A Man’s Departure to a Road Less Traveled Impacts a Whole Community in Singapore
There is no distance too far for a man who loves his country and his fellow countrymen. No obstacle too hard and no weather too painful to bear for a heart set on a noble goal of helping those in need. To bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots, one must embark on untraveled land with patriotism in one hand and philanthropy in another. Only the fittest will survive. So, will you extend your hand to those who are drowning in the heaviness of unfortunate circumstances or remain appeasing the ignorance of sycophants?
Mr. Rahim Resad, 47, travels all the way to North Cape to promote the Free Food For All non-profit initiative and collect donations for his fellow Singaporeans. With the support of Liqui Moly Singapore, he was able to travel with all the technical resources needed in case of emergencies.
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
47-year-old Mr. Rahim Resad is a humble man from an even humbler beginning yet he traversed an unknown path to “contribute to the community, a charity, and help the poor”.
(Images: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
Growing up, the Resad family was not the stereotypical well-off Singaporean home. “I came from a very poor family,” Mr. Resad said, “and I know how it is like to be in a situation where a simple daily meal is so hard to come by.” It was then, perhaps, when he learned the importance of having help and hence, sought to give it to others in his adulthood.
A practice imparted by his late mother and father, he said that he has always tried to help out the less fortunate since he was young in his own capacity, “Be it small or big using my own resources.”For an objective seemingly so easy, Mr. Resad’s latest journey was anything but.
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
In March 1, he started his motorcycle adventure in Singapore to Malaysia, then Thailand, Myanmar, India-Nepal, Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and finally to Finland-Norway to fulfill his dream of going to North Cape on a bicycle. The idea came to him in 2009, which he slowly worked his way towards.
It was in 2015 that he had to put aside his dream for a while due to recover from a sustained injury. “But I never gave up my dream of riding to the North Cape,” he said.
After a year, he finally hatched a plan to ride to North Cape on a motorbike with one of Germany's most popular brand of motor oil to be his sponsor upon the request of a non-profit initiative, Free Food For All (FFFA), of which Mr. Resad is involved with.
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
The FFFA is a strictly non-profit private initiative to feed the less fortunate by providing $2 Halal meals. A mission for the community, by the community, the FFFA aims to ‘rekindle the kampong spirit’ and ensure that no Singaporean goes hungry again.
The FFFA founder, Mr. Nizar, has been a long-time friend of Mr. Resad’s and one day invited the latter to one of their community outreaches to distribute free meals. From then on, Mr. Resad has been a part of a couple of their volunteer works as an on-site photographer.
Mr. Resad and Mr. Nizar then met with Liqui Moly Singapore’s Brendan Ang to discuss how their company could accompany Mr. Resad in his planned undertaking. They must have gotten to a fruitful conclusion as it was their company could “dealt with professional garage services in Mandalay in Myanmar, in Almaty in Kazakhstan as well as in Moscow”.
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
“Plus, Liqui Moly also dealt with the replacement part supply,” Mr. Resad continued to explain. “I am very thankful for this. My sponsor's products that I used for the North Cape project worked wonderfully! The motor ran so smoothly that I was able to cover very long distances without any problems.”
Is this story looking too good to be true? In truth, this trip has been met with many difficulties, one of which was the weather. According to Mr. Resad, on their way to the border of China, they experienced snow in a pass that was supposed to be free of, if the weather followed the forecast. It did not.
(Images: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
“The last three kilometers took us two and a half hours,” he said. “I kept falling off the motorbike because there was ice under the snow. When we finally got to the Chinese border, I was shivering and extremely tired.
“The border formalities for entering China took five hours. At this point it was already dark and it was snowing. As I drove down the pass on the Chinese side it was cold and windy and it was still snowing.
“The whole episode ended with a stay in the hospital in Tashkurgan, where I was treated for my altitude sickness.”
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
It wasn’t only the weather that proved to be difficult, though. The bike itself kind of fell to pieces with the drive shaft being “completely worn away”. Thankfully, he met a local mechanic by the name of Mr. Valeriy in Astna who pointed him in the direction of a welder who welded the sprocket back onto the drive shaft.
Despite the challenges that arose, Mr. Resad was determined to “take on every obstacle, every high and low” to give his best effort to send a very important message: Always make an effort to extend your help. It doesn’t matter if it’s to someone you know or an outright stranger, he said. “You’ll never know that someone you helped needed it badly”.
(Images: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
When asked if he would encourage others to do the same, he immediately said, “Do it.
“You don’t need to be rich to travel. People are nice everywhere regardless of nationality, race or religion.
(Image: Courtesy of Mr. Resad)
“People along the way will come and help you if you are having problems. People are nice all over the world. Don’t worry. Just go out there and travel.”
Just like Robert Frost’s poem, to take the road less traveled will make all the difference.