Jitters. Jitters. My inbox has been filling with emails from my campus Camp Leader, Rachel. Cheery, exciting emails about how many campers have signed up, where to buy the T-shirts, upcoming meetings to tweak and perfect plans for the upcoming Famine. Now that the scramble to submit all the booklets on time is over, excitement is mounting as we–volunteers, committee members, participants – gear up for the climax, the 30 Hour Famine DIY Camp itself, as well as the countdown at the Stadium.
Deric and I are especially pumped. We’ve been given the honour of participating in one of the performances! The Hands Percussion Team Artistic Director himself, Bernard Goh will be training a team of local artistes to perform during the Countdown. Deric and I are such small fry compared to the others on the team.
I Googled the Hands Percussion Team, and I was in awe. When Deric and I went for the first practice last Friday, Bernard came across as a humble, unassuming guy. He was nice, patient, and commanded respect from the team, but nothing about his demeanour suggested that he was the founder of a percussion team that burst onto the local arts scene 13 years ago and has since performed in international arts festivals such as the Singaport Arts Festival 2005, China Shanghai International Arts Festival 2005, the 48th World Festival of Folklore Schoten in Belgium, and various International Folklore Festivals in the Netherlands. I was standing in the presence of awesomeness!!!
I didn’t know just what to expect at the practice ( I had to Google “Hands Percussion”, after all), but I had a vague picture of myself playing the triangle every 1st beat of the performance. Ting, two, three, four, Ting, two, three, four. I found that I would be doing a little bit more than that. A lot more, actually. Come Countdown time, I’ll actually be standing in front of a huge Chinese drum, beating at it with the best of them! And I do mean the best. Have I mentioned that Hands Percussion has performed in many other countries? Check out www.hands.com.my, you’ll see why I’m so excited!
I’m going to have to start lifting weights. Beating at those big drums is tiring. But fun. Very fun. I can’t wait till my next practice. I should probably also start practicing my Chinese. The training is conducted in a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese, as far as I can make out, and I understand neither! Luckily Deric was there to help me out, though sometimes he was too absorbed in trying to master the new complicated licks that I had to muddle my way through on my own.
Here’s a simple video put together to extend our gratitudes to the support shown by various parties in making last year’s 30-Hour Famine 2009 a successful campaign!
We couldn’t have done this without your endless support, enthusiasm and passion - all the campers nationwide, camp leaders, donors, sponsors, celebrity friends, performing groups, volunteers!
Together, We’ve Got The Power To Make A Difference. THANK YOU, once again! See you again next month
When Bosnia is mentioned, Malaysians always remember the catastrophic war in the early 1990s where civil war broke out and intolerable violence took place between the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats. Today, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) is a relatively peaceful and prosperous country with multiple faiths practiced across different ethnic groups, mirroring Malaysia.
Islam is associated with the Bosnians, Eastern Orthodox with the Serbs, and Catholicism with the Croatians. Forty (40) percent of the population is Muslim, 31 percent Eastern Orthodox, 15 percent Roman Catholic, and 4 percent Protestant, while about 10 percent of the population identifies with other religions. Most of the population is not particularly observant, but religion is an important aspect of national identity. Primary school students in central BiH are learning lessons about tolerance and understanding by seeing for themselves how people of different faiths can live side by side and respect both different and similar beliefs.
As part of the ‘Peace building through inter-religious understanding’ project, funded by World Vision Malaysia and Australia, sixth graders from Pale visited a mosque and a Roman Catholic Church, which for most of the children was the first time inside a different place of worship other than the Orthodox religion with which they identify. Although the children have had the opportunity to learn about other religions in their religious classes at school, the first real ‘face-to-face’ encounter with other religions and their leaders was a special moment for all who took part.
We should all be very proud to live in a country such as Bosnia and Herzegovina which is enriched with all main religions and is blessed with a great cultural heritage. As children, we should be very happy to have the opportunity to visit churches, mosques and synagogues and that way learn more about the richness of our cultures and religions”, said Malik Spahić (12), who currently studies in the seventh grade at a primary school in Zenica, central BiH.
“Visits to the religious places are not included in the regular curriculum and many children do not have the opportunity to learn more about other religions. This ignorance can turn into prejudices which does not stimulate inter-religion dialogues and in time can pose a threat to peace and prosperity in the country”, said Sevimka Drinić, Project Officer for World Vision BiH.
Through the ‘Peace building through inter-religious understanding’ project, World Vision aims to enhance peace building through school-based education programmes which advance inter-religious understanding among children and their teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Seminars, visits to religious places and development of communications materials will all play their part in the project.
World Vision hopes the Malaysian government will take a similar stand to initiate inter-religious understanding among school-going children. Observed Liew Tong Ngan, CEO of World Vision Malaysia: “Conflicts and clashes of ideas stem from a lack of understanding and unfamiliarity with that which is ‘different’. Therefore, we should start to educate children as early as possible before they develop prejudices against other religions. We are convinced that this is the best way to reach a level of common understanding and assure peace for future generations.”
Nine artistes – Kah Jun, Hao Ren, Mei Sim, Jym, Vinx Lim, Reno, Josh Lai, Wai Fun and Jason – will take to the stage with Hands Percussion during the 30-Hour break fast ceremony on August 22, 2010 with the hope of encouraging more people to take part in or donate towards the event!
They have been practicing really hard so that they can give a credible performance on that day. Joining them are Famine Youth Leaders- Jenna Lo and Deric Chong.
Come cheer them on by being part of the 30-Hour Famine! To take part, please sign up as a DIY camper or individual participant through 30-Hour Famine website: or give us a call at (603) 78806414.
We are most grateful to have supportive Malaysian Artistes who are willing to lend a hand and support World Vision’s movement to combat hunger and poverty!
Here is the list of Artistes supporting the 30-Hour Famine Countdown this year!
好啦,培训营也告一段落了。接下来是大家冲刺的时刻,秉持着同一个信念,我们就可以办到!不管你现在在哪里,我们都在一起努力,势必让更多的人受惠,让更多的人了解城市贫困,也让更多的小孩得到帮助。不管你是营长、筹委、志工还是营员,别忘了我们正在为孩子打造无贫城市,light up their life!加油!
Six Camp Leader Training workshops were conducted over May and June, and I had the privilege of speaking at the two which were held in Kuala Lumpur. Deric spoke at all six, including the ones in Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and Kuantan!
It was very exciting to see so many Camp Leaders, most of whom were attending a Camp Leader’s workshop for the first time. I love how the 30-Hour Famine enables anyone, whether working adults or students, to rally those around them for a good cause.
Each participant at the workshop was there to collect the tools needed to run a DIY camp (booklets, activities guidelines, coupon booklets, receipt books, etc.) and to be filled in on what was needed to run one. Listening to the World Vision staff deliver their briefings on the history of the 30 Hour Famine, 2010’s DIY Camp program and other details brought me back to my first time attending a workshop in 2009.
I had been really inspired by that workshop, and I could tell that this year’s workshops were having the same effect on its participants. I half envied them. They were embarking on an exciting and fulfilling adventure – one that would change their perspectives on life and further hone their leadership skills.
All you Camp Leaders and Camp Committee members are going to have so much fun!
The workshops were all-day affairs, but the World Vision staff kept it interesting with ice breakers and jokes. We were supplied with delicious blueberry cream rolls from Hi-5, and refreshing soya bean drinks from V-Soy, the official sponsors of the 30 Hour Famine.
The participants were also kept busy with note-taking, as we were educated on everything Famine, from what to do if campers became like zombies because of the lack of food, to how to update camper and booklet information on the Famine database. Gruelling stuff, but absolutely worth it. And at the conclusion of each workshop, the participants were rewarded with a really cool surprise – a free 550 ML water bottle, courtesy of Bros! I am now an official fan of Bros – especially since they also sell those funky World Vision edition bottles.
The ball has started rolling, and the countdown has begun! The booklets have been distributed to the camp leaders, and registration has opened.
I’ve already signed up for my university’s DIY camp – have you?
After a slight longer hiatus, we’re back to end Danell’s journey in India.
by Danell Lee
Widow and her brood
Mother of 2 children, she is HIV-Positive, and just lost her husband 4 months ago. He died of the HI Virus. Right now she stays with her mother-in-law at a very small hut.
When we visited their house, the mother-in-law showed the picture of her loving son that has just gone, and she just couldn’t control her emotion, and tears just came down from her eyes. Well maybe she really needs some time for her heart to heal.
But we are happy to see that the family is healthy and we didn’t even see any signs of complaint through their eyes, their responces, even they are staying in that small hut, even if she lives with HIV…
They seem to cope very well. The mother still able to earn a living and the children go to school as normal.
Young Couple
A 20-year old young man with both parents who have passed away cause of HIV, he’s now taking care of his grandparents, and his newly married bride.
They used to be very poor and he grew up as a child labourer in a tobacco company since he was 12. But after a year, World Vision has started to help his family. From a house that didn’t even have roof to a bricked house, he now lives comfortably and plans to start a family soon with his young wife.
Final thoughts by Danell
Now I can really feel that, many people in India have a lot of sad stories because of HIV/AIDS. But we are glad that the number of people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS has dropped. Many of them are taken care of by World Vision through education and regular medication.
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