Dignity Kitchen founder launches new venture to help the ill

When a fire ravaged Dignity Kitchen at Boon Keng Road in February, Project Dignity’s founder and executive director Koh Seng Choon saw how kindness begets kindness.

Many well-wishers, including some of his beneficiaries and staff, stepped forward with donations totalling $200,000 to help restore the building.

In May, with the renovations completed, Mr Koh channelled his energy into a new venture to help more people.

Following the success of Dignity Kitchen, which provides hawker training and jobs to the disabled and disadvantaged, the 65-year-old social entrepreneur launched Dignity Kitchenette in October – a chain of food kiosks which trains and employs people with early dementia, mental illness or those recovering from cancer.

“They use their Medisave and CPF to pay for their medication and consultations, and hence are financially challenged,” he told The Straits Times.

The first stall opened on Oct 1 at the Yio Chu Kang bus interchange, and sells food and drinks such as bento box meals, bread and cakes from Dignity Kitchen to commuters on the go.

The stall is open on Monday to Friday from 8am to 3pm.

Mr Koh plans to have five Dignity Kitchenettes across Singapore by the end of 2025. A second one will be located at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ.

Each stall will be manned by six to eight persons with long-term chronic illness, working on two four-hour shifts.

They are recommended by groups such as Dementia Singapore, Institute of Mental Health and National Neuroscience Institute.

Every employee goes through training for 22 to 40 days in areas like basic food hygiene, preparing ingredients, moist heat and dry heat cooking, and customer service.

There is a waiting list of about 40 people with chronic conditions and 20 with dementia for training and employment.

Cancer survivor Lucy Lim, 60, is one of the staff manning the kiosk, working from 7.30am to 11.30am twice a week. The breast cancer patient had a relapse in 2023 and is now in remission.

The former nursing aide, who lives in Ang Mo Kio, had stopped working for more than three years.

“It’s so hard to find work because of our medical history and doctor’s appointments,” she said. “I hope to recommend some of my friends, including recovering stroke patients, to work here too.”

Ms Joanne Lee, 59, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2022, works the same shift on weekdays.

The former tuition centre teacher, who lives in Toa Payoh, said she is happy to find work again, given her condition and that they work as team and help each other out.

Ms Lim Seok Hong, 64, who worked as a clerk before being diagnosed with dementia in 2022, works from 11.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays.

“If not for this, I will be walking around at home. This keeps me occupied,” the Telok Blangah resident said.

The stall also employs 74-year-old Tony Gan as a supervisor. The former service coordinator with Radio Holland returned from Germany following his wife’s death, after living there for more than 20 years,

“When I sit at home, I start talking to the wall,” he said. “I like to stay active and help my colleagues bring out their best abilities.”

Mr Sujith Kothottil Sudhakaran, 40, an engineer who works near the bus interchange, bought a sweet potato bread for $1.40 from the stall on Oct 10.

He was surprised when told by The Straits Times that it was a social enterprise manned by those with early dementia and those recovering from cancer.

“The price is reasonable,” he said. “I think I will be back to support them.”

Ms Lim Ee Fong, a 59-year-old food and beverage crew member with another food chain, is a cancer survivor herself.

“I travel here from Toa Payoh to support the cause and the staff,” she said. “And the food tastes good!”

Mr Koh started Dignity Kitchen in 2010 at Balestier Market Food Court with three stalls.

Around 2011, it moved to Kaki Bukit View with 14 stalls. Though the food court was still operating at a loss then, Mr Koh never lost sight of his mission to help the disabled and disadvantaged gain dignity through training and employment.

Dignity Kitchen moved to Serangoon in 2015, occupying a 4,600 sq ft space, before relocating to a 10,600 sq ft premises at 69 Boon Keng Road in 2021 to cater to increasing demand for help from the disabled.

To date, it has trained more than 2,000 people who have a range of disabilities – physical, mental, and intellectual – as well as disadvantaged single parents and ex-prisoners. They are given jobs with Project Dignity’s employment partners within the F&B, hospitality and retail sectors.

Dignity Kitchen employs 102 people, including those with disabilities and those over 50 years old.

Besides selling hawker fare, it also provides free meals for the working poor and the needy in the Boon Keng area, and invites the elderly from nursing homes to karaoke sessions and lunch treats regularly.

Mr Koh also started Dignity Mama in 2012 – a retail store concept selling upcycled items and second-hand books. The five stores are located in hospitals and are managed by caregivers, together with young adults with special needs.

He said: “We don’t look at their disability but ability. What we want is a willingness to learn and earn a livelihood. At the end of the day, it is about giving them back their self-respect and dignity.”