Week 11: Hawker Centre a Social Enterprise

In today’s post, I will be sharing about a new hawker centre at Bukit Panjang would be run by a social enterprise or cooperative. This is another hawker that is run by a social enterprise, the other one that I have known of is Dignity Kitchen. This is a very creative and innovative way. Many though how can setting up a hawker help. 

In the modern society, the marginalized, especially the disabled are deprived of basic employment rights. Akin to Dignity Kitchen, a training school cum food centre operator, the new hawker centres will serve to provide employment for people who struggle to enter labour market habitually – the less privileged or those with disabilities. To me, I think that this is considering one of the best ways that would help the needy in Singapore. This is so as most of the people who needs help in Singapore are those without a decent qualification and a little old with no experience. 

Therefore, this is definitely one opportunity for them to earn a living without been deprived of dignity. And with this, people can see that even with a simple concept like this would help people. Most of the time, we think too complicated while the solutions are actually very simple. By setting up a hawker centre, more can get jobs or even have their own stall, this could have the owner to earn a decent income and in the meanwhile, providing more employment opportunity to earn themselves a decent living. 

Furthermore, hawker centres are places that majority of Singaporeans would visit. Through interacting with people from social enterprises at the hawker centre at Bukit Panjang, they are able to be more aware of what social enterprises are. In this fashion, we can build an inclusive society where people change their attitude towards the marginalized, giving back their self-respect and dignity and also the opportunities they well-deserved to be successful in life.

References:

Hawker centre to be run by social enterprise. (2012, May 13). TODAYOnline. Retrieved January 4, 2013 from http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120513-0000035/Hawker-centre-to-be-run-by-social-enterprise