A Little Note.

If there is any of you who is interested in the famine photos either for your keeping, sharing or your blogs, you can get them from my flickr site -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11517445@N08/

I’m sorry I did not have the time to tag them. They are however grouped under the “30 Hour Famine” sets and should be easy to find. Most of them are self-explanatory but if you need to clarify any photo, please feel free to write to me. Feel free to use them any way you like. There are more photos there than I put up for my posts so check them out. They are also in better resolution if you want to use them.

I am also in Friendster so those who want to add me can search for me through my email – ijm2002@gmail.com. I sponsored two girls (one from China and the other from Lebanon) from World Vision from a few years back. It is an enriching experience and I hope to visit them someday. But I was really impressed when one of my fellow campers told me that she together with 10 of her friends chipped in to sponsor one child. She is still schooling and the RM5.00 means more to her than my RM100.00 to me. When you have the heart, you will find a way. “Jia You!”

30-Hour Famine: Part IV = Day 2 "We Did It!"

As I am writing this about the last segment of the 30-Hour Famine in West Malaysia, the East Malaysia Famine will be starting soon in Miri Stadium. Here is to my fellow campers of the East – “Jia You!” (Keep It Up!) – You can do it!


A large part of the success of the 30-Hour Famine is due to the great support by the media. In addition to Sin Chew Jit Poh, 988 station and Red FM gave their full-hearted support sending a number of their deejays to support the camp. Deejays, Nick, Jeff, Sam, May and Luke from 988 together with deejays Will, Alvin and Terry were all there to lend support. In fact, deejay Alvin had a 30 hour marathon broadcast from the stadium itself fasting together with the campers.


At 9.00 am, each group was given a large piece of paper with 20 pictures and description on it. Some are ‘wants’ like computer, own bedroom, vacation and other are ‘needs’ like clean water, clean air, education, protection for a happy life. We are asked to eliminate some of the wants and stick with the needs. Out of 20, it was easy to eliminate the first 4. Then, we are asked to imagine a desperate state of deprivation and eliminate another 8 of the balance. It was not as easy as we thought. Is education more important than protection from discrimination? Is nutritious food more important than protection from abuse? Is shelter more important medical treatment? Is clean air, water more important than freedom? And we are asked to eliminate further… for that is the ‘choice’ some children have.


We were given another large piece of paper with blanks square representing breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper of 3 days for our next exercise. We were asked to list down all the delicious food we would like to eat. With hunger now gnawing at our stomach, this was a torture with shouts of noodles, burgers, nasi lemak, curry mee, roti chanai filling the air. Then, we took out small pieces of paper to paste on the squares. More often we drew a blank paper representing nothing to eat or some spoiled food scavenged from the dustbin. This represents a typical day in the life of the some of the children living in poverty.


Then, a brutal documentary was shown of the situation in Ethopia drawing gasps and mourns from the audience. Though, we are all aware how difficult life is in some country, the film still managed to shock us. These last three events all served to hit us when our resistance is lowered and made us more aware of the world’s suffering by comparing our little hunger with the real hunger of the world. It was a humbling experience. At 11.00 am, Professor Wang Zhao again took the stage with more tales of his experience in China. During the free period from 12.00 noon to 1.30 pm, some of us decided to go for the private session with the professor to learn more about his volunteer work in details. The session was very attended with many of those who went, wanted to find way to serve. Professor Wang stressed on the difficulty and dedication needed from a volunteer. He also said there are many ways to serve and sponsoring a child is also a good way.


At 1.30 pm, we went back to the hall for a very special performance. It was a lovely choreographed piece combining dancers on their feet with dancers on wheelchairs from the Shuang Fu Performing Arts Troupe. There was a certain poignancy in the whole scene though all the dancers are celebrating life. What many of us saw are bravery in the face of obstacles and when Madam Shen, the founder of Shuang Fu gave a stirring rendition of the inner struggle that each of them face and try to overcome, there is not a singer camper who did feel a tug at the heart.


Then, someone was being led on stage by the shoulder of his companion. He was blind. I apologized that I neglected my duty for I was distracted when his name was announced. I will appreciate it if any of my readers can correct me. He stood at the center of the stage with dignity and announced he will sing for us. With just the first syllable, the whole stadium erupted in cheers and wild applause. For what a rich, booming, melodious voice he had. The audience was absolutely thrilled and they demanded more. And he complied with English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien songs – all in that rich inimitable voice that resounded and reverberated through the stadium. He sang away our hunger.


I pitied the group – Couple that came up next. Though they gamely tried, they just could not top the last act which is nothing short of amazing. The time is now 3.00 pm. After the emotions expanded in the last sessions, hunger never far away crept back to visit us. We had another 3 long hours to go. It is best to keep busy to keep the mind off food so everyone joined in to help clean up the hall. At 4.00 pm, it was a time for reflection and sharing of the experiences of the campers. What this 30 hours meant for each of us and how we had been affected by it. Many of the campers declared that they will do it again and going by that, this 30 Hour Famine can only grow bigger.


At 5.30 pm the closing ceremony began. Food and drinks were distributed consisting of a packet of powdered mix, a bottle of soymilk and a piece of cake. The countdown began and – “WE DID IT!’ We have survived the 30 Hour Famine. We are proud we did it. We are proud to have made it. We are proud to have made a little difference – to better someone’s world by our act. 5,400 campers, 600 volunteers, 1.2 million Ringgits collected. We are proud to be part of this event.


For those readers who have not joined one of the camp, we hope to see you there next year.


Epilogue: After we left the stadium, we went looking for food. We started with a big meal before and we ended with a big meal after. No, we have forgotten the lesson of hunger. To love food is natural. We don’t have to apologize for that. To be hungry is unnatural. And we should try to help to eliminate the hunger of others. This is not a guilt trip. It would have failed if taken as such for no guilt trip is sustainable. This is a trip where we get in touch with our compassionate side, to remind ourselves that in the good life we live, let us not forget those less fortunate than us and let us do something about it. “Jia You!”

30-Hour Famine: Part III – The First Night & The Morning After.

At 7.30 pm we again gathered in the main hall. The younger campers were especially excited to see their favorite performing artistes which included Fish Leong, Nicholas Teo, Daniel Lee, Yang Wei Han, Francissca Peter, Juwita Suwito, and Sarimah Ibrahim. Before the concert started in earnest, some of these performers paired with selected campers to compete in a game quiz with questions relating to the Famine. The quiz also involved trying to decipher the meaning of 30 seconds silent cartoons by UNICEF that illustrate the rights of children.

The concert started immediately after that. Francissca Peter took the stage with her powerful voice and boundless energy. That got all those who wanted to dance down to the open area in front of stage where they grooved to the music. I smiled as I witnessed the scene. At this stage, I was beginning to feel a bit hungry. I was trying to conserve my energy to last the distance. That is the difference between the young and the old, I thought. The old having less energy left is better at conserving and pacing themselves.

She was followed by the other singers who gave a few songs each. After watching for about an hour, I decided to go back to our allotted place in level 3 to watch the event from above. I could have some quiet time by myself and yet be in a position to watch what is going on without missing anything. It was a different feeling sitting alone up there looking at the orange masses moving to loud music. It ended with all the artistes getting up on stage and once again, launched the huge balloons which the crowd smashed to one another till they all burst.

It was 11.00 pm by this time and the crowd drifted back to their respective places to prepare for the night. Most of the campers chose to sleep by the outer corridors that framed the stadium and the stadium floor. A group of experienced campers even pitched their own tent. Preferring privacy, I looked for a quiet corner at the highest level and made my bed on the concrete floor in-between seats. I brought along a sleeping bag and not liking the cold much (the whole stadium is air-conditioned), brought plenty of warm clothing. The lights were dimmed and the noise took a long time but gradually faded away. I remained awake for sometime reflecting on the events of the day. Though I have not slept on a concrete floor for as long as I have not gone hungry, I was happy to be there at that time and place. Slowly, I too drifted off to sleep.

I woke up just before just before the music came on to announce the new day. My first conscious thought was – we had traveled 2/3 of the way. The next thought was to check my stomach. I was hungry but not unduly so. At 7.00 am, there will religious activities for all the main religions – Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. We went to wash our face and have to contend with a very long queue. This called for patience.

There was a yoga class at 8.00 am. I was reluctant to join in, worried that I will work up an appetite. But my young friends wanted to see if I can still bend those old joints. So I ended up in the floor forcing my stubborn body and limps into submission. Did I hear something crack? As I feared, the longer the exercise stretched on, the hungrier I got. “Mind over matter”, my mind said. Only to be met with an angry growl. I was glad the exercise was finally over. Before we even get to our seat, the next activity was starting…

30 Hour Famine: Part I – The Preparation.

As mentioned in the earlier post, I was worried about how I’ll cope with hunger as I’ve never been hungry in my entire adult life. Receiving comments such as “hey, this is for young people, sure you can ah?” and “don’t faint ah!” did not help. The world is full of nice people who just love to deter you. And they are succeeding in shaking my fragile confidence.

Photo from World Vision

Luckily, I am seriously afflicted with an incurable condition called “kiasu” (scared to lose). Where am I going to put my paper thin face if I were to back out now? This called for drastic measure. Like the warrior preparing for battle, I had to condition myself. So two weeks before the big event, I started by skipping lunch. There was now this empty hole that used to be my stomach. It started to take over the rest of my body so my head feels just as empty. The whole office got to know and people start making speculations on how long I will hold out.

Photo from World Vision

Surprisingly to me, it was not that bad. I survived. It was no where as difficult as I envisioned. I learned something about myself and that alone would have made this endeavor worthwhile. My confidence grew and when people asked me now, I answered “no sweat”. But of course at the back of my mind, there were still doubts. So far, I had only been fasting 8 to 10 hours. 30 hours may be a whole different ball game. My feet were already in the water, might as well get the whole body wet.

The night before the event, instead having an early rest; I went for the Jacky Cheung World Tour Concert 2007. I remembered a saying from my bravado school days “Mati Tak Apa, Gaya Mesti Ada” literally translated as “It is all right to die, but one must do it with style”. So we did it with style. Me and my extended family, all fifteen of us went to scream our lungs out at 歌神the God of Songs, my favorite by far of the Four Heavenly Kings. And he did not disappoint.

But even he could not reason with the Rain God. Not long after he burst onto stage, the rain clouds also burst showering those in the expensive seats in the center of the stadium. There was a loud roar as those sitting in cheaper but ironically covered seats laughed at the misfortune of the rich. Talk about “schadenfreude”. I was glad though I was not shivering in the rain. Jacky sighed that the last time he was in Malaysia for a concert, it rained as well. He made a heart felt appeal to Heaven and what do you know, the rain stopped for the rest of the concert. Guess he is not called a Heavenly King for nothing. Though I thought he tempted fate a little when in the middle of the concert he sang 天黑黑 (Sky Dark Dark – it is going to rain).

Jacky had been singing since he won the Hong Kong national singing competition in 1984 with the song “Fatherland”. He hit it big with the song 每天愛你多一些 (Loving You More Everyday) in 1991 which he also sang for this concert. He sang hits after hits after opening with 愛火花 (Love Sparks) including the all-time favorite 吻别 (Goodbye Kiss) which contain one of the most poignant lyric – “We kissed goodbye on the deserted street / As the unkind wind sneered / We kissed goodbye on a troubled night / As my heart prepared to welcome grief”.

Whether fast or slow, Mandarin or Cantonese, he handled them all with aplomb and slick dance move. Tempo slowed towards the second half as he sang ballads from his musical “Snow. Wolf. Lake.” And songs from my favorite movie of 2005 - “Perhaps Love”. And when he sang “If this is love…” My heart reached out and sang with him. That concluded his main act for the night. Considering that he is still recovering from his illness and having sang for almost three hours, it was an admirable feat. But the audience would not let him go and the unbroken applause led him back. I had expected him to sing a few more songs but was touched and impressed when he sang another eleven. It was also an emotional night for him with his voice broken and eyes glistened as he left under a tremendous send off from his 30,000 fans.

It was a great night. I had been infused with music. It was quite late when I got home. But I know that when the spirit is pleased, the body will rest well. And that is the best preparation I could have made for the 30 Hour Famine.

To be continued…

Going "Hungry For Hope"!

I am going hungry. I had not gone hungry for a whole day in my entire adult life. But this time I’m going hungry for 30 hours. But I am not doing it alone. I am doing it with others to celebrate Hunger – as a key to unlock more windows in our hearts.

Am I concerned? What do you think? Always find hunger pangs difficult to tolerate. That growling in the stomach, the growing emptiness, the sapping of energy from the limbs. I never wait for it to develop that far, I filled it with food or snacks as temporary measure. I love food too much to go hungry. When I tried to recruit more friends to join us, the typical responds are “You crazy? Paying to suffer?!” or for the more generous ones “Take my money but please don’t asked me to go”. Look like hunger drives fear into a lot of people. That is only natural, I guess.

From 12 noon of September 15 (this Saturday) to 6.00 p.m. of September 16, eight thousand kind souls will converge onto Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil Kuala Lumpur. They are there to participate in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine 2007. This is the 10th year “Famine” will be held in Malaysia and coincides with the 10th Anniversary of World Vision Malaysia. It will be a bilingual event held simultaneously in English and Mandarin.

Each of the participants will donate a minimum of RM150.00 (RM100.00 for students and senior citizens). The beneficiaries of this fund-raising are the World Vision Vietnam Ba Thuoc Area Development Project, World Vision Hope Fund, World Vision Malaysia Development Fund, Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled and Persatuan Kristian Shuangfu. Malaysia is not the only country organizing such event. It was first started by World Vision Canada as far back as 1971 and has spread to World Vision offices all over the world. Malaysia will held 2 such events this year with the East Malaysia event to be held in Miri on the 6 and 7 October. To learn more, please visit World Vision for more details. And to get some personal insights into behind the screen work done by volunteers, please check out http://30hourfaminemalaysia.wordpress.com/

During the 30-Hour Famine Camp, participants will be acquainted with the world-wide humanitarian work of World Vision. The program conducted will include mini-talks, video presentation, simulation games as well as concerts. All sounds interesting but the predominant thing in my mind is still – how will I cope with hunger?

Tune in next week to find out how this cowardly blogger cope with one of his greatest phobia.

p.s. If there are any readers going for the camp and would like to meet up, please send me an email with your name and phone number through my email listed at the top of my blog and we shall try to establish contact. See ya there!

(All photos are from World Vision )

Please check out "Ghostwise" for quotations on Hunger.