Been thinking where to 'dabao' daily? These 3 sisters run an Instagram page that links you up with elderly hawkers

It's already been a week since dining at eateries is prohibited, and since then, all we've been asking ourselves is this: "where shall we takeaway from?"

Since Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) was announced on Friday (May 14), our local F&B establishments have scrambled to get ready for yet another round of takeaways and deliveries. Some have even taken to social media to share special promotions for diners who self-collect their food in hopes of encouraging people to patronise their eateries. 

However, a number of elderly F&B owners are at a bigger disadvantage than others due to their lack of experience with technology. With less footfall in hawker centres and their inability to market themselves online, they are at risk of having to shutter for good.

Thankfully, in these dreary times, not-for-profit Instagram pages like @wheretodapao exist. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CPIUv8pnJqG/[/embed]

The Instagram account aims to connect Singaporeans with elderly hawkers — with more emphasis on the non-tech-savvy ones — who are struggling to stay afloat during this period. 

Connecting Singapore with our elderly hawkers 

One of the curators of the account, Jocelyn Ng, 24, tells AsiaOne that the page is run by herself and her two other sisters, Jacquelyn Ng, 28, and Jasmine Ng, 26. 

Even with all three girls working full time, Jacquelyn and Jocelyn still drives out to different hawker centres to look for hawkers to feature, while Jasmine replies to direct messages on the platform. 

"I didn't expect [the Instagram page] to blow up so fast in just a couple of days. [We] had to reply thousands of DMs. Many delivery drivers have reached out to help support these elderly workers, so I have to coordinate with them as well," Jocelyn shares when asked about how she juggles this project and her job. 

The girls would usually go out to find hawkers during lunch and curate the posts after working hours when they have more free time.

In their very first post, they shared a dismal image of an eerily empty hawker centre with its tables and chairs cordoned off. 

"[We] saw many articles about the elderly suffering so much losses, and [we] just wanted to help them in one way or another — be it big or small," they shared. 

Subsequent posts picture storefronts of stalls with short write-ups of each hawker. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CPIXbWAnIZr/[/embed]

In one of them, the girls talk to a stall owner specialising in old-school kuehs at Maxwell Food Centre. 

"We first asked aunty [whether] her business was affected badly by Covid-19, and she said it was so bad that she had to sell her car just to continue operating her business," they document. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CPK3bOTniVL/[/embed] 

However, despite the negative outlook of things, many of the hawkers have shown nothing but kindness and hospitality towards the trio. Some insisted on giving the girls discounts to show their appreciation, and one uncle even offered to treat them to duck rice! 

Open to contributions from the public

Running the account on their own is definitely no easy feat, so the sisters shared that they are open to submissions from people who want to chip in. 

All interested participants need to do is to take a picture with the stall owner and stall, talk to them to understand their plight better, and then provide a short write-up for an Instagram post. 

Despite the overwhelming amount of contributions, Jocelyn shares that they "really enjoy doing it and [are] always eager to post more each day."

melissateo@asiaone.com