Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
As I was building The Caffeine Experience (TCE) with the help of my ex-prison officer, Mr Hilary Lo, we were faced with multitude of problems, from product failure to low sales, to hopelessness. There were many moments I wanted to give up and there were more moments where discouragements from friendly suggestions sounded correct, yet we pressed on. It was not easy, and we did not expect everyone to stay the path. Some stood by us, some abandoned ship. It was a winding road of emotional roller-coaster.
We had another breakthrough as we opened our second cafe in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, November 2018. Sales was good and staff morale was high. Over time, complacency crept in and delinquency became our stumbling block. Nine months later, we had to take stock of our direction as accusations of fraud and legal threats pressured to destroy the existence of this social enterprise.
At this point of crisis, most of our beneficiaries courageously stood up for the cause. Even though they were individually targetted and subsequently fired from their jobs, they stood firm in their core belief of TCE. Their courage showed us the reason to continue the work. With God’s blessing, the same benefactor came forward to buy over the aggressor’s share, kicked the “Pharisees” out and gave TCE a new lease of life
“Thank you, God, for preparing a table for me in the presence of my enemy and anoint my head with oil and giving me a cup that overflows to the people around me now.”
The Caffeine Experience 2.0 restarted.
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