The Rotary Club of Puteri Lagoon (RCPL) and the Rotary Club of Johor Straits View (RCJSV) collaborated to help single mothers gain entrepreneurial skills and become self-sufficient.
The objective of the “Baking for a Cause” project was to teach technical baking skills so that participants can work as bakers or work for themselves.
According to RCPL president Yee Woon Seng, 12 single mothers were initially chosen to participate in this programme to learn new skills and become more self-sufficient. “We want them to cultivate their self-confidence and take part in society as responsible individuals,” he reportedly told.
According to Yee, many single mothers were badly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic; either losing their jobs or being unable to work because they need to take care of their kids.
Their predicament was mostly due to spousal death, spousal abandonment or divorce, and Yee said many of them had financial difficulties because most single mothers were from rural areas and lacked specialised job skills as well as the education required to secure proper employment.
“The assessment was carried out by Persatuan Kebajikan Wanita Penyayang Johor Bahru, RCPL, and RCJSV to guarantee that single mothers were eligible to participate in this programme”, he added.
He went on to say that single mothers are striving to achieve financial independence as the women have either none or minimal money of their own and are entirely reliant on their husbands for financial support. When they became single mothers, they were plunged into a difficult battle for survival.
“Through the programme, they gain a foundation for business skills and become economically self-sufficient for their families,” said Yee.
He emphasised that these single mothers will be given raw materials, tools and a loanable oven from the Club.
Yee claims that if these single mothers can show that they bake every day or weekly for six months, they would be able to purchase the oven.
The goal of this project, he said, is to help these single mothers stand on their own two feet and start small home-based businesses to sustain their needs.
He lamented the fact that many single mothers are jobless, claiming that with their training, participants will be able to access the business world and no longer be reliant on others.
“Many of them are in dire straits and we show them how to make more money from their own home so that they can save and pay off their debts and educate their children,” Yee stated.
He believes that once they have acquired the necessary skills and expertise, they can work in a bakery or pastry shop or even start an online business selling cakes or other products.
Yee, the programme’s founder, aims to recruit more single mothers and equip them with the necessary skills so that they could live independently.
RCPL and RCJSV are reaching out to assist more single mothers in earning money and taking control of their life both within and outside their homes.
Permas Assemblyman, Baharudin Mohd Taib, RCPL president, Yee Woon Seng, RCJSV president Catherine Chai, and other Rotarian leaders were also present for the cake baking event.
