Helping hands give what's needed to Shanghai's homeless
What is charity really about? In Sean Pang’s mind it's simple: “giving what is needed.”
The Singaporean is one of the founders of Kechara Soup Kitchen, a grassroots, non-profit group in Shanghai aiming to distribute free hot meals and necessities to homeless people around the city.
Pang, with his wife and two friends, established the group back in 2011. Over the past seven years they have been committed to Shanghai's needy without ever taking a break, even during Chinese New Year's Eve, Christmas, or other important festivals.
Now, the group has more than 400 volunteers, mostly in Shanghai. Every Saturday they distribute free hot meals for people in need at People's Square, Shanghai South Railway Station and Shanghai Railway Station.
During winter they will also distribute winter clothing, sleeping bags and nuanbaobao, a kind of disposable radiator, to Shanghai’s homeless.
“We just want to give them a bit of warmth, and know that they are surviving,” Pang says in a soft voice.
Pang said that for himself and the other volunteers of Kechara, giving is a pleasant thing. At the same time, they also learn a lot.
“What we believe in is — and why I’m doing all these behavioral adjustments and managements — it is about changing and transforming yourself," he says. “Giving — without having any reservations — compassion and wisdom, gives you the right methods and means to do good."
