Category: Social/Political

I am thankful.

It’s 5am. Just got back from supper. Burp. Prior to that, me and the BF joined REACH OUT on one of their outings distributing food to the homeless in our “beautiful” city, Kuala Lumpur. We started at 11.30pm and finished at 3.30am.

REACH OUT is a strictly non-profit, non-political & non-religious organisation that aims to provide nutrition, medical support and training skills for the homeless so that they could one day re-enter and contribute to society.

I found out about REACH OUT via TLC Promise Me, whom I worked with last year to raise funds to buy a hospital bed for Goo Tyng Tong.

Homelessness is quite a unique problem. It doesn’t get as much attention or sympathy compared to say…orphans. For some reason, people tend to brush it off as a result of laziness. Eh, these homeless people are able bodied, so why can’t they get a job?

Well, tonight I learnt that homelessness is not caused by laziness. It’s just that sometimes, some people can be dealt with really cruel cards in life.

# – No, they’re not having a picnic.

Sometimes, they could be born to poor uneducated parents whose parents were also poor & uneducated.

Sometimes, they could be impregnated by abusive men with equally abusive family members.

And sometimes, if the universe decided to be humourous, they could even be both.

The circumstances of the homeless in KL are completely unimaginable to us, people who choose not to eat so we could be thin – the spoilt bourgeoisie. They are stuff soap operas are made of, minus the glitz, glamour & happy endings.

# – Down the storm drain, here we go.

So….laziness? Don’t these people wish they have the luxury to be lazy.

After seeing what I saw tonight, I’m honestly slightly embarrassed by my own dissatisfaction with life. Here is a dumbass who got upset because she can’t afford to go to Maldives to dive. There are worse things to get upset over, you know what I mean?

Right now I am thankful for what I have and who I have to lean on to.

Fun at Rumah Hope with BBQ Addicts!

Thanks to #bbqaddicts, we got to participate in a bbq outing sponsored by none other than #bbqaddicts at Rumah Hope.

I had such a fun, fun day hanging out with my closest friends and entertaining the resident children. Oh and needless to mention, the earth-shattering, most delicious grilled food from #bbqaddicts!!

I probably shouldn’t have exposed some of the younger children to the addictive nature of electronic games but hmmm….I’m sure they’ll snap out of it soon enough! Hehehee.

# – Sargeant Master Grill Lance at work.

# – Melissa fanning her man in sexy shorts…and I don’t mean Melissa lol

# – Firestarters – Ah Horng, ST, God & a jolly uncle.

# – ST and his dirty fingers.

# – Suan entertaining the kids.

# – Goodie bags stuffed with stationeries, thanks to Suan who took the initiative to raise funds, find a supplier and prepare the bags.

# – Wah, look who’s got umbrella girls @_@

# – My stomach grumbles at the sight of this…

# – The children enjoying the delicious food.

# – With my assistant ;)

# – Looks like this angmoh quite popular.

# – Ruby and Yuki playing UNO with the kids.

# – Lydia passing goodie bags to the kids. Lydia’s the person who initiated the entire outing, approaching #bbqaddicts who invited us to join. Way to go, Lydia!

# – KY, Horng and God q-ing up with the kids to get goody bags. SHAMELESS!

# – Art attack!

# – Girl with her awesome creation!

# – Wall of fame.

# – God offered carrier service but only Kerol willingly used it though…

# – Group pic! Yay!

By the way, there will be an Open Day on 5 March 2011 (Saturday) from 11am-5pm at Rumah Hope. You can go there to meet up with the children and perhaps contribute to their fund raising for extension of the Girls’ Dormitory.

# – Map to Rumah Hope.

What a nice way to spend the weekends :)

Rumah Hope
No 45, Jalan 20/2, Paramount Garden.

TLC Promise Me Recognition Ceremony.

Last week, the folks from The Truly Loving Company (TLC) threw a recognition ceremony for everyone who participated in the TLC Promise Me Campaign. There was a total of 70 pledges and ALL of them were successfully completed!

It was a low-key but nice ceremony :)

# – Many people were there.

All of us got a certificate each. It has become my favourite cert because it’s a reminder of the wonderful experience and valuable life lessons learnt while taking part in the campaign.

# – Receiving my certificate from Madam Julia Chong, the CEO of TLC.

# – My fellow bloggers who participated in the campaign, Cindy and Saimatkong also got theirs.

Cindy got a custom-made multi-focal spectacles for Madam Lily Sin and Saimatkong got a customised ankle brace for stroke patient Mr. Kau.

I was asked to share my experience participating in this campaign. I was nervous while on stage but happy to be able to tell everyone about this life-changing experience :)

# – Thanks Nuffnang and TLC for this wonderful opportunity.

The brainchild behind this campaign is Mr. Jonathan Teoh, who left his high flying job as an architect to plan, organise and make TLC Promise Me campaign a reality. His hard work is admirable & his motivations noble. If there’s anyone I truly respect, Jonathan is one of them.

# – With Jonathan Teoh, the force behind TLC Promise Me.

I’m really, really glad that I was part of the campaign. You know, I really didn’t want to do it at first and gave myself a lot of excuses. I was skeptical and doubtful, basically I didn’t think I would be successful in raising anything! And the worst thing? I agreed to do it due to the embarrassment of saying “no”.

But as I received more and more support in the forms of donations and well-wishes, my perceptions gradually changed. I am still surprised by the fact that 3 hospitals beds have been bought and delivered to Goo Tyng Tong and his friends.

The credit is certainly not mine alone. You know who you are and I hope you can feel the exact same contentment I’m feeling from doing this because you deserve it so much more than me!

# – With some of the TLC Promise Me participants.

Thanks again guys!