The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse Feeding Centre provides meals, counselling and health care services for the poor and needy. The facilities and services are as follows:

Meals: Tea (4.00pm) and Dinner (5.30pm - 7.00pm).

Lounge: To rest and make friends.

Bathrooms: For the homeless to bathe and clean themselves.

Clinic: Provide basic medical care and dressing of wounds.

Counseling: For those who seek it.

Jobs: It’s for those who wish to make a living. The persons will be trained under the LightWorks various sections.

Throughout more than 16 years of operations, the Lighthouse is progressively growing and has expanded into many sections with added services and facilities as follows:

The Lighthouse Clinic was set up to provide free basic medical healthcare services for the homeless and urban poor. The clinic now has a consultation room for the doctor, and a pharmacy providing basic medications for patients. There is also a waiting area for the patients. All these are made possible by our donors. The clinic operates twice a month by our volunteer doctor and nurse.

The LightWorks is an offshoot of the Lighthouse Community Service Centre to help our clients or any marginalised, underprivileged or needy persons who wish to begin a new chapter in their life and integrate themselves back into the society.

The LightWorks Contract Services - It’s for our clients or any underprivileged or needy person who are able to do outdoor contract works. These persons will be trained to operate the bush cutter, lawn mower and etc. With these skills, it helps to create a livelihood for them. Below are the services offered by the LightWorks:

Grave Maintenance

House/Office/Church Cleaning

'Moving' House/Office

Gardening/Lawn Mowing

Recycling (We only collect in bulk and at our workers’ availability)

When you engage with LightWorks, you will be helping the marginalised and underprivileged person to stand back up on his/her own feet.

The Lighthouse Thrift Shop started operating in 2011. Pre-loved items which are donated by well-wishes are resold here at reasonable prices. The items are mostly clothing, books, toys, shoes, bags, kitchenwares and etc. For those who want to clear their clutters which are still reusable, you are welcome to donate here.

At the Lighthouse Thrift Shop, we provide on job training of customer service and basic entrepreneurship skill to any underprivileged or needy person who wishes to learn and work in our Thrift Shop or through our TVET workshop program.

The Lightworks Technical, Vocational, Educational and Training Programme - At LightWorks, we also have another section named “The LightWorks TVET (Technical, Vocational, Educational and Training programme). In this program, we offer various trainings and opportunities for the underprivileged or needy persons who would like to enhance their skills and put into good use. Individuals who are interested will be trained with the required skills such as cooking, baking, communication and also some basic entrepreneurship.

Our clients or any underprivileged or needy persons who are under training and are working either in the Lighthouse or in any of our LightWorks programs are allowed to stay at The Lighthouse St. Peter’s Home. Besides that, they will be given tea and dinner and an allowance for their work.

For some of the Lighthouse/LightWorks workers who wish to save some part of their income, we will assist them by deducting some amount from their allowances and deposited it into their bank savings account.

Skills Development Programme In this program, we offer youths who have completed SPM to take up technical courses at the Penang Skill Development Centre (PSDC) or other colleges which also offer skills development courses. We have 10 students enrolled in PSDC. 8 already graduated with certificates and are currently working. 2 are still studying at different levels.

The students who are sent by the LightWorks to PSDC will be provided with accommodation, dinner and an allowance of RM300.

Further to these LightWorks TVET programs in creating opportunities, we also collaborating with our partners of the followings to help upkeep all our operations:

The Lighthouse Cafe is a pre-war house turned into a simple designed Cafe with cool and cosy ambience. It is a great place for dining while bonding with your peers or family. The cafe now is operated by a church parishioner in collaboration with The Lighthouse. It serves meals from Wednesday to Monday at 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch) and 5.30pm to 9.00pm (dinner).

The menu comprises of Oriental and Western Food. Customers will be served with delicious and reasonable food price with free flow of salad and ice-cream. Among the Chef’s signature dishes will be: Char Hor Fun, Hailam Char, Kam Heong Chicken Rice and others.

The Lighthouse Cafe can be booked for private functions. It also provides job opportunity for any underprivileged or needy person who is interested to learn and work at the Cafe.

The Lighthouse Bakery started operating on 15 Sept, 2009 by training our clients with some baking and basic entrepreneurship skills. Our main hot sale pastry items are The Lighthouse Signature Chicken Pie (Curry and Creamy flavours) and Pizzas. Usually it needs pre-order so that customer can get it fresh and hot from the oven.

For those who would like to support us can get hold of our chicken pies at The Lighthouse Cafe and The Lighthouse Bakery or call us for bulk orders.

For Pizza lovers, fresh and hot Non Halal pizzas are available! The menu is uniquely and personally prepared by our Pizza Chef –Hwa. The available pizzas are: Classic Beef Pepperoni, Pork Bacon, Pork Chorizo, Four Cheese, Hawaiian Chicken, Tuna Delights, Fresh Veggie Combo, English Breakfast Pork Sausages, Kimchi Pork Belly, Salted Egg Pizza and etc.

The Lighthouse Bakery also provides job opportunity for any underprivileged person who is interested to learn and work at the Bakery.

Heritage Pies and Pastries is the latest addition in the partnership with LightWorks. They serve Premium Chicken Pies, Apple Pies, Nasi Lemak and Cakes at their outlet.

Besides that, they also offer job opportunity to the underprivileged and needy persons.

The Bright Sparks Children Learning and Support Centre is a learning and support centre for the children of the poor, underprivileged, needy and homeless background by nurturing and helping these children attain their fullest potential in education and social graces.

Bright Sparks started in Dec 2004. It was set up with the key purpose of improving the well-being and the development of the whole young child. In the beginning, The Bright Sparks began with only a few children but now we have cared for about 60 children in 4 centres namely, The Bright Sparks Lighthouse at the Lighthouse, IC Bright Sparks at Hong Seng, SH English Bright Sparks at Kulim and RC Bright Sparks Tuition Centre at Farlim.

At Bright Sparks Lighthouse, we provide a holistic development program which includes academic, living skills, creativity skills and social skills for children who come after school from 3.30pm to 5.00pm. We also provide food nourishment and vitamins to the children. Other educational aids will be given to the needy children as and when the need is required.

Bright Sparks MINDS Sheltered Workshop - Mentally Challenged or intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability is characterised by below-average intelligence or mental ability and a lack of skills necessary for day to day living. But, in Bright Sparks, Lighthouse we called them “Differently Able” persons.

In general, “Differently Able” persons reach developmental milestones much later than the general population. They can and do learn new skills but they learn them more slowly.

Their symptoms may appear at birth or later in childhood. A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong challenge. However, with appropriate support and intervention, people with learning disabilities can achieve success in school, at work, in relationships and in the community.

We, at the Bright Sparks, Lighthouse have establish a pilot centre to provide vocational training facilities to inculcate basic skills in a focused program to develop self confidence and esteem in these young adults to prepare and enable them find employment and sense of belonging in the society.

Our training has started with a small cohort of 2-5 students of ages from 18 to 21 years who have completed their basic schooling or training at the various schools for the mentally challenged children. The program will be reviewed every 6 months. On successful completion of the training, some can be employed at any of our LightWorks Social Enterprise outlets or as an Assistant Trainers at our Bright Sparks MINDS Sheltered Workshop.

Alcoholics Anonymous - A.A. is an international fellowship of men and women who once had a drinking problem. It is non professional, self-supporting and non denominational. There is no age limit or educational requirements as well. A.A. membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem. The members will meet in The Lighthouse on every Tuesday at 12.00pm and Thursday at 8.00pm.

Freedom House - The team’s mission is to organise pastoral counselling and motivational activities called “Sessions from the Freedom House”, which would provide a platform to enable those who are broken or law offenders to experience love, care and support to regain back their self respect and dignity to become useful citizens again in the society. They also extended help to rehabilitate drug abusers. Through an amazing awakening to new hope and life purpose, those who are broken or has once broke the law are transformed, renewed and make whole again so that they can be prepared to serve the society one day. The team will meet the clients on every Monday at 4.00pm at the Lighthouse.