CAPTain Spotlight 3 of 9: HawkerJio

Article written by Mark Ngoh, Angelica Ang, Bryan Goh & Grace Cheong

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented upheaval to the world, and to Singapore, forcing the nation into a period of Circuit Breaker in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Even as our economy and society reopen, it is evident that the pandemic has brought, and will continue to bring unique challenges to different communities in Singapore.

Although these times have been rife with uncertainty and unknowns for many of us, several CAPTains, both past and present, have gone above and beyond to play their part in making a difference — no matter how big or small — in our community. The Active Community Engagement (ACE) wing in CAPT has launched an initiative, CAPTain Spotlight, to share the stories of these CAPTains. Through this initiative, we curate and share the narratives of nine individuals/groups of CAPTains who have embodied the ACE spirit – actively engaging with the communities in their midst. This is the third of our ‘Spotlight’ stories.

CAPTain Spotlight 3: HawkerJio

With the lockdown on social gathering spaces established by the Circuit Breaker, hawkers all over Singapore faced with the impossible dilemma of operating to serve a greatly diminished lunch crowd, or closing the shutters for a period of 2 months. Though many food delivery services exist today, many of these hawkers are of the older generation, and may be unsure of how to navigate the complexities of an online-based clientele.

The HawkerJio initiative was the brainchild of CAPTains Donovan Liew (Year 4) and Benjamin Fong (Year 4,), both of whom had chosen to stay in CAPT during the Circuit Breaker period. Realising that it was difficult for CAPTains to visit and support the local hawker jaunts, Donovan and Benjamin sought to bridge that gap to support hawkers and their businesses. They met with hawkers in under-patronised hawker centres found through ‘e-recces’ on Google Maps and from friends’ referrals. Establishing rapport with the hawkers was a major step for them. In order to convince the community partners to come onboard the initiative, they had to establish a high level of trust and understanding with both the hawkers and the drivers for the food delivery. This was a process that Donovan and Benjamin immersed themselves in, exchanging stories and contacts, and through listening and understanding with empathetic hearts, they came to understand the needs and challenges faced by the community stakeholders. From there, HawkerJio evolved into a platform which fed the hungry stomachs of CAPTains during the Circuit Breaker period. HawkerJio has now expanded its reach to residents residing in other residential colleges during summer.

The scale of their initiative naturally brought many challenges, with the restrictions imposed during Circuit Breaker only serving to provide more limitations. Donovan and Benjamin enlisted the help of friends who were committed to the cause. Though there were struggles, ultimately it was in recognising, and placing faith, in the strengths and assets of their team that allowed HawkerJio to grow. As the old adage goes, “it takes two hands to clap”.

Follow us on Instagram @captacewing!