At Kebabs on Bell, we believe being part of a community means doing more than serving good food.
Through our Foundation, we've committed to putting $1 from every kebab sold towards charities, community initiatives and projects we support. Each month, we want to share where that support is going and what it's helping make possible.
September has been another busy month, with contributions to local causes, new community initiatives and progress on our projects in Lombok, Indonesia.
Here's what we've been up to.
Continuing Our Support for BANSIC
One of our ongoing commitments is supporting BANSIC, a local organisation providing food and essential assistance to people and families experiencing hardship.
We continue to contribute $200 every fortnight towards their work, helping them provide practical support to our local community.
BANSIC also has an upcoming community function, and we're exploring ways to get involved, whether that's contributing food, attending with our team or supporting the event in another way. Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/bansic-quiz-night
Heidelberg West and the surrounding community have supported our family and business for years, so being able to give something back locally remains incredibly important to us.
A New Vehicle for Preston Mosque's Funeral Services
One of our biggest recent contributions has been donating a Hyundai iLoad van, valued at approximately $15,000–$20,000, to Preston Mosque to support its funeral services.
The idea originally came from a conversation with Heidelberg's Al-Sadiq Mosque, which is working towards establishing its own funeral service. When we heard they needed a vehicle to transport the deceased, we realised we had a van that could be put to better use.
With Heidelberg's service still in development, Preston Mosque is using the vehicle in the meantime to support its existing funeral operations.
We're also planning to contribute approximately $5,000 towards fitting out the van with the necessary equipment and trolleys to safely transport caskets.
Funeral services are something families rely on during incredibly difficult times. Having the right equipment makes a practical difference, and we're grateful we could contribute something useful.
Helping a Local Family Through a Difficult Time
Not every contribution goes towards a large organisation or project.
We also recently donated $1,000 towards a GoFundMe campaign organised by a local Muay Thai gym to support a young girl undergoing cancer treatment.
Her family are regular customers at Kebabs on Bell, and when we heard about the financial difficulties they were facing, we wanted to help.
Over the years, many of our customers have become familiar faces and friends. Supporting people in our community when they're going through difficult times is something we genuinely care about.
Our Lombok School and Water Well Are Complete
In our August update, we shared the progress of two major projects in Areguling, Lombok: building a school and establishing a filtered water well.
We're happy to share that both projects are now complete.
The school provides a permanent learning space for local children who were previously being taught in different locations, including the teacher's home and local mosque.
Alongside the building, we've also provided textbooks, stationery and classroom supplies to help support their education.
The water well provides access to filtered water, with the potential for the community to bottle and sell it locally. The goal is to create a sustainable source of income that can be reinvested into the village.
Seeing these projects completed is a significant milestone, particularly because both have been designed to provide ongoing benefits to the community.
But our work in Lombok isn't finished.
Looking Towards Medical Support
Our next focus is improving access to medical care.
We've been working with a local nurse, Imelda, who helps identify people in Lombok needing medical equipment, treatment and ongoing support.
One of the people we're currently looking to assist is a young girl living with a medical condition requiring therapy. We're waiting to better understand her treatment needs and costs before arranging further support.
Longer term, we're exploring the possibility of establishing a medical clinic in Lombok, where people could access healthcare more consistently.
Furkan is planning to visit Lombok in February to meet with Imelda, assess the community's needs and explore what would be required to make a clinic possible.
It's a big project, and we want to make sure anything we build is practical, sustainable and genuinely useful.
Looking Beyond Lombok
We're also exploring opportunities to support communities in other parts of the world.
Furkan has been invited to visit Africa in January or February to help people experiencing cataract-related vision problems.
While plans are still being developed, we're hoping to contribute approximately $10,000–$15,000 towards medical assistance, depending on available funds.
We'll share more as those plans become clearer.
Every Kebab Helps Us Do More
As the Foundation grows, we want to continue finding ways to make a meaningful difference, whether that's here in Melbourne, in Lombok or somewhere new.
We're particularly interested in connecting with doctors, nurses, medical professionals and medical equipment providers who may be able to support our future clinic project.
If you have experience, equipment or resources that could help, we'd love to have a conversation about what's possible. We're looking to connect people who can provide practical support directly to the communities and projects involved.
And to everyone who continues to visit Kebabs on Bell, thank you.
You come in for a kebab, and we get the opportunity to put $1 from every one sold towards something good.
Good food, good people and a little more good in the world. That's what we're working towards.
