It is kind of weird because I realised that I have a compassion for a pretty neglected group of people. These people are those who left their homes in their countries and come over to this small little island call Singapore to work. Therefore, they are called "foreign workers".
Nope. They are not the foreign expatriates that stay in nice service apartments nor do they have their families with them at this point. They are workers from Thailand, India, Blangadesh, China, Myammar, Sri Lanka etc. These are the workers that we see working on the roads, construction sites etc.
My dad used to be a driver ferrying these workers from destination to destination to work. So I thought that they are just another group of people that are uneducated, rough, boor etc. However, when I shifted from Ang Mo Kio to Yishun in 1998, my dad engaged some of these workers to help us in shifting the house. There and then, I realised that some of them are very nice people. They are not educated but they are humble and hardworking bunch, wanting to earn an honest living here for their families back in their countries.
I applaud their courage to leave their homes so that their families can have a better life back home. Now, I look at them as people who love their families, persevering and wanting to work hard for a better future. Who says that education is everything? In fact, some of the 'boors' that I've met might be people who are from the more educated or wealthier backgrounds. But surely, not all people respond these ways.
Some churches in Singapore charter buses for these workers to their services on weekends. I think it will really be nice if a ministry like this can be started here in Hope. God don't just love the professionals. God loves everyone the same. Hope to see this group of people knowing the Lord in ways that we can provide.
There are still so much room for growth, won't you agree with me in this? =)
Labels: compassion, people, thots
DUJIANGYAN, China - From the heart of Beijing to the devastated southwest, China came to a standstill Monday to mourn its earthquake victims as the number of dead, missing or buried soared past 71,000.
Air sirens wailed across the country as most motorists stopped and blared their horns, bringing a halt to China's usually bustling big cities for three minutes from 2:28 pm (0628 GMT), the moment the quake struck a week ago.
Thousands of people, many of them university students, converged on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, holding up flags and chanting slogans of support for the victims.
As the five-star national flag flew at half-mast in front of the portrait of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the crowd in the giant square chanted "Long live China!" while punching the air with their fists.
Trading halted for three minutes on China's stock markets and a moment of silence was also held at casinos in the southern gambling haven of Macau.
The last time the world's most populous nation held official mourning was when Mao, the founder of the communist state, died in 1976.
In the town of Dujiangyan, 60 relatives of dead children held candles and incense at one of the thousands of schools flattened in Sichuan province.
One mother who lost both her daughters, Qiqi and Jiajia, collapsed in front of the school building.
"This is unbearable. I lost you both," she wailed.
The official grieving came as mudslides and a fresh aftershock hampered efforts to help the nearly five million people made homeless by the May 12 disaster.
The transport ministry reported that mudslides had buried more than 200 relief workers over the past several days, with no word on how many were dead or alive.
The government last week estimated more than 50,000 people died in the quake -- which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale -- that reduced towns to heaps of steel and concrete.
But that number appeared to be a large underestimate.
The top leader in Sichuan, Communist party chief Liu Qibao, put the toll of people confirmed killed in that province at 32,173, adding 9,509 people remained buried and 29,418 others were missing -- a combined 71,100 people.
A central government spokesman on Monday put the confirmed death toll nationwide at 34,073.
Hopes that more survivors would be found were fading, although rescue teams pulled out two women and one man on Monday, according to state-run media.
The man, aged in his 80s, had survived under a collapsed house for more than 160 hours.
"The quake happened so long before that villagers all thought this old person was no longer there," army officer Qiu Chengliang, one of the man's rescuers, was quoted as saying by state TV. "His leg was severed but he still doggedly clung to life."
But one of the women found under a collapsed residential building near Deyang city later died despite receiving medical care, CCTV reported.
The earthquake has triggered an outpouring of emotion in the country of 1.3 billion people, with thousands offering to volunteer or to care for children made orphans.
The relay of the Beijing Olympic torch -- which has generated excitement across China in the run-up to the August Games -- was called off for three days.
The government also pulled entertainment programmes off television for three days. In Beijing and Shanghai, authorities ordered cinemas, karaoke bars and other leisure establishments to cease operation.
Donors at home and abroad have pitched in 10.834 billion yuan (1.55 billion dollars) to help with rescue efforts, according to Xinhua.
But more assistance was needed, with China's foreign ministry issuing an urgent appeal for tents.
China also said it would open its borders to foreign medical teams after letting in foreign rescuers. Japan immediately said it would send 20 medics.
The United States would provide China with satellite imagery of reservoirs, roads and bridges damaged in the earthquake, the Pentagon announced.
Heavy rain was expected later this week in the disaster zone, compounding the misery for survivors.
Premier Wen Jiabao ordered troops to step up their rescue work. Soldiers must "overcome all difficulties and make sure to go into all villages within 24 hours," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The chief engineer at the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said that several dams damaged by the quake were under 24-hour watch for signs of collapse and may not be able to withstand strong aftershocks or flooding. - AFP/ir
News Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/348702/1/.html
Labels: compassion, prayers
Ever thought if you would have been in their shoes? What would have happened to you? Or what will your response be like?
I can never imagine myself being in this kind of circumstances. I think I will cry, I will whine, I will complain, I will isolate myself. But these people are the very people who needs help and rescue. They need someone to speak hope and love into their hearts today.
As I read the news everyday, the photos, the description, the grief and the heartaches.. simply bring my heart to cringe. My heart was filled with compassion and helplessness. I want to help bu I don't know how. I want to help not by just donating money or writing some words. I wish to fly there and give hope and encouragement to these children, orphans and families.
Today, as I reflect and think about my life, I know that I am still way more blessed than these kids. I wish that I can bring more joy and hope to these victims.
I know that there is a purpose and calling from the Lord for me. I am reminded of the prophecy that Pastor Jeff gave to me many years back, when I was still leading the youth ministry. Perhaps, it is time to revisit the prophecy and make something happen soon.
Lord, simply send me...
Labels: compassion, missions, prayers
YANGON: More than 22,000 people were killed in Myanmar's devastating cyclone and 41,000 are still missing four days after the storm slammed into the country's southern coast, the government said on Tuesday.
Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region, which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of utter devastation with homeless survivors running low on food and water.
Fast Facts
Witnesses described horrific images of rice fields littered with corpses, and there were fears the death toll from tropical cyclone Nargis could rise much further.
Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in the secretive and impoverished Southeast Asian country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in hard-to-reach areas.
"If at this stage, only four days in, the government are telling us the numbers are already reaching over 20,000 and there are 40,000 people missing, I think it could well go higher," spokesman Dan Collinson told AFP.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it went as high as 50,000," he said.
US President George W. Bush urged Myanmar to allow in international help, as Washington - usually one of the junta's toughest critics - upped its total emergency aid offer to 3.25 million dollars.
"Our message is to the military rulers: let the United States come to help you, help the people," Bush said.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more," he added as he signed a law giving Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal, the US Congress's top civilian honour.
A US disaster relief team was on standby, and the Pentagon said four naval ships currently participating in military exercises off the coast of Thailand could be redirected to Myanmar, if the junta gave the go-ahead.
"But that's all we can do at this point, is to plan, because we have not received a request from the Burmese government," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
The junta - facing mounting global pressure to quickly allow aid teams into the country - still insisted foreign relief workers would have to negotiate before being allowed to enter, as agencies waited for visas for their staff.
The ruling generals also defied calls to postpone Saturday's referendum on a new constitution - part of its slow-moving "road map" to democracy - saying it would proceed except in the areas hardest hit by the disaster.
Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy reacted angrily, saying it was "extremely unacceptable" for the vote to go ahead when storm survivors were in desperate need of assistance.
In the government's first news conference since Nargis barrelled into the Irrawaddy region early Saturday, it said 95 percent of the homes in the delta town of Bogalay had been washed away.
"Many people were killed in a 12-foot (3.5-metre) tidal wave," Social Welfare Minister Maung Maung Swe told reporters.
State television said 21,793 people were killed and 40,695 were missing in Irrawaddy division, while 671 were killed and 359 people were missing in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city and the former capital.
Satellite images from US space agency NASA showed virtually the entire coastal plain of the country, one of the world's poorest nations, under water.
Christian relief organisation World Vision said its teams had witnessed horrific scenes.
"They saw the dead bodies from the helicopters, so it's quite overwhelming," said Kyi Minn, an adviser to World Vision's office in Yangon.
Video footage of the disaster zone showed flattened villages, smashed bridges, and survivors forced to live out in the open.
Aid groups were rushing to bring food, water, clothing and shelter into the country, whose military rulers have long turned their back on the outside world - and prevented many aid charities from operating here.
"Getting it out to the affected populations will be a major challenge, given that there is widespread flooding," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangkok.
"The urgent need is for shelter and for water. Without clean drinking water, the risk of disease spreading is the most serious concern."
The UN's World Food Programme said it had begun distributing 800 tonnes of food to the hardest-hit areas including Yangon, but that many coastal regions remained cut off due to flooding and road damage.
Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, the regime's information minister, said the country was "greatly thankful" for the offers of help that have been pouring in from around the world.
But Myanmar faced criticism over its apparent lack of preparation for the disaster, with US First Lady Laura Bush saying the government had not done enough to warn citizens the storm was approaching. - AFP/ir/deLabels: compassion, prayers
