Volunteers Band Together To Help Elderly Sim Lim Ice Cream Uncle As His ‘Sales Staff’
Last month, the internet was alerted to the heart-breaking plight of 90-year-old Ng Teak Boon, who sells ice cream outside Sim Lim Tower.
According to a post by Larry Lai on the Can Eat! Hawker Food Facebook page, Mr Ng makes just up to S$300 a month due to slow business.
90-Year-Old Sim Lim Ice Cream Uncle Earns Only S$300/Month, Public Urged To Support Him
Mr Lai then called on everyone to support Mr Ng. While many kind folks did their part by going down to buy ice cream from Mr Ng, a few recently went the extra mile by volunteering as his ‘sales staff’ for a few days.
With their help, the business has been booming for Mr Ng.
Kind strangers volunteer to help Sim Lim Tower ice cream uncle
On 22 Oct, Mr Lai took to the Heritage SG Food Facebook group to share about three ladies who have been helping to drum up sales for Mr Ng by drawing crowds to his cart.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
They were so successful that they managed to sell S$50 worth of ice cream in just 10 minutes.
Less than an hour and a half after his first post went up, Mr Lai posted another update saying that they were sold out for the day.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
While this led one of the volunteers to worry about Mr Ng having nothing to sell the next day, Mr Lai assured her that he would take care of it and ensured that the elderly uncle’s cart was full of ice cream again.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
Mr Lai also got him a cup of orange juice, encouraging others to offer him a drink too as he apparently doesn’t carry a water bottle.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
The kind deeds didn’t stop there.
On 24 Oct, Mr Lai dedicated another post to customers who went down to purchase ice cream from Mr Ng.
He noted that a few of them also brought items for Mr Ng, namely a cake, chicken rice, pastries, and a Febreze product.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
He added that the volunteers managed to once again empty the cart thanks to their passionate sales work.
Once sold out ice cream in 20 minutes
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News on Monday (24 Oct), Mr Lai shared that he and the other volunteers have been helping Mr Ng to sell ice cream almost every day for the past week.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
Mr Lai added that he has patronised Mr Ng’s ice cream cart for a few years, but only began to get to know him better over the past year.
“Knowing how self-reliant he is despite his age made me really admire him and want to help him,” Mr Lai said.
So, Mr Lai spoke to his friends, and the four or five of them have been taking time out of their busy schedules – they all have full-time jobs – to help Mr Ng.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
The increase in manpower has enabled Mr Ng to finish work earlier than usual — according to Mr Lai, they once managed to sell out all the ice cream in just 20 minutes.
Sim Lim ice cream uncle grateful for everyone’s kindness
Naturally, many might be concerned about how Mr Ng still has to go out and work despite his advanced age.
However, he told Shin Min Daily News that he’d rather not stay at home and “stare at the wall” all day.
Source: Larry Lai on Facebook
He also expressed how touched he is by how everyone has been so kind and helpful to him.
Besides buying ice cream from him, some Good Samaritans simply just leave some money for him before going off.
Mr Ng also said that he doesn’t really feel lonely because there are always people who stop by to chat with him.
His wife passed away 20 years ago and he hardly keeps in touch with his four children. He currently lives alone in a rental HDB flat in Geylang Bahru.
Wholesome sight could melt anyone’s heart
It’s always heartening to see how there is still so much goodness in the world — even if it’s just about friends banding together to help an old uncle sell ice cream.
Of course, we hope that supporting Mr Ng won’t just be another ‘trend’ that dies off after a while and that everyone continues to do so whenever they can.
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Featured image adapted from Larry Lai on Facebook and Facebook.
