What is mKitchen?

Apa itu mKitchen?

mKitchen is an initiative carried out by a group of IIUM academicians from various Kulliyyahs voluntarily since 2021 during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The initiative is essentially a joint venture between IIUM and other parties in organising community engagement programmes. The "m" in mKitchen represents the community (masyarakat) and the mosque (masjid) throughout Malaysia and internationally to empower their roles in helping the needy with Soup Kitchen-type of programmes as well as creating job opportunities in food and beverage (F&B) and delivery. So far, mKitchen has collaborated with two mosques, namely Masjid Al-Syakirin Gombak (MASG) and Masjid Muaz Bin Jabal (MMBJ) as well as the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Selangor (JKMS) in conducting programmes at PPR Lembah Subang. It is hoped that many more collaborations can be carried out in the future.

mKitchen adalah inisiatif yang dijalankan oleh sekumpulan ahli akademik UIAM dari pelbagai Kulliyyah secara sukarela sejak 2021 semasa Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP). Inisiatif ini pada asasnya adalah satu usahasama di antara UIAM dan pihak lain dalam menganjurkan program penglibatan masyarakat. "M" di dalam mKitchen mewakili masyarakat dan masjid di seluruh Malaysia dan antarabangsa untuk memperkasakan peranan mereka dalam membantu golongan yang memerlukan dengan program jenis Soup Kitchen serta mewujudkan peluang pekerjaan dalam makanan dan minuman (F&B) dan penghantaran. Setakat ini, mKitchen telah bekerjasama dengan dua buah masjid iaitu Masjid Al-Syakirin Gombak (MASG) dan Masjid Muaz Bin Jabal (MMBJ) serta Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Selangor (JKMS) dalam menjalankan program di PPR Lembah Subang. Adalah diharapkan lebih banyak lagi kerjasama dapat dijalankan pada masa akan datang.

Providing food for the needy is a noble charity and is demanded by Islam. Efforts like this have been done by various parties as a sign of concern to help community members whose sources of income have been affected, who lost jobs, and so on. At the beginning of its establishment, mKitchen collaborated with Masjid al-Syakirin Gombak (MASG) in helping the local community by providing free food and basic training to potential entrepreneurs among asnaf who were affected by the pandemic.

Now post COVID-19, our objectives remain and are even more relevant than ever, which is to utilize and optimize the use of community kitchens and mosques in helping the B40 or asnaf group by:

• Providing free food prepared by the B40 or asnaf cooking crew and mKitchen team members,

• Providing temporary employment opportunities as B40 or asnaf cooking crew,

• Provide training in entrepreneurship, food handling, and digital for B40 or asnaf cooking crew.

All these objectives are summarized in the mKitchen slogan - 3E i.e., "Employment, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship". In other words, mKitchen aims to give "the fishing rod, not the fish" to the B40 and asnaf groups. Hopefully, mKitchen can inspire other members of the community and other mosques to do the same and be able to generate income for entrepreneurs and mosques among the asnaf.

Menyediakan makanan kepada golongan yang memerlukan merupakan satu amal kebajikan yang mulia dan dituntut agama Islam. Usaha seperti ini telah banyak dilakukan oleh pelbagai pihak sebagai tanda keprihatinan bagi menyantuni anggota masyarakat yang terjejas sumber pendapatan, hilang pekerjaan dan sebagainya. Pada awal penubuhannya, mKitchen telah bekerjasama dengan Masjid al-Syakirin Gombak (MASG) dalam membantu masyarakat setempat dengan pemberian makanan percuma dan latihan asas kepada bakal usahawan dalam kalangan asnaf yang terkesan akibat wabak itu. 

Kini selepas COVID-19, objektif kami kekal malah lebih relevan iaitu memanfaatkan dan mengoptimumkan penggunaan dapur masyarakat dan masjid dalam membantu golongan B40 dan asnaf dengan:

• Menyediakan makanan percuma yang disediakan oleh krew memasak B40 dan asnaf,

• Menyediakan peluang pekerjaan sementara sebagai krew memasak B40 dan asnaf, 

• Menyediakan latihan keusahawanan, pengendalian makanan dan digital untuk krew memasak B40 dan asnaf. 

Kesemua objektif ini dirangkumkan dalam slogan mKitchen - 3E iaitu menggaji, memperkasakan dan menjadikan golongan asnaf sebagai usahawan makanan, atau pengusaha makanan (3E). Ke arah memberi "the fishing rod, not the fish" kepada golongan B40 dan asnaf. Semoga mKitchen dapat memberi inspirasi kepada ahli masyarakat dan masjid-masjid lain untuk melakukan perkara yang sama dan mampu menjana pendapatan bagi usahawan dan pihak masjid di kalangan asnaf.

Essentially, mKitchen has a two-pronged strategy for achieving its objectives. 

• The first approach is to collaborate with external organisations, including mosques, both locally and internationally in giving aid to the public in need, such as giving free food, providing entrepreneurial training to the local community, etc. 

• The second approach is to train small batches of IIUM asnaf students in basic food handling and food preparation as well as giving free digital entrepreneurship training that includes cash management, digital marketing, cyber security and business model development.

To know more about our ongoing and past programmes and activities, click on the buttons below. 

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