The popularisation of food delivery apps has made life extremely easy for us. All we need to do is pick up our phone, click a few buttons, done! Around 30 minutes or so later our food or beverages will be right at our doorstep.
On the delivery end, it is not so easy for the riders—they need to time their journey and beat the traffic to deliver our food and drinks at the right temperature!
Imagine if you had a permanent movement disorder on top of that. This is the case for a GrabFood rider in Singapore, Sumaiyah Ghazali, who delivers food on her wheelchair.
Sumaiyah, 40, was born with cerebral palsy which inhibited her from walking since birth.
But being disabled didn’t stop her from becoming a GrabFood driver as she says it gives her satisfaction, independence and most importantly, makes her feel useful.
The inspiring lady delivers food and beverages using a motorised wheelchair. Naturally, her biggest enemies when delivering food are weather and traffic.
“It is troublesome when it rains. I have to open my umbrella, if the wind is strong, I have to ‘fight’ it because the wind will keep pulling my umbrella away,” she told Berita Harian Singapore.
Her disability coupled with the traffic means she delivers orders late sometimes. Unsurprisingly, she has received complaints.
Poor Sumaiyah has to apologise and explain to the customers about her disability.
She explained, “I cannot estimate what time I’ll reach because it depends on traffic lights, bus timings, so all takes time. Only when I reach then they say ‘its okay’.”
Sumaiyah urges the customers to be more patient with her and understand her condition.
“To all customers, if you see my name, Sumaiyah B, I seek your cooperation to be patient and understand people like me whose movements are quite slow but I will try to deliver as fast as I can.”
A customer shared Sumaiyah’s inspiring story on social media
Shahril Jantan, from Singapore, recently ordered I-Tea bubble tea for his wife using GrabFood SG, and was initially concerned with the delivery timings.
But when he met Sumaiyah, his “heart really sank”.
When the GrabFood rider icon appeared near his block on his GPS, he peered out of the window to look for his deliverer.
“I looked out my window, scanning my eyes from right to left when suddenly I saw something that left me in awe. A GrabFood rider on a motorised wheelchair making its way slowly along the pavement right in front of our block,” he posted on his Facebook.
Shahril somehow knew that Sumaiyah was the rider, so he quickly rushed down to look for her.
When collecting his drink, he found out that Sumaiyah travelled from I-Tea at Tampines, which is a 10-12 minutes journey even by car.
He was extremely touched. “I felt for her. I was a little emotional but tried to remain calm as Sharlien was next to me,” he said.
“As she passed me the drink, having made payment via GrabPay, I quickly reached out for my wallet and pass her whatever cash I have in it. I was a little shocked, to be honest. I was lost for words.”
He thanked Sumaiyah on his Facebook post and shared her inspirational story with his daughter.
We wish Sumaiyah all the best with her new job and hope all the customers can be patient with her if she’s late. We are inspired by your determination and perseverance Sumaiyah!
Credit – World of Buzz
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