Food + Travel

Eat While Empowering Lives With The Help Of This Social Enterprise

Image source: The Picha Project

It’s like a breath of fresh air when we are able to help those in need while enjoying the one thing all Malaysians love – food! Thankfully, social enterprises like The Picha Project exist to empower marginalised groups in Malaysia to be self-sustainable.

 

What is ‘The Picha Project’?

The Picha Project provides refugees in Malaysia a platform to cater food to the public, utilizing their existing cooking skills and equipping them further with professional guidance.

Their aim is to serve you great food. But as you enjoy the great food, you are also providing hope and opportunity for refugees to start a new life.

Essentially, The Picha Project acts as the agent to supervise the families involved, ensure the quality of the food, package and market the product, deliver it to customers, and finally, provide profit for the families involved.

 

Why is it called ‘Picha Project’?

Image source: The Picha Project

Despite ‘Picha’ being an “internet” way of spelling ‘picture’, the real meaning behind is far from photographs.

According to the UNHCR, there are over 160,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered in Malaysia as of August 2018. Pita (pronounced as Pi-Cha), a 3-year-old boy from Myanmar is one of them.

He’s the youngest son of the first family who joined the social enterprise. According to The Picha Project, naming the entire social enterprise after Pita is a constant reminder to continuously strive and work towards creating a better Malaysia where refugees will be included in the society and economy of the country.

 

Did you know ‘The Picha Project’ will be in Urbanscapes this year?

Image source: The Picha Project

With the theme #ReimagineKL, Urbanscapes is supporting this impact-driven enterprise to bring members of the public an immersive exhibition.

“This Is Home” is a special exhibition that highlights the life journey of refugees to increase understanding and awareness among the public towards this global humanitarian crisis.

People will be put into the shoes of a refugee and get a glimpse of how home looked like before the war broke out, how the journey was coming to Malaysia, and how home looks like now in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The three-part experiential refugee exhibition is the first of its kind in Malaysia

During the first part called ‘Home Back Home’, mock-up rooms of how homes looked like back in Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar will be set up of people to experience what it’s like being in the home of a Syrian, Afghan, and Rohingya.

The second part, ‘Journey From Home’, will see artworks of how the refugees fled to Malaysia.

Last but not least, ‘Now, This Is Home’ sees the one-minute VR experience being in a house of a refugee here in Kuala Lumpur.

In addition to that, multiple special events and story exhibitions will be held in the space over the weekends.

 

‘This Is Home’ will be held from now until 18 November in the Urbanscapes House

Admission: FREE

Venue: 2nd Floor, Urbanscapes House, 2 Hang Kasturi

Date: 3 November – 18 November 2018 (close on Mondays)

Time: 10am – 10pm

 

Connect with The Picha Project on Facebook and Instagram!

 

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About Andrea Tang

Andrea writes content, edits and produces videos, is still in uni, dabbles in product photography, and runs a clothing brand called February District – all while trying to remain somewhat sane.

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