About Rayyan Haries

My story begins, in some ways, in a small Indian restaurant in Little India, Singapore. I was travelling alone for the first time, nervous and unsure, when a stranger joined me for lunch. We shared a simple vegetarian thali, talked about life and travel, and even fumbled through a game of chess. When the bill came, he insisted on paying. I never saw him again, but his quiet act of generosity left a mark. It was a reminder of how compassion, when offered earnestly, can change the way we carry ourselves through the world. That small moment became a compass for everything that followed.

When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, I was there as a disaster responder. It was my first time stepping into the chaos of a humanitarian crisis. From clearing debris to distributing food, I saw both the fragility of life and the resilience of people who had lost everything. That experience set me on a path — one that would take me from the Philippines to Nepal, Japan, and eventually to the shores of Lesvos, Greece, where I worked in community kitchens serving refugees arriving by boat. Food became my way of restoring dignity. A meal could say, you are not forgotten.

Over the years, my humanitarian journey grew into different forms. I founded The Volunteer Cook, coordinated food programs with The Giving Food Truck in Lesvos, and co-built refugee food distribution in Serbia with Collective Aid (previously called BelgrAid), serving more than 2,000 meals daily. Later, as Communications Officer at Humanity Crew, I developed global campaigns to advocate for mental health in crises, amplifying stories often left out of humanitarian narratives. With Teach for ASEAN in Myanmar, I led education programs for marginalised children, weaving compassion into classrooms as well as kitchens.