New Life Outreach

This morning, I left Chiang Mai for Phetchabun with some 50 cartons of donated rice noodles.

Driving single-handedly made the journey both challenging and exciting (as I'm bad with roads). Above that, it was a short 15min stop which made my day.

Basically, I was driving through a police road block and this conversation started :

Policeman : Where are you headed ?
Eugene : Phetchabun
Policemen : What is at the back of your truck ?
Eugene : Cartons of noodles
Policeman : Where are you from ?
Eugene : Singapore

The next thing I knew, my driving license and ID was confiscated and I was "ushered" to the side of the road with 4 armed policemen directing me to step out of my truck.

After checking my truck for some 15mins for concealed drugs, they were satisfied that it was really rice noodles and off I went.

As I looked back, it was really comical ! Definitely not a convincing story for a Singaporean to be driving noodles around Thailand!

Please do note that the fund raising trip from 25-28 January trip has only 5 slots left. The trip is all inclusive and it includes a SGD$200 contribution to the outreach fund.

If you are available, please email ben@radion-international.org quicky to reserve your space.

Additional updates :
Our office in Chiang Mai has been set up and now I'll be heading back to Phetchabun for a couple of days before going down to Bangkok for another set of meetings.

We are planning to start a school in 2008, but financially its a challenge. Please continue to pray together with us for this project to work out.

The leaders prayed that God will bless all our sponsors/ volunteers and their families. They've also asked us to relay their heartfelt gratitude to all the sponsors who have helped make a difference in their lives and they prayed that the Lord will continue to protect of our sponsor's families.

We have just completed 2 full days of outreach at the refugee camp. Tomorrow will be our final day of outreach. For the last 2 days, it has been lots of fun and the volunteers have given the most positive feedback ! :)

I'll post the pics as soon as I can !

Today, I spoke at Lanna International (Chiang Mai) and I spoke about the endless possibilities one can do, if only we are willing. I guess many times God does not choose the most beautiful vessel but the one which dares to step out and say “Use Me”

For me, I’m a “vertically-challenged” feller with not much of a looks to boast about. But I guess what differs me from a common folk is a burning passion to make a difference…. and a simplistic faith in God that He can use me to change the world.

It’s my personal challenge to my friends out there to step out and make a difference.

p/s : I’m done with the series of meetings, tomorrow 6am I’m heading back to Phetchabun with our Christmas Cargo !

We look to 2008 with both reluctance and anticipation. With confirm reports of these Hmong Lao being earmarked to be deported back, it is a painful year for RADION. But no man is a master of time, I guess we just have to look toward 2008 hoping to make a continual difference in these people’s lives.

In 2008, we need your continual support to make that difference. In fact, we aim to bring our MILK! Mission to the refugees every week but this of course subjected to funding.

This will be the very first 4D3N Fund Raising Trip (Project – The Next Step) in the year 2008. In each of these trips, we aim to raise funds (MILK!) by involving like-minded individuals to come alongside us to make a personal difference in the lives of these people. Please contact us if you can make the time.

eugene@RADION-International.org or Ben@RADION-International.org

Details as follows :

Project : The Next Step
Date : 25-28 Jan 08
Activity : MILK! Mission and entertainment for 1000 children
Cost : SGD$900/pax (Some SGD$200/pax will be channeled to the refugee outreach effort)

*As we fly by budget airlines, the earlier you book, the more funds we can channel to helping these people.

Come alongside us, feel our heartbeat, see our tears. You’ll understand why 2 young men gave up their common day jobs to commit themselves to an uncommon dream to bring hope to the hopeless.

When we first started the Project Christmas - Last Christmas, our dream was to bring the little ones a gift for Christmas. Something which will aid their education....a 1 hour lesson each week at a make-shift school.

It was a huge dream with very little time and it was not a small sum either, we needed some SGD7000 just to put a little gift in each child's hands.

Today, I'm proud to announce that we have met our target ! Yes. All 3500 children will get a gift this Christmas. And its through each and everyone of you who have chipped in a little to make this happen !

Yes. And miracles do happen.

I will be flying to Bangkok this Saturday to meet a few companies to see how we can collaborate to help these refugees.

I'll be running around from Bangkok to Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai and may not be able to blog as much as I would like to. But I'll post whenever i can :)

After that I'll be staying to work on the refugee project for about 1 month, so do bear with me. Internet is a rare thing on the mountains.

Please also note that the Christmas Trip is fully booked. We need volunteers for Jan and Feb. If you can afford the time to come alongside us to make a difference. Please drop both myself and ben an email.

See RADION International to know what we are working on :)

The dates have just been firmed up. Each of these trips will aim to bring MILK! to the children. These trips will include a SGD$200 contribution to the refugee outreach effort as well.

Please drop us an email if you would like more details.

eugene@radion-international.org
ben@radion-international.org

January Fund Raising Trip :
25-28 Jan (Fri-Mon)

February Fund Raising Trip :
15 - 18 Feb (Fri-Mon)

You know, its so easy to make a difference but so difficult to convince others.

For me, relatives and loved ones sometimes are the greatest discouragement when you want to do something meaningful. They will come up and tell you how "impractical" these dream are and 1001 reasons why they will not sustain.

In fact, they are right. Its impractical and may not be sustainable. But through impractical dreams, we brought the following :

I would like to mention someone very special in my blog - Pastor Ricky Tan.

This is the man that first brought me to the refugee camp and it was through his encouragement and help that we embarked on our refugee outreach project. Without his help, starting out would be impossible.

Pastor Ricky. Thank you once again for all your hospitality and your kind advices. Thank you for allowing CCOF to support us in our infancy stages and we will remember your kindness even as we go our separate ways !

As you all know, this is likely to be the last Christmas for these refugees before being sent back to Laos.

Deep in my heart I would really like to bring the Christmas cheer to these refugees and more then that, a small gift to each and every child in the camp. Yes all 3600.

To date we have enough funds to buy just 500+ children a stationary set.
So what do we do if we don't raise enough before Christmas ? The answer is simple, we will not have enough gifts for the remaining 3000+.

I'm sorry. But thats the reality and I can only do this much. But with your help to spread the word, I believe that we can achieve this target and bring smiles to 3000 children.

I have a dream which I've kept in my heart for almost 12 years now.

Since I was 15, I held a dream, a dream to reach out to people without hope. People who have nothing to fall back on and nothing to live for.

Sometimes in our Christian walk and we are just too image/reputation conscious. We are scared to be seen at Geylang(Red Light District) for the fear of being seen among prostitutes, drug addicts and the likes.

In fact, these are the people who need God the most. I believe that God can perform miracles in their lives today. I'm a living testimony to that.


My dream ? To build a centre to bring delinquents, destitute, prostitutes, gangsters, drug addicts, HIV children and the likes.... to bring them all in and care for them. For there is no greater joy then to see lives transformed and changed by God.

I see this refugee outreach in a similar light. And truly, there is no greater joy !

We are working to obtain a a charity status and we've been working on it for quite some time but its a challenge in view of all the red tapes, more so when funds collected are transfered a cause in another country.

Some close friends are telling me to keep RADION as a business so funds can reach the refugees and not be caught in the paperwork.

Yes. For the moment RADION International is a business, but its a business with a heart.
Now, I'm not going to put a tag and say "Some profit will be channeled to XXX cause", I'm going to be upfront, transparent and be totally un-businesslike.

This is my assurance ! ALL our earnings will be used prudently to better someone's life !

Sponsors. Thank you !

Edward Ong
Kenny Cheong
Chan Min Wai
Carmen Gonzales
Eny Ong
Linus Yee
Goh Gim Chuan
Lim Beng Wee
Martin Butler
Mindy Chia
Yvonne Ching
Willy Ong
Sharon Szto
Denise Silk
Peter Chua
Wendy Goh
Linda Goh

I hear people telling me that they cannot make a difference because they are not perfect or have not "reached that level". Lets face it, we are all not perfect.

Our start state and capacity may differ but I always believe that each person is capable of making a difference in his/her own circle/community. The only difference is daring to step out.

Look here my dear friends, I am not perfect. In fact, I have many flaws.... in fact many many flaws in my life. But having these flaws in our life, does not mean that we cannot make a difference in our little ways.

If I had seen needs and stood still. 7000 cups of milo will never been given out. 1600 blankets would never have reached the refugees. See my point ?

I throw these challenge out to my dear readers. Come step out into my world, together we can make a difference !

I guess many times when I blog. I tend to say all the nice things, the achievements and the good stuff.

But the challenges that we face on the ground is not always articulated.

So, here we go. I'm going to write both my honest feelings, challenges as well as the good stuff. This is all in the hope that you guys will see through my eyes.

So here we go, a new chapter of NewLifeOutreach blogging

Many people have asked me. "Eugene, if these Hmong Lao are returning back to Laos in 1 year and they will be eventually killed. Why are you still helping them ?"

Now my reply has always been such "If you have a loved one that has a terminal illness and have only 1 year to live, would you stop providing and caring for them ?"

In fact with each shortening minute, I find it more and more pressing to bring relief to these people. In my first few blogs, i wrote "...at least let me pray and walk this last mile with them" and i intend to do so ! http://newlifeoutreach.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-petchaboon.html
This year's Christmas would probably be their last and after which they will return to a life filled with uncertainty and death.

This challenge I pose to my readers. "Come join hands with me and walk this last mile together with these Hmong people for their last Christmas."

To know more about this trip click here -->

http://newlifeoutreach.blogspot.com/2007/11/remembering-refugees-on-christmas.html

UNHCR has been denied access to the camp in Thailand and the decision by the Thai government to forcefully deport the refugees has caused widespread concern among NGOs and human rights groups.

By the end of 2008, more than 8200 Hmong-Lao people currently seeking refuge in Phetchabun refugee camp will be forcefully deported back to Laos. While the UN has classified them as refugees, both the Thai & Laos government has classified them as illegal immigrants thus justifying the deportation process.

The majority of the population are Hmong, an ethnic minority from Laos. For the last 2 years, the government of Thailand has been deporting small groups back to Laos without investigating the cause of departure and many Hmong Lao have committed suicide in the process of deportation.

With UNHCR denied access to the screening process, the safety of the deported Hmong Lao is in question.

These Hmong-Lao had been the target of atrocities and genocide in Laos for aiding the US in the Vietnam War. With countless eye-witness accounts and physical wounds to substantiate the claim, the government of Laos has maintained its stand that Hmong Lao are illegal immigrants and should return back to Lao.

The Hmong Lao live in daily fear of being deported back to Laos and many of these refugees have said that they would choose the option of committing suicide rather than to go back to Laos where their whole families will be tortured to death.

With RADION International coming online, you can contact me at the following :

eugene@radion-international.org


Now this should resolve all the bounced mail issues from hotmail to my current yahoo.com.sg account.

If you have any queries, or you wish to help out in any way. Please feel free to write to me.

This trip was probably the most memorable one to date. We brought MILK! to some 1600 children and not only that we had the opportunity to bring smiles to their little faces when we had a games session.

A few Australian Chinese friends made an ad-hoc decision join us and they too had a great time at the refugee camp.

Now for less talk and more pictures !

In about 30mins, we'll undertake another arduous 7 hour journey to the Hmong refugee camp. Though the journey is tiring, but for me my reward comes by seeing the faces of the ones whom I'm bringing aid to.

Seeing little faces light up, seeing lives transformed, seeing people given a hope to live on.

I'll return on Monday to continue my blogging. In the meantime, please help us spread the word and through our efforts, we can make a difference in the lives of these people !

Yesterday, we've received a great news. Our company RADION International is registered and we're good to start work.

During our shipping of our relief containers, we faced quite a bit of problems as we did not have a company to front this effort. The second challenge is that donors are reluctant to donate as we did not have a corporate bank account.

Now with RADION International online, we're able to do all these on a non-profit basis and bring more to the refugees. Appended is our business data


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE OF CONFIRMATION OF REGISTRATION OF BUSINESS


This is to confirm that the business is registered under the Business
Registration Act (CAP 32), on and from 15/11/2007 and that the business
name is registered until the date of expiry on 15/11/2008.

The particulars of the business are as follows:

Name of Business:
RADION INTERNATIONAL

Registration No:
53104809L

Principal Place of Business:
92 HILLVIEW AVENUE SINGAPORE 669592

Principal Activity:
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Description of Principal Activity:
EVENT COORDINATION & VOLUNTEER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Secondary Activity:
TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS

Description of Secondary Activity:
OVERSEAS VOLUNTEER TRAVEL

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)

Appended is a copy of our Nov Newsletter for your reading.

In summary, we have brought some 1500 blankets to the refugee camp as such every single family has at least one blanket to brace them through the cold. For MILK! mission, we have reached some 2500 children in our outreaches !

Click Here to download the newsletter

Many times when we reach the refugee camp, the people will just come up to us and tell us how much our visit means to them, how we have made a difference in their lives. I guess thats what we are all about -"Providing Hope & Creating Meaning"

Christmas is more then just a season for giving. Its a season of Hope. Join me to bring hope to these people not with just words, but our action to remind them that they are not forgotten.

This next trip will be special as we are planning not only the the regular MILK! mission but also conduct special interaction programs and maybe gifts(Pending sponsorship).

Date : 21 - 25 Dec 07 (Friday-Tuesday)
*25 Dec is a holiday
Cost : SGD $500 (Land Only)
*This trip will see some 200+ being channeled back to refugee effort.
Objective : Hands on trip with simple distribution of reliefs


Please contact me at eugenew81@yahoo.com.sg if you would like more information on this trip!

Newsletter
For those who are still not part of our mailing list and would like to receive our regular monthly letter to be updated on our key events and happenings, please drop me an email at eugenew81@yahoo.com.sg and I'll add you guys in !

Talks & Awareness Building
On 20 Nov, I'll be heading back to Singapore to attend 2 good friends' wedding, attend meetings as well as to conduct awareness-building talks. If your group (Team/Group/Company/Churches/Etc) are looking to support our efforts but would like to know more about what we do, you can reach me at the above mentioned email to coordinate.

I'll be in Singapore for about a month before flying back up to Chiang Mai to run the outreach in Dec.

We have been running our regular MILK! Missions for the last 3 months, making a total of 5 trips to help the Hmong refugees. Embarking of each of these missions cost us some 20,000Baht (Approx SGD $860). These relief bringing missions mean a lot to the refugees where each trip we see some 1000 children being fed !

We have not much, but we hope to be able to help these people for as long as finance can sustain us. The current funds can last us for the next 4 missions but anything onwards, we need your prayers and kind support !

With your support, we can continue to bring miracles to these refugees ! - Eugene

You know, every single time I head up to the refugee camp. I spare no effort to put in my very best even if it means getting all dirty and dusty.

One staff asked me "Pii[Older brother], how many boxes should I put on the truck ?" I always had the same reply "As many as we can take"

This mission we managed to bring the warm clothings for 5 groups totaling some 774 families.

For me, I cherish each outreach mission like a last. Like the last day for the Hmong before they return and like the very last day where I live.

This is especially true in view of the Hmong people's upcoming deportation where we really won't know what will be of them.


The last mission was extremely stirring when I spoke in my broken Thai to the Hmong leaders
I asked "Have you heard of the deportation plan back to Laos next year"
The leader replied "Yes. Please help us if you can....thank you for everything. We'll remember you"

And for these people who have been forgotten.... I'll remember them in my prayers too and may the Lord bring about a miracle for these people.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading up to the refugee camp as scheduled. This round we will be bringing a group of 9 children from Care Corner and many are coming for the first time to help us in our distribution of warm clothes and reliefs !

In every of our trips, we aim to bring along someone new as we firmly believe that its a life changing experience. Its true for me and many of my friends. All so often we've heard feedback that its a life changing experience for the volunteers.

Sometimes when my family and friends ask me "Eugene, is this worth all the sacrifice ?"
My answer ?

"No amount of money can buy the sense of satisfaction when you bring hope to the hopeless. Sacrifice ? Yes its painful but its worth every single bit ! "

As scheduled, we'll head up once again to Phetchabun this friday to bring warm clothes to the children as well as to run another installment of our MILK! mission.

Whenever I head up to the refugee camp, I feel a big heaviness in my heart. A sadness for the Hmong people who may only have less then 2 years before being sent back to Laos. That is where their fate remains terribly uncertain.

A friend sent this video link to me and I guess it deepens my resolve to help these people before their time runs out.



My opinion is that as long as there is no international oversight in the resettlement, we cannot be sure if the Hmong people will safe. For me, I choose to take the worst case scenario.

We've been just informed that the cold season has arrived in the mountainous Phetchabun and today we're starting to feel the cold even here in Chiang Mai.

I'm really glad that we've managed to bring all the blankets to the Hmong people and we know for sure that each family has a blanket from us to tide them through the cold nights.

It has not been a easy task, but when I look back... its truly worth it !

Our next task ? To bring the remaining warm clothes up in the next 2 months !

Some of the readers have asked for our routine outreach schedules so they can join us if their schedule permits.

So here it is
Date : 2 - 4 Nov 07 (Friday- Sunday)
Type : Routine + Fact Finding
Outreach Focus : MILK! & Distribution of warm clothings

Date : 16-19 Nov 07
Type : Routine
Outreach Focus : MILK! & Distribution of warm clothings

If you would like to join us, please drop me a email for more details. These trips do not include sightseeing and all cost quoted will go into the refugee outreach.

From 17-19 Oct, the volunteers arrived and assisted with the packing of blankets and warm clothings. Of course this was not all without fun !

On 19 Oct, we loaded the remaining 600+ blankets and made the push to Phetchabun with 3 trucks and a team of 17 people.

Left : Our logistics and preparation for the MILK! mission

Bottom : Children running up in anticipation of the food they'll receive








When we arrived in the refugee camp, the children were already crowding in the hundreds around the exit. Each hoping to be the first to reach us for the milk & biscuits.

Its a tearful scene when you see the children are allowed to come out.. Many children started running towards the shed which we have prepared the food.

On that special day, 1000+ children from Zone B, D & G were given milk and food. (Numbers closer to 1400 as some hungry children from other groups sneaked out too ! In hope of getting the milk from us)


Just as we were about to leave, we were informed that the nights are turning extremely cold and our blankets arrived just in time !

It may not be much, but at least we know that each family in the refugee camp has at least a blanket to see them through the cold.

Just on our previous trip, the leader of Zone E surprised us when he asked for more blankets.

At first we though that our census figures were incorrect, but after doing some checks, it was correct. At least for the last couple of days !

The leader and the military informed us that every other week there are new families. And to complicate matters, a baby born in the camp every 2 days.

With the ever increasing demand for blankets, it is not only challenging but also ineffective to "chase these needs". What I've done instead is to buy 100 more blankets, this would be distributed to the refugees equally. Just to tide these people through the cold season.

I'm thinking it would be only effective to run a blanket mission once every year over the Aug-Sep, just before the cold season. Let me know what you guys think !

p/s : Blankets will be brought up this weekend with 8 of our volunteers. Pray with us and standby for more pictures when I get back !

After working with the Hmong refugees for 3 months, I see a huge amount of needs. Needs which cannot be fulfilled by just a one off relief effort or even a 3 month stint. To make a significant impact, it demands regular and consistent commitment.

I had given much thought to this issue and I decided to commit further and give up the prospect of having a cushy well paid job.

This is my plan. I'm starting a commercial company to allow us to do the following :

Now, this is a huge step for me and foolishness for many, but maybe through my small ways I can make an exponential impact and difference to the lives of these people !

Yes. We have all heard these saying all too often. Let’s re-look at some of these sayings and examine its sense. Let me give a few common queries and examples:

1 ) "What can a few bucks do to help the less fortunate? Since I cannot donate much, then I rather not give."

So let me break it down in numbers so we can all visualise.

SGD 10 Bucks can do the following :
- Buy a packet of milk powder ( One packet can feed some 50 hungry children or
- 2 warm blankets for the refugees or
- 23 packets of food.

Now, to a mother in a refugee camp who has a hungry child crying on the floor your 10 bucks tides the child though one month. This critical one month can mean life or death to that child.

2 ) "I want to make sure my money goes only to buying MILK and nothing else."

Sure we can do that. But again, if we are restricted to buy only milk and have no funds for our supporting logistics ie (Fuel for the trucks). It would still not be possible to bring these packets of milk up to the refugee camp.

I'm thankful that most of our donors have given with such trust and told us "Eugene, just use it in any way that the refugees will benefit from it.

3 ) “How do I know that it’s a genuine outreach and not a spoof ?”
My answer is simple.

“Fly up to Chiang Mai. Meet me in person and journey up with me to the refugee camp. After that you can decide if this is all a spoof”

Messages from the leaders and people from the Hmong Refugee Camp.

"....Please send our heartfelt thanks to the sponsors from Singapore. Thank you"

"...Thank you for loving us and remembering us..."

"...You have given us strength to live on..."

"... Thank you for all you have done. God bless you..."

"..Coming here we have nothing.... They [blankets] are like a miracle to us.... Thank you"

"...Please continue to remember us... help if you can"

- Translated by Antalika Saevue & Eugene Wee

Relief Mission (Blankets Distribution)
We squeezed as many boxes of blankets into our trucks and managed to bring 764 blankets in this trip alone. The distribution is as shown :


Zone Requirement Supplied
Zone B 187 187
Zone D 77 77
Zone F 142 142
Zone G 297 297
Zone E 184 61 (123 Outstanding)






MILK! Mission
This mission we saw some 1000 children being fed. Although the reported numbers was 984 but when a put a cup count, we gave out more then 1200 cups of milo to the refugee children.

Zone C - 463 Children
Zone A&E - 521 Children

We departed on 5 Oct(Fri) afternoon and have traveled some 6 hours towards Phetchabun to bring the reliefs to the refugees. Just when we were 1 hour away from our destination, we noticed some flooding along the highway. But we pressed on as this is the fastest route to the town.

Traveling on, we were halted by traffic and rescue wardens that the whole road leading to the town was impassable due to the floods. As such, we needed to backtrack some 2 hours and use another access road.

When we finally reached our destination, we have traveled some 10 hours on the roads. But we were more then happy as all our cargo are all intact :)
Picture on the left was was shot from our vehicle.

Our team have just arrived at CCOF this evening. Although it has been a tiring trip for all the team members, but its was well worth it !

It was an exciting trip as we managed to feed some 1000 children in this extended MILK! outreach. It was nothing short of an adventure !

Do give me some time to prepare the photos and articles before I post them up tomorrow !

We'll be heading up to Petchaboon refugee camp for a second installment of our MILK! Mission from this Friday onwards

In our last visit, we brought biscuits and milk to feed almost 500 children from Zone F. Although the journey was arduous but it was all worth it when you see the smiles of the children.

This time, we'll be pushing ourselves just a little more..... we'll be attempting to feed some 1000 children from Zone A, C & E. This will be done in 2 shifts, an early morning shift and one in the afternoon.

In total, we have budgeted about 14,820 Baht (About 650 SGD) for this mission.

We constantly need both financial and also your moral support, so please continue to help spread the word by directing your friends to this page.

In the month of October, we have also lined up a couple of events which will benefit our readers. All proceeds will be channeled to the refugee camp MILK! Mission. Please feel free to send this emailer to your friends.

There is significant difference between a hard-core missionary and a humanitarian rights activist.

Neither am I the kind that will go up to a place of need and coerce desperate people to believe in Christianity in exchange for reliefs.

I believe in giving unconditionally regardless of their religious backgrounds.

Saying all that, I would probably have never been able to do all that if I'm not first a Christian.

Without lifting a finger, many can talk about compassion and love. But for me, I choose to make a difference through my actions.