Singaporean of the Year finalist: She helps those in need despite personal adversity

Her doctor has advised her to slow down after an accident that limited her mobility, but 41-year-old Priscilla Ong is still actively driving Project Love Lunch.

The former infant-care teacher set up the charity in 2014 to provide free food to needy children at the pre-school she was working in.

“I believe that in this society and in this age, there shouldn’t be anyone who has to fight hunger,” she said.

Today, the full-time volunteer, along with a core team of about 10 volunteers, serves about 400 low-income Housing Board rental block residents in Yishun and Sengkang. Most of the beneficiaries are families in need and seniors in their 60s to 90s.

In March, she started an emergency fund to help the elderly foot their medical expenses and transport to appointments.

“I don’t want the elderly to delay treatment because of a lack of money,” she said.

“It has already happened once when an ‘uncle’ in his 70s died as he did not want to waste money seeing a doctor.”

She puts herself down as the next of kin of the lonely elderly to help them settle their affairs before the end of their lives.

Ms Ong, who has been suffering from whiplash since a car accident in 2016, cannot stand for long periods or walk long distances. She also cannot lift anything heavier than 2kg.

Her permanent disability made her quit her teaching job.

“The doctor has been telling me to go easy as my left arm and leg are slowly regressing, but I want to be there for the seniors till their time is up,” she said.

“I don’t want them to leave the world alone. I want them to know that there are still people who care for them.”

There are warning signs she looks out for, such as when numbness or a tingling sensation sets in. This is when she has to stop and let other volunteers help her.

 

She also uses a mobility scooter to get around.

With the scooter, she handles food drop-offs, coordinates deliveries of groceries and household items, looks for donors, and raises funds. Besides monthly groceries, she also facilitates sponsors’ donations of items to her beneficiaries.

Occasionally, she has to fork out her own money.

“I have never counted how much I have given,” she said. “I just give when needed.”

Ms Ong is a finalist for the Singaporean of the Year Award, which is organised by The Straits Times to recognise those who have made a significant contribution to society. This can be through achievements that put Singapore on the world stage, or by going beyond the call of duty to selflessly improve the lives of others in the community, among other ways.

The award, now in its ninth edition, is presented by UBS Singapore.

“This nomination is totally unexpected, but I hope it will encourage more volunteers and sponsors to help us,” she said.

Ms Ong’s mother is her inspiration. A former staff sergeant in the Singapore Armed Forces, she kept a metal box filled with cash at work in Seletar Camp so that any national serviceman who was short of cash could take from it. She died when Ms Ong was 12 years old.

Ms Ong was left in the care of her grandmother, while her father worked as an electrician to make ends meet.

After her divorce in her early 20s, Ms Ong single-handedly raised her children: Stephanie, now 20, who is studying early childhood education and is her constant companion in her volunteer work, and Zechariah, 22, who will be signing on with the army. They live in a two-room flat in Yishun.

She has a partner of 14 years. He works in information technology and is the family’s sole breadwinner.

Despite her setbacks in life, she wears a ready smile as she goes about helping others.

“What I have been through in life, I take everything in my stride,” she said. “I have been brought up by the idea that we do not need to eat lavishly. We only need to have enough to fill our stomach and get by.”