations," said dessert hawker Tony Ng, 60, who suffered from childhood polio and needs a walker to move around.

"Like when I am teaching my students to scoop desserts into the bowl, some customers get very impatient. But you know, I'm here to help people like me learn new things, so they can go out and have a chance at living a normal life," said Ng, Dignity Kitchen's "best trainer", in Mandarin.

Despite having children who want to support him, Ng travels two hours from his home in Yishun by bus to make it to work by 6am to set a good example for his pupils.

Besides training students in food preparation, cleaning and serving, Dignity Kitchen also operates a Lunch Treat programme for the elderly, where corporations sponsor an excursion at places like Resorts World Sentosa for groups of destitute or elderly staying in homes, followed by a meal and dessert at the Kitchen.

To date, they have served over 6,000 meals to these elderly patrons since starting in October 2010.

Learn while you eat

If you're dropping by Dignity Kitchen to pick up your daily cup of Kopi C, Teh O or Milo Peng, why not spend a little time learning and making your order in sign language?

A small tablet by the cashier has flashing photos of how to order popular Kopitiam drinks in sign language, as well as basic signs for "Thank You", "Welcome" and "Hello".

"We have regulars coming by every morning to order their kopi and ordering in sign language, it is really good to see," said Koh.

Going by the bright smiles and cheery attitudes of the two deaf Dignity Kitchen hawkers "pulling" cups of kopi, it is clear that they are more than able to do the job of any normal person, and maybe even better.

Watch our video to find out how to order your daily grind in sign language. Watch also what goes on in a typical day's work for the people at Dignity Kitchen.

Visit Dignity Kitchen at 1 Kaki Bukit View, Techview #01-01.
If you wish to contribute or volunteer, please contact Dignity Kitchen at 8189 7678 or e-mail enquiry@projectdignity.sg.


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