Feed the fasting is back!

Click on IRM's website (on the left column of this blog) if you're interested to contribute or to find out more about it ya!

IRM Qurbani 2008

It was a simple yet meaningful event. Good weather, high turn-out for both the qurban and distribution ceremony and good food from the beginning till end, courtesy from the host family and relatives. It was tiring but we had fun and a good experience. The villagers of Kok Lanas, Kelantan were warm and friendly and they made us felt like home effortlessly. It was a perfect way of spending Aidil Adha away from home and we couldn't possibly ask for more.

The most important thing, the objective was achieved, perfectly. 100 beneficiaries from near and far (as far as Pasir Mas if I'm not mistaken), received 2kg of qurban meat each as well as our usual trademark foodpacks. There were smiles all around that Monday afternoon... and by the end of the day, only that matters.

Kinda made up for the long 16-hour travel from KL 2 days earlier..

First appearance

I was in Kota Kinabalu three weekends ago (yes this post is way overdue!) to help out Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) in their first ever mission in East Malaysia under the Eid Gift 2008 programme (food distribution to the poor); a continuation from Feed the Fasting Programme conducted throughout the last Ramadhan.

5 staff of IRM and 2 volunteers (Salina and yours truly) went and we were aided by the staff of University Malaysia Sabah (UMS). We were taken to Tanjung Rhu for lunch as soon as we arrived. I was so tempted to jump into the sea but that would defeat the purpose of this visit, wouldn't it? So yes, I managed to exercise self-restraint and moved on..



Soon after lunch, we went straight to UMS and the preparation for the event began immediately. The security staff of UMS lent us a big hand and made the packing process so easy. I think this is the first time we had men in uniforms involved in the our Feed the Fasting/ Eid Gift project.. not bad eh?





Once the packing job was completed, we were sent to our 'home' for the night to rest. We were given a dorm at the fourth floor of a students' hall (penat panjat tangga ok!) and we had fun reminiscing the good ol' college years while we were there!



After breakfast the next morning, we went straight to Masjid Kampung Ketiau to prepare for the formal distribution to the 100 chosen recipients. While the UMS staff busied themselves downloading the goods, IRM staff went around to do some groundwork by interviewing some of the recipients. The event was very well-organised by the mosque committee.. very simple yet meaningful, I'd say.





Surprisingly, YB Dato' Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin came to give us his support (and he was on time unlike some other VIPs!). I don't normally fancy politicians but this particular man was very simple, down-to-earth and gave quite a good speech on the need of nurturing volunteerism among the local youth so yeah, he got my vote!







Once the formal event was over, we went on to do what we do best... we went on house visits to a couple of villages. I believe this is always the crucial part of the programme when we really get to know the unfortunates and their problems. Sometimes, they don't want anything more apart from just a shoulder to cry on or a pair of ears to listen to their woes. I wished we had more time to spend with them but we were on a tight schedule especially that we were escorted by the Village Head and UMS staff. Hope to meet them again someday..








The staff (big boss included!) of IRM, UMS staff and the Village Head of Kampung Contoh

There are more things to share... but I am just too lazy to type and to further delay this post is just silly. Anyway, the reason of me posting this is not to boast of the work that IRM does but merely to create awareness among my friends and blogreaders. There are more poor people out there who are in need and can benefit from our contribution be it time, energy or monetary. It can be through IRM, any other NGOs or even personally... Whatever it is... do give back to the community if you can ya!

God bless Malaysia..

(more photos at my fotopages later...bila rajin eh!)

____________________________


My heart sank when I saw this at the Philippino Market. How could they??? This photo was actually taken by Salina since I was too 'emo' to take it myself! Poor seahorses!

A whole new world

It is the eve of Aidilfitri tonight. As usual, Ramadhan flies so quickly but looking back, this is one of the most meaningful Ramadhan for yours truly. It started quietly but by the first weekend, things fell into places so beautifully and over the last 3 weeks, I was busy traveling, learning and experiencing all about humility and humanity, making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends, some of whom I have lost touch for more than a decade.

The traveling kicked-off with the long-awaited 4th library for orphanage project in Chemor, Perak which you can read all about it here and check out the photos here. We also had food distribution to the poor at the same site and at Bukit Gantang the next day under Feed the Fasting Programme by Islamic Relief Malaysia. Bukit Gantang holds a special place in my heart for that was the first place I went for library installation in an orphanage. Managed to get to know more of Bukit Gantang locals this time round, including Pak Long Husin who is 101 years old and has no other relatives apart from his unwell daughter who he needs to take care of. We also met Pak Ceh who is 83 years old, stays alone and still sells vegetables on his bicycle each day to feed himself. It was a humbling experience meeting them, I'd say. There were times when I had silent tears in my eyes....


Reunited with the kids of Rumah Nur Hidayah


Pak Long Husin


Pak Ceh berposing with 'Mr Rohan' ;)

More photos here.

After Chemor and Bukit Gantang, Feed the Fasting crew of IRM visited the office of Little People National Organisation of Malaysia and distributed food packages to the unfortunate members of the organisation. All this while, I don't think I have ever had any close contact with little people and the chance to meet and mingle with them during this visit was a real eye-opener. I was astonished to hear about the hardship that many of them are facing (health-wise and worst, discrimination) just because they're a few feet shorter than many of us.


I can't remember her name but she is so kind and lively!

More photos here.

The third weekend of Ramadhan brought us to East Coast where we distributed Feed the fasting food packages to the poor in Wakaf Tapai, Marang, Terengganu. Here, we distributed more than 250 boxes of the food packs and as before, more life stories were shared by the recipients..Sigh...There are still so many poor and abandoned group of people in this country!

Photos here.

Of course, we were a bunch of food lovers so in the evening when we were not working, we would be all over the places sampling local food and delicacies..heheh.. I would love to put up some photos of the food here but my connection is pretty crappy right now so I shall just continue....

The last weekend of Ramadhan brought us to Alor Gajah, Melaka for food distribution there. In a true Melaka style, the makciks and pakciks there were really lively and funny and I had a lot of fun talking to them in Nogori dialect. I used to went out with a Negeri guy (my first cinta monyet ok!) so talking to them brought back sweet memories from the past! I have yet to upload any photos from this trip on my fotopages...nanti la yek..

Anyway, would like to take this opportunity to thank all friends who have supported and contributed to this cause.. Really appreciate it. Being involved in this project has taught me many life lessons...One thing for sure, poverty still exist in this country and it is no joke. For many of us who have families to go home to, unlimited supply of food on the table and comfortable homes for shelter, do not take things for granted ok. Stop whining, be thankful and cherish every single moment you have with your loved ones before they/we are gone forever...

Salam Aidilfitri. Maaf Zahir Batin.