Japanese NHK news presenters inspired by selfless S'porean man, Tony Tay from Willing Hearts

Very inspiring.

Belmont Lay | February 18, 2019, 01:01 PM

Japan's national public broadcasting organisation NHK recently did a story on Tony Tay, a selfless Singaporean man who is well-known in the charity community for his soup kitchen work over the past 16 years.

The English language video segment lasting almost nine minutes, is titled "Singapore's Other Side", which is on the touchy subject of hidden poverty and the elderly who are poor here.

It was published on Jan. 22, 2019.

How story was pursued

It situated Tay's charity work in the context of how Singapore is still faced with the less privileged in her midst, despite being an advanced prosperous economy.

The story was explored in depth by Aiko Doden, a veteran Japanese journalist and presenter.

She came to Singapore to interview Tay personally and was showed the work the organisation does.

Some of the footage show the conditions of those who seek help and what they have to go through.

The format of the show then involved Aiko speaking about what she discovered in Singapore to two other presenters in the studio.

The whole segment is in English.

Presenters wowed by Tay's philosophy

In the latter part of the video, Tay was seen speaking to young volunteers at his Willing Hearts kitchen explaining the rationale for helping the poor.

Tay said:

"Why are we going and why are we helping the poor? Do you know the poor are helping you? They are helping us to improve our lives, number 1.

Number 2, they are helping us to build our poor spirit to a happier spirit. You'll know that we are helping them and they are helping us to understand what is life."

Back at the studio, this was the quote that impressed the female presenter.

She said: "Wow, Tony Tay is an inspirational man. He just said in his interview that the underprivileged helps us understand what life is and that just hit me."

via People of Singapore

via People of Singapore

Winner of Asia's "Nobel Prize"

The NHK video set the scene for Tay's interview by highlighting how he became the 2017 recipient of the Philippine's Magsaysay awards, which is often referred to as Asia's "Nobel Prize".

He is the third Singaporean to receive the award -- after Lim Kim San in 1965 and Goh Keng Swee in 1972.

The founder of Singapore's most effective soup kitchen said he never expected things to grow to this large scale -- which is a bittersweet statement.

It is a fact that Tay can and has been able to help thousands of less well-off people in Singapore daily, but the scope of his work increasing indicates that there are more people in need.

via People of Singapore

Tay's daily routine

Tay, who is 72 this year, starts his day at Willing Heart's kitchen at 4am every day.

He works alongside the 200 to 250 daily volunteers.

He finishes at 6pm and personally delivers the food if there is no one else who can do it.

The former businessman founded Willing Hearts in 2003.

But he is going strong.

Willing Hearts prepares and delivers one daily meal each to more than 6,000 people, every single day of the week.

Those who receive the meals range from the elderly, to people with disabilities, and those with medical issues or the jobless.

Tay has always credited his volunteers for being able to carry out the work undertaken by Willing Hearts.

He told The Straits Times in 2017: "If there are no volunteers to help, I don't think we can be where we are today."

That year, despite operating for more than a decade, Tay's organisation only had six full-time staff.

The charity relies on donors for their rental, electricity, food and oil supplies.

"We're about 99 percent donated," Tay said.

One of this oft-cited formula for success is that he does not subject his volunteers to a schedule.

They can drop in any day of the week they please, and leave at any time. There is no roster, and no registry of his volunteers.

Asked about how he can operate in such a manner, Tay has always been philosophical.

"Don't worry about tomorrow, let tomorrow come. What happens if there's a disaster tomorrow?" he said.

Other establishments chipping in to help the less well-off:

 

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