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March 19.2009

On 6 June 2009, hundreds of people will taking off their shoes to walk barefooted in a 7km route to show their love for the children in many 3rd world countries that do not have shoes to walk in. Bare your sole (soul) that they may have shoes to wear!

 

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Habitat for Humanity Singapore is proud to be in partnership with Singapore Red Cross for disaster relief work in Tsunami-hit Meulaboh, and Earthquake-hit Sichuan. Habitat for Humanity receives funding from Singapore Red Cross for these projects, with funds donated by the people of Singapore.

 

Twist and Shout

Two Fridays ago, I attended a most unusual fundraising event.

A team of expatriate folks (named " The Speakeasy Crew") was raising funds for their upcoming Batam Habitat build at a bar named Cock's Feather. The bar had a screening of a rugby match, and these folks wanted to conduct an auction during the various breaks. I went there to show our support, and met Kristen English, and her friends from the US, Ireland, South Africa, Australia.

 

It was unusual because the setting was not like the typical fundraising event. It was a typical party bar-scene, with people hanging around, eating, smoking and drinking... well, having a good time! The men were loud, the ladies wore sexy outfits. I brought along a donation box, and one of the ladies just went around arm-twisting people to put money into the box (we ended up with almost $1000 in the box alone, with some US dollars). The organisers were very concerned that the live-fed rugby game could not come on because of technical difficulties, but the game finally came on, and the crowd got very excited and loud.

The truly fun part came at the intermission, when the auction took place. One of the guys in the team, Paul, was trying to get a microphone working to do the auction. He had only 15 minutes before the second half of the game would come on. When he realised that the microphone is not going to work, he simply jumped onto the bar top and started shouting at the top of his voice (the guy got lungs)! Thankfully, the microphone started working, and he did his magic as he went all out, encouraging the people to bid for the auctioned items. Here's a video I captured with my mobile phone... apologies for the low resolution:

It was most fascinating. The items up for auction included rugby jersey, wine, and even included dates with volunteers! Cock's Feather bar put up a special cocktail concoction for bid, the winner will be able to name the cocktail after a girlfriend, or his or her pet-dog! I was most impressed with the enthusiasm and energy displayed by the organisers, going all out to get people to give to some needy person in Batam.

So you see, we can raise funds in so many different ways. What we need is sheer determination and creativity. And the impact of our good works actually will last longer, and have greater influence than we know. When Kristen English brought the donation box to us a couple of days later, she said the cab driver asked her what the box was for. When she explained our cause, the driver dropped a $2 note into the box! So the good work kept going and going, long after the party.

 

I read from a book just yesterday that 26,525 children die every single day from preventable causes. Lets go all out to fight poverty... in your school, in your workplace, and yes, at the bar.

Love, peace, joy.

Yong Teck Meng
National Director
30th June 2009

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