ENAK! YWCA Y Cafe, December 12th, 2019

Hosted by Ket Ti Liong and Christine Jokela

Ket Ti Leong and I were lucky to host the very last Enak of 2019 on December 12th. Much of the credit goes to Ket Ti, who chose the venue, the YWCA Y Cafe for the get together and lunch. The YWCA KL is a place close to her heart. She volunteers there regularly to help out the under-privileged girls with sewing lessons. Once the venue was chosen, I spontaneously jammed along with the idea. This was my first hosting so it was perfect to team up with someone. There have been so many members who selflessly hosted beautiful events, be it in restaurants or at their homes. Unforgettable memories have been created. With much appreciation from the bottom of my heart for everyone who has contributed their time and effort to make MCG events possible, it was my turn to give back to the community. Even though I was nervous I am glad we did it.

The YWCA, at Jalan Hang Jebat, is one of the oldest women's NGO Organisation in Malaysia. It has been providing safe and affordable accommodation and developmental programs for young women in the heart of Kuala Lumpur since 1953. On site, they have dormitories for the girls, a lecture hall, training kitchen, sewing room and an eco-garden. As part of their vocational training program and social enterprise initiative, YWCA runs the Y Cafe at their premises where homey food is cooked and served by their students. 

The menu has a selection of delicious local favorites with some of the ingredients sourced from their own farm. For RM16, we had a cold lemongrass drink or hot tea, with a choice of mains (Nasi lemak, Curry laksa, Mee Siam, both non and vegetarian) and a dessert. 

The very dedicated June Yeoh who manages the program gave us a talk and a video presentation on the different programs offered. The girls are Malaysian and most of them are from the Indian community, some Chinese and a few Orang Asli. Admirable achievement for both Volunteers and students! They welcome all kinds of support for the centre, be it time or financial help. When you are next around the area, pop in for a delicious meal, and for a good cause too!

23 enakkers joined the lunch. We even had special guests, Enak alumni  Randee Duncan and her husband Bill visiting from Canada. It happened to be their last day in KL and we were glad they made time to join us. It was also good to see Lisette Davis who has just returned from the Netherlands after a long leave. How wonderful was that! Thank you to all the enakkers who showed up to support this event. And we surely missed the ones who couldn’t make it. 

I encourage everyone who has not hosted an Enak before to give it a try in 2020. It’s a fun and rewarding experience. 

Thank you Ket Ti,  Rosemary, Enak and MCG for this wonderful opportunity. Looking forward to more in 2020! To MCG!!

Submitted by Christine Jokela