The practising doctor with a passion for food is one of the most popular food bloggers. Last year, he started an initiative to support Graduate, a non-profit organisation that aims to uplift the lives of the poor in the region through the provision of opportunities for learning and education. Leslie, through the wide following of his food blog, raised enough money for a gift of a four-wheel drive to Goducate’s programmes, On top of that, Leslie together with a group of foodies and fans made a 4-day trip to the villages to see for themselves Goducate’s work foodies being foodies, they also took the opportunity to enjoy some of the local cuisines of as well. We thought it was a great initiative for a worthy cause and shows that opportunities abound for travellers to contribute to the communities they visit. This group of foodies not only contributed to the community but also seem to have had much fun too, especially in trying out the various local cuisine and seafood there. We spoke to Leslie and here’s what he shared about the experience.
You are first a doctor then a food blogger; how did this idea about bringing a group of your food blog fans come about? I’ve always been on the lookout for charities to support. Graduated last year and it seemed like a great opportunity since I’ve always wanted to work with children overseas. Besides supporting schools and education, going to is great for my food blog because of the good food there. Since most people won’t mind supporting such a cause, I brought some of those who were interested along and we went on our first trip. There, we found the environment conducive to visiting villages – it was comfortable and accessible. This trip is a way of exposing people to such needs and giving people opportunities to involve themselves in social work. Now, every year we do something for charity. Why are you so passionate about this Goducate project? Well, because I’m passionate about building schools, and the food is good! I’ve never thought about contributing to it before because it is not well-known; there are no NGOs and Goducate’s the only presence there. So even more so, after I learnt about this, I realized the need was really there to reach out to these children.
Can You Share with Us About Your
It was a 4-day trip, and each cost around SGD400 per person including air tickets and accommodation, we are going on another trip this year, and for this year’s trip, because of the rising air tickets cost. We visited the villages and schools to see how they were run. It was an exposure trip; we returned back to raise funds as we believe in donating to them and encouraging them to build their own schools. What was the feedback from the people who went? Those who had not been on such trips before were touched and happy to be able to be a part of the work. They came back with a sense of what was going on and they wanted to help. They also helped to spread the word and volunteered at sessions. It helps with the fundraising effort.
What Were Some of the Highlights
I could see the progress of villages and it was heartening; they cleaned up the place and the schools have gotten more organized. Overall they seem more motivated for the future. One special highlight for me was this one child who was our tour guide. He took us around and spoke to us in English, telling us about the progress of the village. It’s nice to see that he has had the opportunity to have access to literacy where previously there was none and that there were fruits of our labour. Any memorable moments in? The seafood there was cheap, fresh, plentiful and overall very good. And the rustic style of cooking meant that there was a very nice, relaxed atmosphere to eat and chat.
