3 September 2008 at 2:13 pm
By Kitkupar Shangpliang, World Vision India Communications Coordinator
Two young boys Pappu and Deepak, are missing after flood waters from the Kosi River ravaged their community nearly a week ago. The boys’ parents say they are starting to lose hope; neighbors say they suspect the raging waters have washed both of the boys away into the unknown.
As Piprahi, the father of the five, shared his worst fears, he took a piece of wrinkled paper from his shirt pocket and said, “Before the floods, I could reach them on this phone number. These days, the machine says the phone number is out of order.” Piprahi, a middle aged father, said he called the number at least thrice a day.
Piprahi’s other three children and wife could not comprehend how this happened. Weeping, Piprahi’s wife told World Vision staff member that she believed her “boys were fine”.
Economic poverty forced these parents to send their two boys Pappu, 14 and Deepak, 10 to work at a sweet shop 12 kilometers away from their village at Murliganj in eastern India. The boys were trustworthy; and because of that, the shop owner asked them to work late that fateful Sunday.
As the water rose to about six feet high, people in hundreds fled Murliganj city, late at night to seek shelter in nearby villages. The flood evacuees had no choice but to sleep on the streets with thousands of other people and animals. Witnesses in the area say they found no trace of the two boys.
Back home in the village, this family has lost everything – their ten quintal of rice, three goats and one cow were all washed away in an instant. When the family returns they expect to find their house heavily damaged by the floods.
World Vision has mobilised relief, including powdered pulses, flat rice, jaggery, candles and a match box and is assisting families like Piprahi’s living in the relief camps.
For now, the family is sheltering in a school turned relief camp in Saharsa town with 300 other families. The sanitation and hygiene facilities were not designed to handle the rush of people that have sought shelter here. Food and clean drinking water is also a major need inside the camp.
The family’s miraculous escape to the relief camp involved lengthy walking under the scorching midday sun. They were forced to hire a truck to transport the entire family for Rs.1200 (USD 30). Now the father, a poor village farmer, is deeply in debt. But all of that can be forgotten if only his two boys retun home safe. For now the search is on and the suffering continues not only for this family but tens of thousands of families like this one.
Some Facts & Figures:
- Two to three million affected
- WV relief reaches 1200 families
- 90+ deaths
- Children affected by water borne diseases
- WV India appealing for US$1 million
- World Vision India has identified the relief camps where it will provide assistance and aims to target 15,000 families. Distributions have begun in Saharsa relief camps where some 250 families received survival kits consisting of pulse, rice, jaggery (sugar), candles and matches. Cooked food for 600 families was also being served.
Tags:
India floods
28 August 2008 at 4:29 pm
By Silvia Tham, 30-Hour Famine Coordinator 谭征雁－饥饿30总策划
30-Hour Famine Countdown photos are on our facebook now!
精彩的饥饿30倒数活动照片已经出炉了，请浏览我们的facebook！
8月23日
令人紧张的时刻来临了。
时钟踏正上午10时，全国将有7500名饥饿勇士透过参加DIY营会或在家独立禁食的方式，参加第11届饥饿30“给孩子无穷的快乐，You’ve Got the Power!”的抗贫运动。
51位DIY营长与他们的筹委，准备就绪，兴奋的期待这一天的来临。数个星期的废寝忘食，无数不分昼夜的请教电话，他们只求能把营会办好，不负众望的将饥饿30精神传出去。
世界宣明会的550名志工也没有闲着，全体动员前往倒数活动场地，在倾盆大雨的情况下，为隔天的盛会做好准备。
星洲记者忙着到各个营会采访。爱心天使们也马不停蹄的到各个营会去为营员们分享打气。
有的营会突然停电了，也有的因为下雨而被迫临时调动节目的编排，更有的营会跑出“幽灵营员”突然出现在报到现场而名字不在登记表里头而让营长们头疼不已。但这一天，所有人都打了一场漂亮的仗，有惊无险的渡过了。
处事不惊者，DIY营长们也！佩服，佩服。
8月24日
世界宣明会首届户外的饥饿30倒数活动，于武吉加里尔国家曲棍球体育馆举行。
刚开始的艳阳高照，确实让我们雀跃不已，感谢老天爷可以让我们的营员顺利抵达会场报到。
话未说完，节目正准备进入高潮之际，天空突然乌云密布，一瞬间就下起雨来了。
心想，“完了，节目会泡汤了！下起雨来，大家恐怕会作鸟兽散了！为何天公如此不作美呢！”
这是一项紧急状况。台前的饥饿勇士们恐怕不知道幕后在发生着什么事。节目组的职员与志工紧急讨论着对策，一声令下，节目全数调动。
最让人感动的时刻，此时悄悄上演。
志工们不顾倾盆大雨，坚守岗位，继续做自己必须要做的事。
饥饿勇士们继续逗留在原地，以他们的热情支持台上的表演者。
表演嘉宾们和主持人也身同感受到紧急状态下大家必须处事不惊不慌，冷静而不失措。无论是节目组如何调动他们的表演时段，大家都从容的配合，并且不时鼓励及赞扬彼此的表现。
媒体朋友们也纷纷在雨中捕抓最耀眼的镜头。
眼看着大家展现了难得的默契，守望相助、互相鼓励的画面一直不断的在上演着。我不禁觉得，这场雨，下的真好。
台上和台下的表现，同样出色。
2008年饥饿30倒数活动，在雨中画下了完美的句点。
我深知这场雨应该会让不少人病倒，我也不例外。
但是那细雨霏霏的画面，大家在雨中一起努力的画面，我不会忘记。
感谢大家在逆境中所展现的大爱无我精神，完成了马来西亚世界宣明会历史中最独特的饥饿30。
Tags:
30-Hour Famine Malaysia,
Countdown
22 August 2008 at 12:17 pm
by Joanne Tay, Promotion & Communications
These are just some of the camps we managed to cover and we are truly encouraged by their high-spirits. They shared with us that no doubt, they had to endure much challenges and hardships but despite all that, they want to do this again next year! Wow, we are so proud of you!
We look forward to see all of you in 2 days’ time! 
DIY Camp - Kuala Terengganu
DIY Camp - New Era College Kajang
DIY Camp - Monash University
Children DIY Camp - Kuen Ching Primary School Kuala Lumpur
DIY Camp - Pontian Johore
More pictures in our Facebook!
Tags:
DIY camps
19 August 2008 at 9:14 pm
by Nai Seow Hong, Asst 30-Hour Famine Coordinator
During our Volunteer Training on 9th August 2008, we found ourselves in a manpower crisis - we were lacking about 100 volunteers! During the training itself, we made an appeal for volunteers to bring their friends/siblings/colleagues - if each volunteer brought even one person, we would have sufficient help for the Famine Countdown.
Within 2 days, over 150 volunteers’ names were given to us (and they continue to pour in!). We were truly amazed by the wave of response. Japanese poet Ryunosuke Satoro hit the nail on the head when he said, “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
Many thanks to all who did their bit! We now have more than enough volunteers and are so sorry to have to turn people down because we are full to the brim. No worries, there will be plenty of opportunities to play your part in the future. Thanks again
八月九号我们刚过了志工训练班,报到当天的志工人数远远超乎我们的想象。近一百名答应出席的志工临阵缺席了，主持人提议让出席的志工们寻找志工。只要大家向同事、亲朋戚友发布消息，我们很快的就能筹足人数。
消息发布出去不到两天，志工热线爆满了新志工的申请。（抱歉，电话出问题整个星期 
，只能接受来电无法回复，现在终于可以用了 
~）虽然当下马上宣布停止接受新志工申请，但依然接到不少的来电、简讯及电邮（志工热心的简讯甚至响至凌晨两点钟！）。
我们该如何感谢各位的热心相助呢？只能不断地回邮、回电，甚至不断地发出通告……
积沙成塔或许就是这样的力量吧！一传十，十传百的，因为大家的努力让志工团加入了不少的生力军！对于被拒于门外的朋友们只能说声抱歉了。
在此言谢了！希望未来的活动依然有你们的支持 
！
more pictures in our facebook!
Tags:
volunteers
12 August 2008 at 3:28 pm
Come count down the last 4 hours together with Famine participants from across the nation and break fast together! Watch exciting, star-studded performances, meet like-minded Famine participants and hear how their DIY Camps went…
Better yet, come and get a sense of the magnitude of this movement! We’re all in this together - let’s count down to the 30th hour! Here’s our FACEBOOK invite!
Featuring appearances by 30-Famine Official Ambassador Michael Wong, Famine Angels Deborah Priya Henry, Owen Yap, 988 DJ Sam, Gary Yap and Red FM DJ Terry. Performers include Francisca Peter, Daniel Lee, Tate, John, Des, Yise, T4C, Point Blanc, Charm All Stars, 988 DJs KK and Anson.
Tags:
30 Hour Famine,
Countdown,
National Hockey Stadium Bukit Jalil,
饥饿30
12 August 2008 at 12:00 pm
By Khoo Hsien Ling, Promotion and Communications
Let’s look at it this way… I usually fast in between breakfast and lunch - actually no, I even find it hard not to snack in between!!
The WV staff began our 30-hour fast yesterday and will end today at 4pm. Here are some random thoughts from a struggling “faster”:
- Hunger heightens appreciation for food: I’m tempted by food that I don’t even like! Even soya sauce smells absolutely lovely. I certainly wouldn’t mind having some. I’m one of those people who usually can’t finish my food, but on the other end of the spectrum there are people craving for the scraps off our tables. Mind-blowing.
- It’s hard to concentrate when you’re hungry: I’ve got tons to do, but my mind drifts off to Buffet Land every once in a while. It’s a wonder how people in poverty carry on with their lives. Hunger is a self-enforced, temporary deprivation for us - but they can’t “choose” to break fast.
- We are the lucky ones: We live in paradise - food at every street corner, of every mouth-watering variety. Someone who returned from a long stint in a developing nation remarked, “I can’t bring myself to walk the aisles of the supermarket. There is such an abundance of everything - even pet food. I can’t handle the contrast.”
We live in two different worlds - our aim is to bridge the gap. In comparison to their daily struggle for survival, a 30-hour fast is nothing. But we can make it count for something by remembering them and doing our bit.
To those who are fasting or who will be fasting during their DIY Famine Camps….hang in there! You’ve got the power to make a change for the better.
Tags:
fasting
7 August 2008 at 1:53 pm
by Tan Shu Yi, Assistant ONE Life Coordinator
Being in the One Life team is a little like, sitting on a chair that is slowly being heated by coals at the bottom. The many phases of the coal being lighted are representative of how the team gets nudged along the flow of work and we push for the word to flow around a space given to us.
This time the island of Penang became the space given to us. The minute the date and the venue was confirmed, we were able to get right into lighting the fires. So the coals started gaining a tiny fire around the month of July and the communication wires became our main networking means. We’re hoping embers do not appear in the One Life team till at least December.
The island of Penang is such an interesting spot to meet people. Some people we’ll know. Some people we wouldn’t know. Yet there’s this one case of a Penangite that cannot be missed out from this piece.
Ching Wui and Ayn (the driver)
So there we were in Penang , after turning right into the narrowest flyover in Penang and duh we were lost. Ayn decides we need to be bold cause we had ‘one life and needed to do something’ (his favourite tag line to spur us on). So he got Ching Wui to wind down the window at the traffic light and we asked a white lorry driver.
‘Uncle ah, how to get to Gurney Plaza?’
He looked at us in a blur fashion and replies, ‘oh depan, far away, straight down’ and started pointing down the front of the street.
We looked at each other and a collective sigh of ‘aiyoh’ floated in the air.
Then the light turned green.
We drove along, hopefully looking at signboards appearing in our vision. Expecting to see anything that said Batu Feringgi or Tanjung Bungah. Nope they didn’t appear.
Suddenly there was a toot of the horn from a vehicle in front, we looked and the same uncle had his hand out of his window and with a wave, we understood.
A beautiful Penangite soul driving a white lorry
‘Follow me.’
So we twisted and turned and drove through lanes and paths and streets and narrow roads on Penang Island.
And lo and behold, we appeared at Gurney Plaza in one piece.
Strangers are such great friendly beings (when they decide to be, that is)
So Penangites and people around the Northern region (which I consider to be the Perak, Kedah, Perlis states), hang tight and keep these dates FREE to please come visit the One Life Revolution exhibit. Here’s our facebook event invite!
You’ve got ONE Life, Do Something!
12-14th August 2008
Main Concourse, Gurney Plaza, Penang
10am-10pm
This place will be transformed like never before. Watch out for the Revolution coming your way!
Please contact 03-7880 6414 for more enquires
Tags:
Penang
31 July 2008 at 12:40 pm
by Joanne Tay, Promotion & Communications
A picture paints a thousand words.
What does this picture means?
Why is Michael lost in thoughts?
Why is there so much joy in the smiles of these children?
Find out by making a date with us, right in the comfort of your homes. A 30-minute special feature on World Vision and Michael Wong’s journey in Laos last June is finally making its way to the small screen. We, at World Vision, are looking forward to it with so much excitement because now, our work will be make known to the entire country. We hope you are just as excited as we are! Come and make a date with us! We have also sent out an invite via facebook!
Tune in to 8TV at 3.30pm this Saturday, Aug 2.
Tags:
8TV,
Journey to Laos,
饥饿30寮国行
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