3/30/2016

The milk of human kindness - Nation | The Star Online

News

Our Sites

Nation

Business

Sport

Metro

Tech

Lifestyle

Opinion

Videos

Property

Jobs

Autos

More

More

UPDATED EVERY 5 MINUTES

Home > News > Nation

Friday, 25 December 2015

The milk of human kindness

BY KATHLEEN MICHAEL

ADVERTISEMENT

Stay updated daily with our FREE email alerts

your e-mail address

By clicking on the Subscribe button, it is

deemed that you consent to our terms.

Subscribe

View Sample

Latest News
Philippines mulls submarines as China row
simmers

More in News
HKdirectorcondemnsChows
Mermaidmovie
Copsrubbishallegationsmadeby
AustralianBroadcastingCorporation
againstNajib
Boyfelltohisdeathwhileplaying
ontopofcondo'sairconunit
Sleepingmotoristburnstodeath
insideBMW

KUALA LUMPUR: The Nasi Lemak Project (TNLP)

founder Mastura M. Rashid has reached out to the
homeless while training urban poor mothers to be
entrepreneurs.
The winner of one of The Stars 10 inaugural Golden
Hearts awards has been the answer to the prayers of
Nurasmawati Mohd Jalil, 35, who lives with her
cancer-stricken husband Khalid Hassan, 46, and ve
children aged between three and 14.

Zahid: Malaysia con dent of acceptance into US

Visa Waiver Programme
Guan Eng must go on leave, says DAP rep
Thousands of Aboriginal artefacts found at
Australian building site
Myanmar swears in rst president with no army
ties in more than 50 years

Taibssongrantedstayover
RM30milmutaahclaim

As the sole breadwinner, she would take up odd jobs,

leaving for work early in the morning and sometimes
only coming home in the wee hours of the next day.
She prayed hard for a job that would allow her more time to be with her children.
Mastura, 25, and her project manager Zul Imran Ishak approached Nurasmawati
one day upon seeing the condition of her wooden home in Selayang.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/25/the-milk-of-human-kindness-group-helps-feed-and-educate-the-needy/

1/5

3/30/2016

The milk of human kindness - Nation | The Star Online

NOW SHOWING

SHOWTIMES

HAPPENINGS

ExpandforMoreChoices

FIND OUT MORE

ADVERTISEMENT

We rst approached her to provide free tuition classes for her children but we
realised the family needed nancial help, Mastura said.

Most Viewed

In August, Nurasmawati began cooking nasi lemak weekly to supply to the social
enterprise TNLP, which buys her food to distribute for catering and to corporations
that make orders.

Traf c comes to a standstill as cabbies mount

protest

We wanted to train her to cook but we realised her nasi lemak was way better
than ours, Mastura said.

Sleeping motorist burns to death inside BMW

Boy falls to his death while standing on top of

condo's air-con unit
Biker cheats death at bridge
HK director condemns Chows Mermaid movie

Nurasmawati is one of the two urban poor mothers TNLP helps and the goal is to
help 20 families by next year.
Mastura is currently working to get an agreement with an oil and gas company to
allow these mothers to supply their nasi lemak to petrol stations by January.
She has also written to community colleges for mothers to get training on food
safety and handling, and will apply for a business licence for them so they can
each open a little stall.
Masturas rst taste of helping through volunteering began while she was in
university, where she tutored refugee children and helped out in soup kitchens.

Cops rubbish allegations made by Australian

Broadcasting Corporation against Najib
Man killed as car bursts into ames at Sprint
Highway toll booth
Dr Khir: I am well and healthy, and everything has
been all right
Maximus: Dr M was a bully, especially towards
Sabah leaders
Bad weather and dead passenger delay MH002

Trending in Travel

In 2013, she started TNLP to get university students involved in volunteering,

especially in their free time. She calls TNLP a young, effective counter-poverty
movement fuelled by volunteerism.
Her aim at the time was to help the homeless but she later reached out to urban
poor children in Sentul and Selayang as wel, to provide them with four-hour
lessons in English, Mathematics and soft skills during the weekend.
The social enterprise has 700 registered volunteers, with 50 active members.

Made in the USA towels at

Marriott. Take that Trump!

Ride a virtual roller coaster in Texas

Taiwan: The many faces of Beitou

It is divided into two categories the non-pro t and the social enterprise.
Volunteers under the non-pro t category are called Edu Rangers, tutors who are in
their 20s and 30s, and Street Rangers who feed the homeless. The social
enterprise generates funds the non-pro t through sales of nasi lemak and
donations from corporations.
Mastura and her volunteers spend their Saturday evenings preparing a main dish
(most of the time nasi lemak), snacks and drinks, before making their way to Jalan
Hang Lekiu to feed the homeless.

5 things you need to know about

shopping in KL

A road trip through South-East Asia

Powered by

Twenty-year-old Kasmirul Hilpe began volunteering with TNLP in July. He said he

has always wanted to volunteer and now does so by teaching and preparing food
for the homeless.
Previously, TNLP volunteers would sit with the homeless to pro le them, getting
personal information down to the size of their footwear. Mastura now has the
names of 200 homeless in her database.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/25/the-milk-of-human-kindness-group-helps-feed-and-educate-the-needy/

2/5

3/30/2016

The milk of human kindness - Nation | The Star Online

The food we give out is a communication tool and this is what people should be
doing, she said, adding that you can only help a person by getting to know them
rst.
Mastura has employed the homeless to prepare food and helped them secure jobs
with food and beverage companies. Five homeless people are off the streets,
working and living in hostels provided by their employers.
I have not seen or heard from them since but as long as I dont see them back on
the streets, I know they are safe, she said.

Jobs

GBS

SiteArchitecturalManager
SiteProjectManager
GeneralManager
SeniorFinanceExecutive
SeniorSoftwareEngineer
(Choose a field)

However, Mastura will soon concentrate more on urban poor families to ensure
they dont end up on the streets.
Apart from training mothers to be entrepreneurs, she will be starting three new
initiatives to help urban poor families next year.
A theatre project called Sting Garden will be held to build the con dence of urban
youths and children.
Pixel Garage will equip youths with graphic design skills.
Mastura will also be opening an unemployment lab to help brush up resumes and
English-speaking skills.
Though many of her plans changed and her focus shifted, her team of volunteers
has not given up hope to make the city a better place for the less fortunate.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the end of the day, The Nasi Lemak Project hopes to develop into a sustainable
social enterprise that helps free urban poor families from poverty.

Promosi Perodua Terbaik

tempah-perodua-online.com/Promo
Rebate up to RM3000. Great Gift. Ready Stock. Fast Loan Approval.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Family Community , The Star Golden Hearts awards , The Nasi Lemak Project

16%

82%

2%

0%

0%

0%

Related Stories
HK director condemns Chows Mermaid movie

Home-grown project gets global volunteers to teach kids to read via Skype

Rain in Penang a welcome relief

Set up unit to curb teen drug addiction

Highland Towers survivor reunites with rescuers

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/25/the-milk-of-human-kindness-group-helps-feed-and-educate-the-needy/

3/5

3/30/2016

The milk of human kindness - Nation | The Star Online

You May Be Interested

Lawmakers cant question A-G

directly

Malacca CM: Audit civil service

professionals

Najib: Kelantan among highest

recipient of federal aid

Taibs son granted stay over

RM30mil mutaah claim

Cops rubbish allegations made

by Australian Broadcasting...

Puspakom: Six trailers deployed

nationwide for mobile...

Electronics brand launches

premium range for the home

MAS taking off on the right track,

says aviation analyst

Others Also Read

Washington's MedStar
computers down for second day
after virus

FreeEnglishLessons
deepenglish.com/LearningEnglish
LearnTheDeepEnglishMethod.FreeEmailCourse.StartLearning!
ADVERTISEMENT

SITE MAP

SUBSCRIPTIONS

COMPANY INFO

OUR SITES

Home

The Star newspaper

About Us

Star2.com

Videos

Other Publications

Contact Us

myStarjob.com

News

RSS Feeds

Job Opportunities

Carsifu

Business

OTHER EDITIONS

Investor Relations

StarProperty.my

Sport

ePaper

FAQs

Propwall

Metro

Mobile

ADVERTISING

iBilik

Lifestyle

SMS Services

View Our Rate Card

Star SMEBiz

MAGAZINES

POLICIES

Kuntum

Privacy Statement

Flavours

Terms of Use

Tech
Opinion

SEARCH THE STAR ONLINE

Search

CONNECT WITH US

R.AGE
mStar
Kuali
Leaderonomics
TheStarTV.com

Content Partner

Our Radio Stations

Copyright 1995-2016 Star Media Group Berhad (ROC 10894D)

(Formerly known as Star Publications (Malaysia) Berhad)

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/25/the-milk-of-human-kindness-group-helps-feed-and-educate-the-needy/

4/5

3/30/2016

The milk of human kindness - Nation | The Star Online

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/25/the-milk-of-human-kindness-group-helps-feed-and-educate-the-needy/

5/5