Ignorance is Bliss?

My friend Boon Kiam sent this email to me today:

"I've always felt it was important to do my part for the less fortunate. That's why I am sponsoring three kids now in Cambodia, Lesotho (Africa) and Philippines. You know, I think it has to do with how well-travelled I am. The more you travel, the more you see and the more fortunate you feel when you see all this poverty. It would be wrong to just live in our ivory tower and pretend that everyone else in the world is as lucky as us."

I totally agree. It seems that many people (where I come from) choose to ignore the problems in this world... we already have enough problems of our own so why burden ourselves more with other people's problems? As they say ignorance is bliss... or is it?

Anyway, Boon Kiam has also come up with a great idea to bring joy to these children. I'm keeping things under wraps for now. Don't want to spoil the surprise!

Taking Baby Steps...

This is day two of LittleMatchKids.org and I am taking baby steps to get it going...

Right now I am sending pictures and information to friends to raise awareness of the children's plight. Many are still in the dark of the poverty in Cambodia. Ask them about Cambodia and they will most likely say: "Oh, Angkor Wat is very nice!" Cambodia is more than just ancient temples. Cambodia is about its tragic past which still haunts its people as there are still six million landmines left uncleared...

I've sent emails to a few people and sadly only two friends are enthusiastic about my goodwill mission. Yes, I am discouraged. But I am not giving up so easily. I have faith that God will guide me and open doors not just for me, but more so for the kids...

The Flames of Compassion Ignited on 28 October 2007!

We Light Up Their Lives!™

I was recently in Cambodia 12 - 21 October 2007 and had a wonderful time. I met many nice people and saw many things we don't normally see in my country, Singapore. It broke my heart to see so many dirty-faced children begging in the streets. And many of them approached me. To give them money would only encourage them to beg more... so what do I do?

On 28 Oct 07, I decided to set up an NGO to help these children and registered the domain littlematchkids.org... The name Little Match Kids is inspired from the fairy-tale, The Little Match Girl. It is one of my favourite fairy-tales which always brings a tear to my eye...

The Cambodian children remind me of the Little Match Girl - full of innocence, but poor and hungry... Like the Little Match Girl, their lives could be shattered by child trafficking, diseases, malnutrition etc... So I think it's an apt name for the NGO.

LittleMatchKids.org is non-profit and helps raise awareness of poverty/healthcare/child trafficking in Cambodia through photography. Its other objectives include:

Fight Poverty
Enhance the Quality of Life
Create Opportunities
Protect Their Future
Make Dreams Come True

The NGO is still in its infancy and needs more work to get it together. It is my hope to set up a school to teach Photography, Creative Writing, Art & Design to these children. Education is key in helping these kids off the streets.

If you can help or know of people who might like to help (need a web designer URGENTLY/volunteers/sponsors), would be great!