Sunday, June 15, 2008
Famine Camp!!
Just came back from Famine Camp!! I have to say it was....fun. I can't say it's awesome because I was the only one in the group who didn't have anyone to talk to. There was one guy who ddn't have any friends in the group but he had Han Wei ( Hazel's friend) to talk to so he wasn't really alone. I guess I just don't look friendly enough or something. Lols. Anyway, we played this game called " Age of Civilisation" which was quite fun. Whether it was a real representation of what people feel in poor countries I don't know, but it was quite fun. I did find the whole Basic Task part ( the part representing the daily routines in your country such as water, healthcare, economic opportunities, food etc to ensure the survival of our country) a little non-realistic but I guess that was the closest we could get without really going to a poor country. For example, in the Food station for Basic Task we were given pictures of vegetables and fruits such as corn and we had to arrange beans on the picture to represent agriculture activities such as sowing seeds. It was a little boring. Me and Sam (who was also at that station) we discussing what the facilitators would do if we walk up to them with the containers of beans and start eating the beans. Very Lols.That was yesterday. Today we went out to Tampines or newspaper collection. Quite enjoyable because I finally talked to some people in my group. We collected quite alot of newspaper and old clothes so I was quite happy with our progress. Then we went back to ACS(Barker) and slacked. Then my group (Ghana, Africa) started playing lame games ( ask me and I'll show you because I have no idea how to explain other than using step-by-step diagrams) and it was quite entertaining. Forfeit a little non-drama because it was just drinking bottles of water. But it was still loads of fun and I laughed alot. I'm back to normal I guess. Lols.
A lady by the name of Srey Mom came down to talk to us. She had HIV which she had contracted while working at a brothel. I think her life was quite sadbecause she really had a tough life. She was the only girl in her family. At 10 years old, her mother abandoned her in her village and took all her brothers with her to Phnom Penh to meet up with her father. She lived on the streets until a woman told her that she knows how to find her mother. Srey Mom followed her to Phnom Penh but the woman abandoned her at Phnom Penh. So she lived on the streets until she met a lady selling fruits. The lady gave her a job and food to eat. However, a common customer to the shop ( a WOMAN) told Srey Mom that she could offer a higher salary if Srey Mom worked for her. Srey Mom agreed but the woman sold her to a brothel. Srey Mom suffered there for 2 years, forced to have sex with 3-10 men on weekdays and up to 20 men on weekends. When she was sick, the brothel owners brought her to a doctor and she found out that she was HIV positive. The next time she visited the hospital, Srey Mom managed to escape. However, since she had no money, she began to work as a prostitute again. One day when she was at the hospital, she had no money to pay for the medication and therefore was not given any medication. WHile she was exiting from that hopsital, she fainted and fortunately for her a World Vision International staff was nearby. The staff helped her with the medication and also linked her with World Vision International. Now Srey Mom is working with World Vision and gets her medication regularly for free.
Its these kind of stories which make us wonder how different our lives are. Even though it's not her fault to be born into a poor family, she still has to endure all the pain and suffering that comes with it. She managed to escape from the nrothel when she was FIFTEEN. At fifteen, what were we doing? Complaining about our allowance? Living a happy and care-free life? So many people are suffering in this world and it's really sad when people like Srey Mom, who had no choice, have to suffer from HIV and AIDS.
I guess this camp really taught me about how sheltered a life we lead in Singapore. For most of us, we cannot even imagine what it will be like to go without food. We just went without food for 30 hours and many people were complaining about being hungry. People in Africa, Thailand and other poor countries go without food or months. Imagine if we had tried that.
I guess people nowadays do not really appreciate what we have because we are too used to having these luxuries. We seem to want more and more without thinking about what others are feeling. But our youth IS changing. Although the general public says that youth these days are becoming increasingly apathetic, I beg to differ after seeing this famine camp and all other projects being run by youths. It's truly awe-inspiring.
I really like this song and I think it's something that we should be thinking about now.
Carrie Underwood - Praying For Time
These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the lastLook around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers
This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance and legitimate excuses
The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much but we’ll take our chances‘Cause God stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
And turned his back
And all God’s children crept out the back door
And its hard to love
Theres so much to hate
Hanging onto hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above
Say its much too late
Oh maybe we should all be praying for time
This is the year of the empty hand
Oh you hold onto what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year
These are the days of the guilty man
The television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there
Is over here
So you scream from behind your door
Say whats mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much
But I’ll take my chances cause God stopped keeping score
And you’ll cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he cant come back 'cause he has no children to come back for
And its hard to love
when theres so much to hate
And hanging onto hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above
Say its much, much too late
Mm, well maybe we should all be praying for time
Btw, By Definition and EIC performed for us today!!! Really damn nice to watch By Def performing because the energy is really contagious. Well, maybe it wasn't so for my whole group. All I did was cheer and they gave the "WTF?!!" look. I guess they're just not used to my high-ness. Lols. Sad part was that Ash kept on getting off stage and shaking people's hand on THE OTHER FREAKING SIDE so I was left sitting there, deflated that I wouldn't get to shake hands with a band member of the winners of Live The Dream.A bit sad la, but it's life. Lols. See I learnt to accept everything now. EIC performed really well too, and I kind of recognise the songs but I have no idea where I have heard them before. Lols. Feels really weird when you know the lyrics but you don't know why. They were really good though. Will buy their cd to support the Singapore music scene. I am a Singaporean musician also what. Only its choral. Lols. Won't mind having a band though. It would be really fun.
By Definition
EIC