• local events

    Our children. Our hope. Our future.

    December 3, 2009 /

    I was bidding adieu to both my original acrylic (right) and watercolor (left) paintings earlier yesterday at 11.30am at Bar Council, Lebuh Pasar Besar, Kuala Lumpur. No, I wasn’t having any legal trouble with the paintings, I was just giving them away for an auction which will be held during the Fundraising Dinner for Children Homes on the 10th December 2009 organised by Bar Council. The combined price is not that much but I am happy to be contributing to a good cause.

    emila and ruhil from bar council kl

    Ruhil Amal, a rep from Bar Council holding my watercolor “Best Buddies” while me holding acrylic “Teddy Bears”

    December  is declared as International Human Rights  Day by the United Nation to mark the birth of  the Universal Declaration  of Human Rights (UDHR)  1948. In keeping with its tradition and spirit, the Bar Councils Human Rights Committee (BCHRC) is hosting a fundraising dinner for seven selected children’ homes, in recognition of the children’s fundamental rights to food, shelter, healthcare, security, education and eventually gainful employment once they become adults.

    In previous years, the BCHRC had organised various events to celebrate Human Rights Day but none of them was specifically aimed at promoting the economic, social and cultural rights of children. Our Children. Our Hope. Our Future is a one of its kind initiative and to make this event more meaningful, some children from the homes will be participating in the dinner and performances.

    hope

    About the Homes*

    Desa Amal Jireh (Pusat Untuk Bantuan Dan Kebajikan)
    Semenyih, Selangor

    Home for 116 orphans and underprivileged children with an initial monthly budget of RM800. The centre is managed by Reverend Terrence and his wife, Kamala Sinnadurai. Their mission is to provide shelter, education, care and love for underprivileged children in the village.

    All Ethnic Group Refugee Children Education Centre
    outskirts of Kuala Lumpur

    Home for 30 refugee children. They are living in a rented 3-room shophouse flat and the living condition is inevitably poor. The centre is managed by Mr. Thein on a part time basis. The Centre doubles up as an education centre, catering to the children’s educational needs.  Some of the Centre’s most urgent needs are supplies of nutritious food, clothing and books.

    The Pure Life Society
    Jalan Puchong, Kuala Lumpur

    Home to 107 children and staff. Since its inception, a total of 2,000 children from different races and creeds have benefited from the Society’s care.The society is managed by Mother Mangalam. The home’s current needs are qualified tutors and volunteers to do gardening work, assist in the library, read to the children, teach musical instruments and tutor primary school students.

    Gurpuri Foundation (Foster Home for Children)
    Ampang, Selangor

    Home to 55 orphaned, abandoned, abused and underprivileged Sikh children. Although Gurpuri Foundation started out as a home for Sikh children, it welcomes children from all races and faiths. The home is managed by Mr Sukhdev Dingh. The home places great emphasis on the children’s education.

    Rumah Solehah
    Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

    Home to 16 orphans or abandoned children who are living with HIV/AIDS. There are 4 other children staying with foster parents. The home is run by a caregiver, known affectionately as Kak Wan. There is an urgent need to employ more trained and qualified tutors to coach the children in order to help them excel in education. The home is also in need of funds to allow them to expand the home.

    An’Najjah (Persatuan Kebajikan Darul Najjah Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor)
    Jalan Kent 2, Off Jalan Maktab, Kuala Lumpur

    Home to 24 orphans, including orang asli children. An’Najjah is an orphanage for boys only. The cost of rental and maintenance of the home relies heavily on a fixed budget. Therefore, it is essential that the home continues to receive further funding from the public to improve the existing condition of the home. This orphanage is managed by Puan Hajjah Aminah Mat.

    Rumah Sayangan
    Taman Billion, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

    Rumah Sayangan is a Christian-based home for orphaned, abandoned, abused and underprivileged children. The home welcomes visitors to provide companionship to the children. The children are generally shy at first but after spending some time with them, they begin to feel at ease with the visitors. The home needs more public contribution in terms of cash to pay for the children tuition fees and fares for school transportation. Donations are also needed to support the cost of medical treatment for the children. The home is managed by Miss Susan.

    If you are interested in donating, below is the information:

    • Tickets: RM200 per seat/RM2000 per table
    • Host:Bar Councils Human Rights Committee (BCHRC)
    • Time: Thursday, 10 December 2009, 18:30
    • Location: Sunway Resort Hotel & SpaPersiaran Lagoon, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
    • Contact:
      • Lim Ka Ea at 03-2031 7103, email: kaea@malaysianbar.org.my
      • Siti Kasim at 012-223 3371, email: sitikasim@gmail.com

    (*Source: Bar Council)

    Here’s the painting up-close:

    Teddy Bears by Emila Yusof

    bestbuddies

    I will be there too to attend the event.

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  • MISC

    Go Green Contest Winner

    December 2, 2009 /

    The winner for the Go Green contest is Nia from Unlisted One. Thank you Nia for the ideas! As I already have your address, I will send it to you as soon as tomorrow.

    Nia wrote:

    1) Woman Cosmetics
    Some of the content in cosmetics and beauty products can contaminate our environment. This is because these products are not supposed to degrade in human body so they can fulfill their function. However, they are not degrading once they get into the environment. As an alternative, we can choose a natural choice such as a home made beauty remedies. For tips, just visit http://www.wholeliving.com/article/beautyremediesb0407fob_t1?autonomy_kw=psoriasis&rsc=header_2 or http://allnaturalbeauty.us/hbr_hair_skin_body.htm.

    10) Gifts
    Use your creativity in gift giving, including making homemade gifts (using recycle items such as newspaper, old megazine etc) or even giving away an unused gift. You can even used an empty cereal box to make a homemade cards and re-used the wrapping paper. This can reduce the paper usage.

    2) Household items
    Try to buy your household needs in bulk and buy a refill once it is finish. This will not only save your money but also the environment by reducing wastage to the environment. Usually, I will buy a big container of shower bath cream that is suitable for the whole family (including my baby) and I will buy a refill for it later.

    3) Babies
    For babies, use cloth diaper instead of normal diapers. Every child adds a minimum of 6500 disposable diapers (30% of which is non biodegradable) to our environment.
    Soiled diapers will also contain many pounds of raw fecal matter with viruses that can contaminate our water supplies and wild life. To manufacture disposable diapers will also use large quantities of wood pulp from trees, which can also effect the environment.

    4) Choose un-processed food
    One of my colleagues used to tell me, try to eat more un-processed food instead of the process one. She told me it is for our health but I can see her principle will also save our environment. Why? Because the lesser processing for the food is, the fewer resources used to get it to your plate.

    5) Use online banking
    Some of us will still go to the bank to settle their bills, or pay for their credit cards. Why not doing it all at the comfort of your house? By doing it online, you can save paper usage (which origin is from a tree) when you use the online billing instead of the hardcopy one. You can also save on fuel by not going all way to the bank to settle all your payment.

    6) Make it green
    Plant more trees in your neighbourhood,the average tree can remove 50 pounds of carbon from the air in one year during photosynthesis. After mowing your lawn, leave the grass clipping there instead of scooping it into a plastic bag. It will reduce the amount of waste and can act as a natural fertilizer which is safe and healthy for the environment.

    7) Solar power
    Try to use gadgets that run on solar power. This can be done for radios, chargers for phones and laptops. By doing this, you are actually saving more on the energy usage.

    8) Donate electrical item

    Purchase long-lasting products that can be reused or refilled, such as rechargeable batteries, handphone, laptop etc. Donates used electronics to be reused by schools, non-profit organization or families that could not afford for a new one. This will extends the lives of these products and keeps them out of the landfills. If you are using a disposable items such as batteries, you can always recycle it.

    9) Reduce plastic waste
    Use shopping bag when you are out for shopping. Shopping centre such as Tesco, Giant and Jusco do sell this type of bag. Reduce plastic waste as it shows that 66% – 80% marine litter is plastic which is very long lasting. This plastic waste is a threat for our marine life.

    Thank you also to bain, muminmalaysia, Rara, Covert_Operations’78, Arcturus, dwimaya and mama mia for the comments, ideas and suggestions.

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