Wheelchair-bound Food Delivery Woman Will Inspire You

“To all customers, if you see my name, Sumaiyah B, I seek your patience and understanding of people like me whose movements are quite slow. But I will try to deliver as fast as I can.”

GrabFood is a fundamentally important application for the bustles and hustles of a metropolitan city. GrabFood, an extension from GrabCar, (a cab-hailing app) provides food-delivery services for those who just can’t stand beating the jam-infested streets. But when deliveries too are jammed, how fickle can a person’s patience be?

A diligent GrabFood employee who goes by Sumaiyah Ghazali (pictured above) was struck from birth with Cerebral Palsy, a defect that prevents her from moving her lower torso.

A customer who grew impatient was itching to get his bubble-tea, but insofar as he knew, 40-year-old Sumaiyah Ghazali was his deliverer (with maybe a luke-warm tea).

The man, eager to quench the lack of bubble-tea in his stomach, mentioned how a car ride would have taken only 10 minutes to reach his doorstep.

But 30 minutes passed, fidgety, he took out his phone and tracked the GrabFood deliverer, and he nearly dropped his phone – the deliverer was not even close; yet moving at such a slow pace.

After some clock-ticking passed, the GPS locator ringed on his phone, signalling that the person must have finally arrived.

When he stormed down, ready to fill that person with an earful, he held back his tears – as his daughter was clenching his hand, he saw that the deliverer was sitting on a motorised wheelchair. He ran towards her.

He shouted – just loud enough to catch her attention, “Are you my GrabFood deliverer?”

“I quickly reached for my wallet and passed her whatever cash I had in it. I was a little shocked, to be honest. I was at a loss for words.”

(Don’t worry he gave her a 5-star rating!)

(Video courtesy of Berita Harian)

News circulated across all social media platforms, like crows being thrown a loaf of bread. People praised Sumaiyah for rising above her ‘bar’.

“Dear GrabFood, do provide complimentary benefits or services such as servicing for the wheelchair or to indicate perhaps extra waiting time to ease in her delivery and for customers who may be unaware. Do provide more job opportunities for these individuals and appreciate their hard work towards the company. That would be lovely thank you,” commented Facebook user Puteri Ilsa.

“To the wonderful Ms Sumaiyah, we admire your strength and we support you in your journey to find rezeki. Insyaallah we pray things will always be well for you amin. We look forward to meeting you too!” Puteri Ilsa continued.

In response, GrabFood said, “We’ll definitely explore the possibilities! To all who might come across individuals like Cik Sumaiyah, your patience & words of encouragement would mean a lot to them. Keep up the positivity!”

Why hire people with disabilities?

According to EmployAbilities, a charitable, non-profit organisation, hiring people with disabilities can create a feeling among all employees that their employer is truly inclusive and forward thinking, which can only have positive implications for workplace morale.

“Companies with disabled employees may help to attract customers with disabilities, increasing business. The ability to secure meaningful employment is vitally important for people to feel like full participants within society. People with disabilities deserve the opportunity to participate in the labour force, and employers, clearly, would be remiss in overlooking this group of potential employees,” it added.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Would you like to see more opportunities given to people with disabilities?

What is it like for people with disabilities to find employment in your community?

Do you happen to know someone who’s an inspiration to others?

Be sure to read up on this story the next time you feel like giving up in life. We here at Neue are confident that Sumaiyah will continue to inspire you to be the best version of yourself.