Social entrepreneur starts venture to help more people

Dignity Kitchen founder's food kiosks to hire those with dementia, cancer survivors

- Chin Soo Fang

When a fire ravaged Dignity Kitchen in Boon Keng Road in February, Project Dignity founder and executive director Koh Seng Choon saw how kindness begets kindness.

Many well-wishers, including some of his beneficiaries and staff, stepped forward with donations totalling $200,000 to help restore the building.

In May, with the renovations completed, Mr Koh, 65, channelled his energy into a new venture to help more people.

Following the success of Dignity Kitchen, which provides hawker training and jobs to people with disabilities and disadvantaged people, the social entrepreneur launched Dignity Kitchenette in October - a chain of food kiosks that trains and employs people with early dementia or mental illness or those recovering from cancer.

“They use their MediSave and CPF to pay for their medication and consultations, and hence are financially challenged,” Mr Koh told The Straits Times.

The first stall opened on Oct 1 at Yio Chu Kang bus interchange, and sells drinks and food such as bento box meals, bread and cakes from Dignity Kitchen.

The stall is open from Mondays to Fridays, from 8am to 3pm.

Mr Koh plans to have five Dignity Kitchenettes across Singapore by the end of 2025. A second one will be located at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ.

Each stall will be manned by six to eight people with long-term chronic illness, working on two four-hour shifts. They are recommended by groups such as Dementia Singapore, the Institute of Mental Health and the National Neuroscience Institute.