HOPe & Fun 2.0 Charity Carnival day at Dewan MPHTJ Bukit Beruang - 19 Aug 2023 [DONE]

Seems that these are difficult times indeed - there seem to be quite a few charity events lately. Just a month after the Fund-raising Carnival at my old high school (St David High School), today there was the HOPe & Fun 2.0 Charity Carnival organized by the Agapecare Society of Melaka, held at the Dewan MPHTJ Bukit Beruang.

H.O.P.e. by the way it is written, stands for "Help Other People event", and is the 2nd such event organized by the Agapecare Society, hence the 2.0. The first fund-raiser was held way, way, way back in 2006! Almost 20 years ago! 😲

My family and I have a habit of going early, so we arrived roughly half an hour after the official start of the event at 10am. Public Service Announcement - even though it was a Saturday, currently free "weekend" parking was only given on Monday's and Tuesday's. That's right - for Saturday and Sunday, you still need to pay for parking either using the scratch coupons or SVP Smart Parking app (which seems to work reasonably well). There were parking bays in the hall area, however, they were reserved for the volunteers, so we parked outside along the row of shops nearby. Wanted to stay for up to 2 hours though (foreshadowing what was coming), things didn't quite go exactly as planned.

There were a couple of food trucks open for business just outside the Dewan MPHTJ Bukit Beruang - the one that caught our attention was the one from Cowrasa - selling milk, yogurt and ice cream! 😋

Going into the hall, noted a counter from Oriental hospital offering free basic health check and an assortment of pre-loved (fancy way of saying used / 2nd hand) clothes, books and other stuff for sale. Just like the recent carnival at St David, all transactions were via coupon / voucher, which we had also bought earlier to avoid wasting time in the queue. Even the stuff for sale AND food trucks were accepting only coupons as payment. Notably there was no queue today, so looks like many other people also followed suit. There were some tables and benches set up in the hall where we could sit down to eat. A few row of chairs were also arranged in front of the raised stage, where there were some dance and song performances by students and also senior citizens. The old folk were quite good, playing renditions of classic "oldies" like "young ones" by Cliff Richards as well as lagu keronchong melayu & baba nyonya on their guitars, ukulele, tambourine and beatbox.

The stalls outside boasted a small but highly varied selection of food and drinks, cookies, even one selling fresh satay. There were also some games booths and one selling potted plants as well. There was more space to stand under the tents, so was not so congested, though the crowd was not as large as the one at the St David event. Again, I was in "full emersion mode" so did not take any photos - need to kick back into blogger mode if I'm going to be writing posts such as this in the future.... 😅

First round of food (I purposely did not eat breakfast at home so that I could maximize food intake here) for me was some Nasi Lemak from Jasin, Siew Pau, fruit tarts. As we had time, walked around some more, and bumped into my ex-high school mate and ex-colleague. One hour into our arrival, the sky darkened, and it started drizzling. As time went on, it got heavier until it became a downpour. Fortunately, there was ample space in the hall for everyone to seek refuge from the unforgiving weather. We just found ourselves a bench near the stage and continued to watch some of the performances.

One thing to note - this hall was set up for badminton, so the lighting was arranged to evenly light up the center of the hall where the courts were. The stage was, however, practically unlit, so this did serious injustice to the performers, who were literally singing and dancing in the dark. Not sure if it was because the organizers did not turn on the stage lights, or just that there were none to begin with....

A quick time check - our 2 hours were up but there was no sign of the rain abating. It did ease off, though was still not possible for us to make it back to our car (lesson learned for future outings - do bring umbrella). So, with the last of our coupons, we bought a sizeable haul of milk and ice cream from the Cowrasa food court. Ice cream had to be consumed on the spot, and so happened by the time we finished, the rain had become a drizzle and we had our chance to leave after passing our unspent coupons off to someone.

Well, all in all, for a good cause, and although organized by Agapecare Society, there were no religious elements in this event so all were welcome to join and participate. If there were one thing I feel they could have improved - it was on the publicity. If it weren't for the fact that I knew someone from the organizing team, I would never have known about this event. A pity as all in all was a good effort and successful charity / fund-raiser in my humble opinion. Also a chance for us to give back to society and enjoy some quality family time together! 😀

 

Fund-raising Carnival at St David High School Melaka - 22 Jul 2023 [DONE]

There's a phrase in Malay, "Seperti Kacang Melupakan Kulit", which literally means, like a peanut forgetting its shell. In the context of my secondary school education, proud to say this does not apply! 

When I first found out about the (then) upcoming fundraising carnival to be held in St David High School, happy to find the responses from my fellow ex-schoolmates in our Whatsapp chat group. To be frank, there were only SOME of us who actively voiced their wish to join, and in the end only SOME actually did turn up (both on time and late).

The link to the event's Facebook page is <HERE> 

I knew traffic would be bad, and available parking extremely limited - nothing changed since those days.... Sort of reminds me of the situation at Infineon on a rainy day.... My family and I arrived shortly before 9am, but by then it was already very crowded, with many students participating in the carnival as well as manning the counters and food stalls. Also on active duty were the teachers, but not from my time as those who had taught us earlier were all retired (yes, I know I'm THAT old already).

As with most events these days, in order to ensure good fund management, all transactions were in the form of cash vouchers that could either be purchased beforehand or during the event itself at the appropriate counter. Very fortunately, I had purchased earlier, as there was a very, very long queue at the counter during that day.

Right inside the entrance, there was a fire truck parked there on display, though it was gone before noon. Possibly some emergency calls.... The assembly area which was open-air during our time, was now fully covered with a high roof. There were several counters there, and highlight on display were the electric vehicles (EV's) from Volvo. 

The school hall where we had several memorable events back in the day (including our stage performances and debates) was used for jumble sales. 

The food stalls were located at the school field. Unfortunately, in order not to damage the track / football area, the 3 rows of food stalls were placed very close to each other, leaving little room for the bustling crowd. We basically could not stop or walk slowly between rows, so I had to resort to multiple passes to identify what they were selling on both sides, and finally zoom in to the stall to buy something. There were limited seating and tables to eat (not everything was easy to eat standing up), so we ended up sitting at the stairs near the vocational classroom block (at least that was I believe they were from last time, not sure if they are still used for the same purpose nowadays).

The students were really going out, to push sales of the food and drinks. I remember my Americano being prepared by a teacher, who somehow was over-enthusiastic when it came to adding sugar.... 😅 

Not sure if it was part of the event, but there were a few students in full cosplay mode - and a few in cross-gender outfits as well. Possibly to promote the face-painting counter, there were a few students going around as well. Seems to be working, as the queue to that counter was even longer than then queue for the vouchers!

The remove class block classrooms were used for games booths, where we could try our skill and luck (mostly luck) to win several small prizes.

It did drizzle lightly, but that did little to dampen the spirits - the crowd was huge and did not thin down towards midday. Our ex-schoolmate group was supposed to gather at 11am, but somehow few came a bit late.

Photos above taken by my friends, credit to them. Somehow this time I did not really take any, as was fully engrossed in the event.

And a short post on the school's Facebook page on the outcome of the event with some photos can be found <HERE>

My family and I had a good time. For my especially to see my alma mater once again, in better shape then when we graduated. Telling some old time stories to my kids about the time when I was their age. Unfortunately, we had to leave after noon, so I did not manage to meet some of my ex-schoolmates who came much later. Overall, was happy to have managed to attend. Congratulations to the organizing committee, teachers and students for making this a successful fund-raising carnival! Looking forward to the next such event!

November for Cancer Awareness

The 1st of Nov marks the beginning of 2 closely related events for men - Movember and No-Shave November. Time to put away the shaving equipment for the month in the name for a good cause. While these annual events have been organized for some years now, they are still many who might never have heard about them. Let's look briefly at each, starting with Movember.

The Movember movement was started in 2003, in Melbourne, Australia by two friends (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) as a challenge with 30 takers (known as Mo Bros and Mo Mo Sistas). Over the subsequent years, the movement gathered both momentum and global recognition, and as of 2017 has grown to a rank of 49 of the world's top 500 NGO's. Funds are raised to address the key contemporary health issues faced by men : Prostate and Testicular cancer, mental health and Suicide. In order to gather support and awareness, participants grow moustaches throughout the month. The "rules" are quite simply:
- Register at movember.com, and start 1st November with a clean shaven face.
- Grow and groom a moustache through the entire month of November.
- Moustache only - no beards, goatees, falsies
- Actively create awareness and promote discussion to raise funds for men's health
- Be a true gentleman (once committed, do it seriously and don't misuse)

Then there is also the No-Shave November movement, which, as the name describes, is where the participants truly stash away razors, electric shavers, blades, etc., again to promote cancer awareness. Notice the key difference here that while grooming is permitted, "No-shave" is not only limited to facial hair.... Those interested can sign up at no-shave.org. This movement had a soft, informal following for many years prior, but only kicked off officially in 2009 by Chicagoland Hill family in relation to their father's (Matthew Hill) death due to colon cancer in November 2007.

Besides these two events, there are other similar events such as Mustache March participated by the US Airforce (but more of a good-natured defiance of facial hair regulations) and Decembeard (promoting awareness of bowel cancer).

This year, while I don't officially join by signing up, I have decided at least to give it a go by attempting to refrain from shaving for the entire month. Somehow, due to genetics, I would say growing a beard seems possible for me, though the density around the cheeks is a little low. Never tried growing a moustache only, so perhaps going with the full beard approach would be less "unnatural". Prior to this, the longest I've ever gone without shaving was roughly 2 weeks (usually during my business trips to Munich, where most of the folks around have beards anyway, so I'd blend in quite well). Of course, here in Asia, the bearded look is not common, especially in the typical office environment, so I may have to do some "adjustments" if needed. Important to look professional and not dress sloppily, otherwise will look like a homeless vagabond.

Whether or not for the undeniable cause to promote cancer awareness, or just a reason not to shave - for me cancer is indeed a terrible affliction that has impacted many people i know personnally - friends and my own family. While sometimes cancer can be genetic, lifestyle and environment is also a factor which we all need to be aware of. At least for that we can control, we need to take active steps to mitigate the risks and to spread the word to others around us. I also support the Relay for Life cancer awareness movement, the one here locally organized by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (Melaka side) which usually has their event in April at Dataran Pahlawan.

For those of you reading this, I hope you can also take note of the importance of Cancer awareness and prevention, and try to find out as much as possible to incorporate into your lifestyle, as well as spreading the word to those around you!

Volunteering as a helper at the Relay For Life Melaka 2017

Some time at the end of last month, my old highschool friend, EF, contacted me  to ask if I'd like to help out as a volunteer for the then-upcoming Relay for Life Melaka event. Now, to be honest, I believe I had never heard of such a thing before, but as long as it did not clash with any of my other plans (and did not require me to actually do any running), I was otherwise more than happy to help out.

For those of you who (like me) are new to this, briefly, the Relay for Life was an overnight charity event aimed as raising funds, awareness, supporting and remembering those who have themselves or know someone who has had an encounter with Cancer. Organized by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, the event generally involves a continuous relay of participants around a track. This year, the event was held at the Dataran Pahlawan field in Melaka Raya. Participants need not run - walking was fine. The goal is to ensure at least someone is still going round the track at any given time. This is to symbolize the continuous battle against cancer, which never sleeps (hence the event taking place over night). You can read more about it on their web page : http://www.relayforlifemalaysia.com/about-relay/

I arrived relatively early (nearly 7pm), considering my official shift duty was from 12pm to 4am. Again, this was to help out EF who was tasked as one of the main co-coordinators for the event. Already, there was no parking as all available bays were full (even with so-called VIP access - reminds me of my company parking....). So, I just temporarily double parked long enough to unload the stuff from my car before driving off in search of parking. In the end I had to park in front of the TNB, Banda Kaba, which was some 15 minutes walk away from Dataran Pahlawan. Was going to be for some exercise that night....

There were lots of people there, a mixture of volunteers and walk-in participants. There were food stalls set up with some game booths as well. There was a small stage set up at the entrance of the shopping mall, where there were some stage acts (singing, dancing, etc.).

Though generally stationed at the volunteer tent, I was there as a general helper, after all, so in principle this means looking out for whatever needs to be done and help out as best as possible. Thus, I was involved in carrying stuff, registration of volunteers, distribution of water / t-shirt to allocated volunteers, making rounds / spot checks, cleaning up, sorting of waste for recycling, etc..

At 8pm (or some time shortly after, as it was hard to keep things punctual with so much going on), it was time for the Luminaria event, which was when people lit up candles inside paper bags with messages written on them. Each was uniquely hand-decorated.

To ensure that there were sufficient people going around the track through the night, there were many participants who camped in the middle of the field, and took turns going round and round. Most of them appeared to be secondary school children, though I'm not sure from which school they were from. Participants could register themselves in teams of 10 (RM450 per team), Adults (RM50 per person) or Kid (RM20 per person). Registration for cancer survivors (both adults and kids) is free. Each Luminaria was sold at RM5 each, and F&B coupons sold in strips of RM10 (in denominations of RM1 and RM2). For over-night participants, tents were sold at RM70 (for those who did not have their own tent), while the space to pitch their tents was for RM30 per tent.

Helping out too were some RELA members, which were tasked with ensuring only people who registered and paid at the counter were admitted to the field (everyone was given a wrist band upon registration, including us volunteers). Also, later, to ensure that the said school children were kept in check. As there were limited bottles of water and t-shirts, it was a challenge to keep the distribution in control only to those who were identified. This entails having to deal with the occasional volunteer coming over and "insisting" they deserve to get a t-shirt, a box of mineral water, some other free-bies, etc..

It was quite "happening" before midnight, with all the activity going on, but after 12pm, the stage shows ended, the crowd dwindled, and it was down to just the volunteer group and the over-night participants. From there on, keeping awake while seated at the volunteer tent was rather challenging. Especially since they did not have any coffee available.... :(

As it turned out, some of the volunteers did not turn up on time (some did not turn up at all), so I was glad I was prepared to stay longer than planned. And stay longer than planned I did - in the end, leaving only around 9am, to send the paper carton boxes and plastic bottles to the Tzu Chi recycling facility at Air Keroh before finally heading home to catch up on sleep lost over the night before.

Do check out their Facebook page for many photos / videos covering this event : https://www.facebook.com/RelayforLifeMelaka/

Well, now that it's over, looking back I found it was a new experience for me - I've volunteered as a helper before, but not for an all-night event such as this. Due to a busy day prior to the event, I did not manage to get an afternoon nap to shift myself into the right timezone. Fortunately, the following day (Monday) was a public holiday in conjunction with the installation of Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, so by Tuesday, I was back to normal just in time for work.

Coincidentally, 22 April also happened to be Earth Day 2017, but that's another topic for another blog post.... :)

Puma 4x4 Club Anniversary + Charity Dinner 2012

The Puma 4x4 Club is a versatile group, equally at home be it in the remote jungles or formal dinner occasions. They recently celebrated it's 7th anniversary on 8 September 2012 by holding a charity dinner at the Lu Yen Yen Restaurant at Limbongan.

A bit of club history. The Puma 4x4 Club Melaka, was officially registered on 16 Jun 2005. The members were very active and soon, they got the attention of 4x4 enthusiasts from other states as well. As more and more members from out of Melaka were joining the club, the core committee took up the challenge to expand the scope of the club to the national level, and in 6 September 2009, the club was successfully upgraded to the Puma 4x4 Club Malaysia.

Planning for such an event was a daunting task. It took many meetings at the club house in Malim Jaya (opposite the Marco Exhaust shop), fueled by tireless commitment of the organizing team, as well as Tiger Beer.... :)

Tan Poh Huat (a.k.a. "Lau Tar"), Jackson Goh and the rest of the committee going over the minute details....

My last activity with them was at the Blood Donation drive at the 916 Hotel in Melaka Raya. As it was for a good cause, I got myself 4 seats and went together with my wife and kids. When we arrived, there were many empty tables awaiting the arrival of the dinner guests.

I almost had not time to eat, really, as I was helping to cover the event with my camera. It's always a challenge to figure out what was going on and to get into a good position to cover an event. Unlike in an open public event where you're with a pool of other photographers, for functions such as these, you're part of the photographic team. Therefore, strange as it may sound, I choose position myself where there are no other photographers. This is because I don't want the organizer to end up with what are essentially the same photos (taken from the same angle) from the different photographers. If everyone is the same, there's only need for one, so I always try to be different (in a positive way, of course).

The was of course the usual on-stage speeches by the VIP's. Not really a fan of local politics, I honestly declare that I only recognize one VIP, namely, Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong, who was a former body builder and weighlifter. My father told me that he once pumped ironed with the Datuk in the gym back in their heydays. Even though he (the Datuk, not my father) is now 75 years old, he still has a very strong grip, as I recalled when I got the chance to shake his hand.

The dinner was officially opened that night with the ceremonious beating of the gongs by the VIP's on stage. The dinner guests were entertained by martial arts performances as well as guitar and singing. The entire event was recorded and projected onto a large screen on the left side of the main stage, so even those sitting right at the back could see what was going on. And it was a really long way to the far end of the hall - there were 100 tables set up that day, seems to be even larger than the hall at the Equatorial Hotel (area-wise not counting the height).

My son, Christopher, was quite active and roaming about the hall like his usual self, but as soon as the activities got started, miraculously he managed to keep still at the table. Now, I had with me my trusty SB800 flash, but to get natural looking photos, it remained in my pocket for most of the evening. Yes, I have large pockets, or rather, when in photographer-mode, I dress functionally - the more pockets, the better.

Perhaps it's the 100Plus drink that did the trick...?

The expenditure for the dinner came from the sale of tickets and sponsors, and some committees took it upon themselves to sponsors certain costs as well. All in the name of charity. The proceeds were donated to some of the local charities on stage. No mock cheques this year, though....

Towards the end of the night, the VIP's and sponsors were given a token of appreciation up on stage. At that point, there was not much more going on, so I decided to avoid the traffic jam and left with my family for home.

All in all, a great event put together with the hard work and dedication from the Puma committee. May they continue to have many more great successful events both in the jungle and back in civilization! :)

This duet act from KL. To be honest, the guy was doing most of the singing.

Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong with the rest of the VIP's on stage for the opening ceremony.

Martial arts display in progress. Real or not, those *swords* are really dangerous.

If you're familiar with Chinese culture, you'll know that they are all shouting "YAM SENG!!!".

Martial arts training starts at a young age. The next Michelle Yeoh in the making?

A guitar duet on a shoestring budget. 2 talented girls + 1 guitar.

The guitar club brought to the event loads of talent to keep the diners entertained

Blood Donation Campaign with the Puma 4x4 Club

The Puma 4x4 club is more commonly known for their bold expeditions into the untamed wilderness and dense jungles, but in the concrete jungle, they have their presence too. Besides acts of charity on a couple of occasions in March and August last year, the Puma 4x4 club helps out during blood donation drives too.

Blood donation is a noble act, especially if you have the rare blood type O- coursing through your veins (making you by definition a universal donor). In contrast, those with blood type AB+ are universal recipients.

On this Sunday Morning, the blood donation was held at the Hotel 906, somewhere in Taman Melaka Raya. It was only on that morning did I realize that there were a real whole lot of "budget" hotels, which are simply shop lots converted to hotels, in this general area. Finding exactly which one was the Hotel 906 was not a easy as I thought. With some help from Jackson Goh over the phone, I soon found my way there.

It was drizzling slightly, so I hope that this would not deter aspiring donors from turning up. Luckily, turn out was good, and the beds and registration counters were package with members of the public. Also collaborating with this even was the Melaka CDERT (Civil Defense Emergency Response Team), of which many Puma members were also a part of.

The event was graced by the presence of Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong. Other than the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong seems to be the next prominent figure present at any high-profile social function in Melaka.

I left after the official launching, due to some earlier commitments at lunch time. Nonetheless, the response from the crowd that I observed was encouraging, and I am happy to see that the public is still very much supportive of the blood donation drives, which is an essential and potentially life-saving part of community service. Another successful charity event, helped out by the members of the Puma 4x4 Club!

"Lau Tar" standing by as Jackson received a commemorative plaque from Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong

Kua Beng Guan, my colleague in Vishay, also a member of the CDERT

Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong meeting some of the noble members of the public who came to donate blood

The hall was cramped and packed with makeshift benches for blood donors, and bustling with activity

A familiar face - Tiew Hin Teong, who once worked at Vishay, also coming over to donate blood

Charity at the Bukit Baru Home for the Disabled

One fine Saturday afternoon, I joined my old friend and colleague Kanagarajah and his family, at the Handicapped and Mentally-retarded Children's Center Melaka. My kind friend offered the occupants of this center lunch, as a form of charity from himself and his family. My wife and kids could not make it, as I would have also brought them along.

The Center itself was located in the center of the Bukit Baru district, right next to the busy Jiki food court, across the road from the Bukit Baru Police Station. However, many drive past without knowing of their existence. Like many similar homes and care centers (as I have written about in my experience with the Puma 4x4 club earlier this year), the signs and banners are almost non-existent, so the majority of the populace might not know that there are really many of these homes sporadically located all around.

It is good to note that in spite of times like these, where the whole world has gone materialistic, there are those with good hearts like my friend Kanagarajah, who still do their part and spare a thought for those who are less fortunate. Though to ordinary folks like us, even RM1,000 is dearer than USD1,000 is to people like Bill Gates and Donald Trump, charity that comes from the heart is true and sincere.

Though the hall and kitchen were quite spacious, upstairs and in the rooms, it was quite packed. There are a total of around 52 occupants in this center at present, and comprise not only children, but some adults too. 

If you have the means, do spare some change or old clothes / toys from places like these, as majority of their funding comes from donations from kind and charitable folks.

Contact information for the Handicapped and Mentally-retarded Children's Center Melaka:

Contact: Mr Thomas (013-6913240)

E-mail : ppkktam@gmail.com

GPS Co-ordinates : 2.225674, 102.276760‎ or +2° 13' 32.43", +102° 16' 36.34"

Website : www.handicapjb.org.my (Headquarters in Johor Baru)

The Melaka center is just 1 of 6 centers under this organization. Map above (green arrow) indicates it's location.

More photos:

Doing a little charity with the Puma 4x4 Club Malaysia

Start off the new year, my family and I joined the members of the Puma 4x4 Club Malaysia in doing a little charity for the needy and the unfortunate. Now, while not going off-road deep into the untamed wilderness (like the time we went to Sungai Mas 2 years ago), the club occasionally engage in acts of kindness such as donating food, clothing and other essentials to charity. Funding comes from the collection of annual membership fees as well as donations from both members and non-members.

In case you were wondering, you don' t actually need to own a 4x4 to be a member of the Puma 4x4 Club, as you can hitch a ride with one of the other cars if there's a vacant seat! :)

We gathered at the clubhouse in Malim, Melaka on a fine Sunday morning. My good friend and former colleague, Jackson Goh (now happily retired), was already on the scene, all geared up and rearing to go. Not long afterwards, the Club President, Tan Poh Heng (a.k.a. "Lau Tar") arrived as well. Eventually, all participants of our convoy arrived, and we set off towards our first destination - the Melaka Salvatorian Home.

The Salvatorian Home was an orphanage, which was run by Sister Mary Soon and Jane Pui. There were a number of children from various races here. Earlier, Jackson did write to them to inform them of our good intentions, and asked if there was anything in particular on their "wish list". There was the essential food stuff (Koko Krunch Cornflakes, Ribena, Biscuits, Tuna Mayo), stuff to keep the place running (toilet rolls, Dish washing liquid), school bags for the kids and 2 standing fans (which we helped assemble).

After spending some time with the kids there, we set off to our next destination, the Happiness Center for the Mentally Disabled Children (PKKTA Bahagia), which was situated roughly half an hour's drive away, at Klebang.

Although I had driven along the main road just in front of the Happiness Center many times, I never knew of it's existence, as it was about 200 meters off along one of the smaller roads just beside a large condominium. I feel a little sad to note that if no one even knew they were there, chances of receiving aid and donations would be quite slim.

There was a sign here that was a real eye-opener. I was a little skeptical at first, but after walking through the single-storey bungalow house, I believe that this figure was justified. While it may seem like a standard house from the outside, the interior was fully loaded with beds for the inhabitants. Even in the main hall, there were already 3 or 4 beds, and each room had just as many. Not all of them were children - there were a few elder inhabitants as well. Some of them had families, but due to the difficulty in raising them on their own, they were placed here and visited occasionally (on weekends, holidays).

By then, it was getting close to noon, so we headed on to our final destination - the Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Love Center.

Another place just off a road that I have traveled along many, many times before. Situated deep into a housing estate, the corner lot had a big compound which was lined with many chairs for the inhabitants. Just as at the other two locations before, we were also greeted with smiles and I could feel the warmth of their gratitude as we dropped off some much needed supplies.

Having gone long with the Puma 4x4 Club, me and my family could see the donations were given out, and who were their recipients. There are many unfortunate people in this world, and though you may read about it and see it on TV (or read it in an online blog post, such as this one), nothing compares to a first hand account. Definitely more meaningful and engaging then, say, putting RM10 into a charity donation box.

If any of you out there would like to donate or offer assistance to any of the 3 charities mentioned above, their contact information is given below:-

Please don't be mean and spare the spam / crank-calls!