“What made us different was that we had no admin costs. All donations were spent directly on the aid. Volunteers gave their time to collect and deliver the aid at their own expense. It was this project single-handedly that connected us to many NGOs who were doing incredible work with minimal resources,” recalls Lee,

As time went on, Lee realised that almost all the NGOs they worked with were working out of their homes and found it increasingly hard to manage and connect with volunteers. “The idea of a communal space where multiple NGOs could operate out of came together when we thought about what infrastructure was lacking in our community,” she explains.

“The list was long, and through many workshops, we listened and took notes. We opened up communications with the Ministry of Welfare about our findings, and both agreed that a community social support centre would be something that would benefit the community greatly.”

Coincidentally Lee’s parents, Dr Lincoln and Dame Betty Lee, had put her in charge of renovating their four shop lots to be turned into a retail and dining space.

“I felt in my bones that the community centre should be here, and with one phone call to my family, convinced them to donate the space free of charge to the community for five years,” Lee says.

With the location secured, the next challenge was the renovation works, and Ting’s property development company, Elica Sdn Bhd, volunteered to undertake this project as their CSR project. The last part was to secure government funding to help with the operational costs, which was awarded to the local NGO, Bring it On Kuching upon the completion of renovation works.