New Life Outreach

The Hmong children rushed to the distribution table when we prepared the rations. Children were staring hungrily at the cups of ovaltine/biscuits and for a moment there I thought that they will start snatching !

But instead, they just stood there with their little eyes of hope... hoping that we have enough to feed their little tummies.

The next sight was most stiring.
When the children received the cups of ovaltine and biscuits, they guard it with such fervency.... not spilling even a drop. The biscuits were slowly savored, eaten so very slowly that nothing is wasted.

In the video you'll see what i mean.

In view of the discount we secured on the blanket purchase, we can now roll-over the remainder funds to our 2nd goal - The goal to bring milk and augment food for the refugees.

So these are the changes to our fund raising targets

Goal 1 ) Blanket Mission - $5,450
(Initial budget of $8,000)

Goal 2 ) Milk & Rice Mission - $10,550
(Initial $8000. Roll over of $2,550 from 1st Goal's target)

Collected - $3,320
(Excess from 1st Goal has been channeled to 2nd Goal)

Goal 3 ) Mozzie Nets & Development - $8,000
(No change)

The 2 most frequent questions I've received are :

1 ) Where is Petchaboon ?
2 ) Is it safe ? Hint *You know the Afghanistan kidnap incident

Answering these questions

Answer 1 ) Petchaboon is the fringe town between the North and North-Eastern Thailand. It is also aptly nicknamed the "Alps of the East" in view of its beautiful mountain ranges and cool inviting weather.

Answer 2) Yes its safe. Firstly, its on Thai soil, secondly, its some 100km away from the Lao's border and thirdly, its under the management and purview of the Thai military.

There will be some 10 team members (both male & female) heading up to the refugee camp. This mixed team consist of volunteers, fund raisers and staff.

If you're keen to join us on this 17-22 Oct Fund raising trip, please email me to reserve your space.

As true blue asians, we have managed to strike a bargain for the purchase of the blankets. With these cost savings, we can afford to channel more to the MILK mission

Now for the accounts !

We have placed an order for 1250 blankets at 95 Baht (SGD $4.30) instead of the normal price of 110 Baht. The total cost payable is THB 118,750 and a deposit of THB 50,000 has been placed.

These blankets should reach Chiang Mai by next Monday just in time for our next trip (5-6 Oct) to the refugee camp !

In the last trip, we stayed in a quiet village some 20mins from the refugee camp. When we arrived in the afternoon the temperature was a cool 28 deg. However, towards nightfall the weather turned chilly. I reckon the temperature to be something in the ranges of 18 Deg.

We believe that the transition into cold season has started and the refugees would need the blankets earlier then expected. As such, we'll be rushing to purchase the remaining 1250 blankets today in hopes of reaching them in our next trip in the first week of October.
This change would not affect the 6D/5N Petchaboon Fund Raising Trip scheduled in Mid-Oct. The only difference is that we'll be rushing more clothes to them during that trip.

We have a small group who have indicated interest for the trip, but more helpers are still required ! Please email me @ eugenew81@yahoo.com.sg if you would like to join.

Our team proceeded up to Petchaboon refugee camp bringing with us food reliefs and the simple hope of making a difference in someone's life.

It was a tearful sight to see all the hungry children receiving the food, a truly heart warming sight. The response for the outreach event was simply overwhelming with many Hmong people asking for prayers. Holding their hands, many team members prayed to tears with these very special Hmong people.

I guess I'll let the pictures do the talking :)





Making a difference : Feeding 456 hungry children from Zone F









Providing hope : Hungry children and mothers queuing up for their turn

Tomorrow, we'll be heading to the refugee camp for a 4 day long outreach program.... so please bear with me if the blog is not updated till Sunday :) For a quick overview....

This trip's objective will be the following :
1 ) Survey of a new factory site
2 ) Fact finding from leaders on food/living conditions and misc
3 ) MILK Mission

For this MILK Mission, we'll be aiming to feed some some 456 hungry children together with their mothers. So we are expecting a crowd of about 1000. This round, we've bought milk, ovaltine and biscuits.

With the limited funds we have, we can only bring a small cup of ovaltine and biscuit to each child. Although its not as much as we would like to give, but I believe with all my heart that its still going to be a great outreach !

Please pray with us and continue to spread awareness of these refugees. Together, we can make a difference !

Extracts from the transfer permit and clearance papers

"Included in this shipment are used or factory rejects, which are donated generously by our respective donors listed below, which weigh approximately 4,034 kg, comprising of 305 carton boxes.

S/N	Donated Items	Quantity (pcs/carton box)	Number of Carton Boxes	Donors
1.	Woman Blouses	1,787 pcs	21
2.	Woman Pants/Skirts	480 pcs	9
3.	Male Shirt	1,645 pcs	25
4.	Male Pants	653 pcs	15	Public (Individual) Donors
5.	Children's Clothing	3,622 pcs	38	Croc Asia Pte Ltd
6.	Winter/Warm Clothing	710 pcs	21	The Salvation Army
7.	Blankets	191 pcs	21	Mt Alvernia Hospital
8.	Shoes	3,577pcs	93
9.	Soap	4 cartons	4
10.	Tea	20 cartons	20
11.	Pasta (Dried)	16 cartons	16
12.	MISC (toys, books, bags)	22 cartons	22
	TOTAL		305

Disclaimer : The price-tag is not meant to attract budget travelers looking for a bargin, instead we're looking for people who want to encounter the Hmong people personally and through the visit, make a difference in their lives.

Objective : To bring the 1st batch of reliefs to Petchaboon refugee camp and in between... have lots of FUN visiting the attractions in Chiang Mai!

Activities :
- Re-packaging of reliefs for ground transfer
- Escorting the cargo from Chiang Mai - Petchaboon Refugee Camp
- Distribution of relief by hand to refugees
- Assisting with ongoing outreach efforts

Attractions :
- Visit Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
- Traditional Bamboo Rafting
- Visit to an elephant camp for Elephant Riding
- Cultural Show & Dinner
- Visit the famous Chiang Mai Weekend Walking Street

Accommodation Type : Basic (Fan cooled at CCOF & Petchaboon)
Meal Type : Local cuisine
Flight Type : Tiger Air
Group Size : 5 Pax (Min) - 15 pax(max)

Price Tag : SGD$850
(Pricy ? Because some $200+/pax will be channeled back to help the Hmong people)
*If you're really keen to help, but have a genuine financial constraint, please email me. We'll manage this on a case by case basis.

Detailed mission breakdown :

Tentative Date		Zone	Numbers	Type	Objectives
18-22 Oct		A & E	521	MILK Mission	Performance, Skits, Dance, Songs by CCOF
Fri-Sun		NA	NA	FRT 1	New Life Outreach Fund Raising Trip
		B,C,D	2301	Medical Mission	TBC
		All	All	Relief Mission	Delivery of 1st batch of reliefs (Blankets)

Please email me at eugenew81@yahoo.com.sg if you wish to reserve a slot or require more information.

September
1 ) Tanglin Fund Raising Bazaar - 15 Sep - Completed - Raised SGD $500
Sale of seconds from donors at Tanglin Mall Stall 2.

2 ) Mid-Autumn Festival - Mooncakes with a difference ! - Completed - Raised $280
This is a new initiative from Ms Mercy Teo. She has enlisted the help of a baker to make mooncakes for sale, this will be tagged together with our special awareness message.

Each box of 4 lotus paste mooncakes is priced at an affordable $28 of which $20 will go into buying milk/milo for the children outreach.

Please email Ms Mercy Teo & Perlita Wee for orders : perlitawee@yahoo.com.sg &
mercyteo@hotmail.com

October
1 ) Pioneer Fund Raising Trip To Petchaboon - Ongoing
This would be (17-22 Oct) 6D5N volunteer trip spanning a weekend to 2 places. Petchaboon refugee camp as well as Care Corner Orphanage. It will be a full package trip inclusive of all Meals/Transfer and Accommodation.

2 ) Parenting Talks - Ongoing

The initial plan was to purchase 8000 thin blankets (each costing an estimated SGD$3) for the refugees. This was how we derived the initial 8000 X 3 = $24,000.

In our last trip in August, we've asked the leaders to streamline and give us exact numbers of the resources (blankets/mozzie nets/milk/rice) which they need. These are the updated and steamlined numbers :

Blankets - 1438 (Assuming each family shares one)
Mosquito Nets - 1438 (Each family one)
Milk - 862 (For infants below the age of 6)

As the blankets will be meant for families, the small & thin blankets would not suffice. As such we'll be looking for thicker and larger blankets in Chiang Mai on a rough budget of SGD$6 per blanket.

With the amount raised, we would prioritise our budget in the following manner.
Priority/Purpose/Estimated Budget
1 /Purchase of 1300 blankets (Pressing need) /6 X 1300= SGD$7800
2 /Purchase of milk /TBC
3 /Purchase of mozzie nets /TBC

A big thank you to all our readers and friends who have specially made the trip down to Tanglin Mall to support our fund raising event.

It was a great success with some SGD $500+ raised from this single-day event alone. The SGD$500 raised will go into buying warm blankets which is a pressing need in the refugee camp as the cold season is approaching.

Your efforts will provide 83 families each with a blanket to see them through the cold season in the mountains.

Our container is scheduled to leave next week on 19 Sep 07 (tentative) with some 2 tons worth of relief.

We're expecting its arrival in mid-oct and that will be the time when I'll need helping hands to help re-pack, load and escort the cargo to the refugee camp ! In the refugee camp, I'll need people to help hand-out the reliefs as well as to help out in the MILK Mission.

This will be Petchaboon Fund Raising Trip which I have been raving about ! This trip is special as its the very first trip where we'll be bringing YOUR donations and you'll get see for yourself the difference you've made in these people's lives !

I'm looking at a small group size of maximum 10-15 pax. Please drop me a email at eugenew81@yahoo.com.sg if you would like to reserve a slot !

This is the official emailer for our upcoming fund raising bazaar.

In this bazaar, we'll be selling seconds from our donors at reasonable prices !
All proceeds will go to helping the Hmong refugees obtain necessities such as rice, blankets and milk.

For those who would like to contribute financially, you can also do so at the bazaar !

To help us raise awareness for this outreach program, you can forward this emailer to your friends! Lets make a difference today !
(Do this by clicking on the picture below-->You'll be directed to view the full sized version--> From there right click and save--> And there we go !)

Just an update of the status of the donated items as of 9 Sept.

Total weight - 1817.9 kg
Total carton boxes - 113 boxes
(size per carton are about L=60 cm B -45cm - Ht - 45 cm). mid size boxes.

Woman blouse - 1115 pcs
Woman pants/skirt - 305 pcs
Male shirt - 1265 pcs
Male Pants - 420 pc
Children's Clothes - 2402 (both top/bottoms) pcs
Winter Clothes -  475 pcs
Blankets - 137 pcs

* Excluding salvation army's contribution of basic
necessities (e.g. soap,shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste) and croc shoes
(so far 65 cartons of adult croc shoes) and potential blankets (from mt
alvernia hospital).

** There are more donated items coming in next week plus those unsold
items from bazzar sales, i think we can come up with another 10 carton
boxes.

Courtesy Of Mr Benjamin Goh

Thank you all for partnering with us in this outreach effort... please keep us in prayer and with your continual support, we can make a difference in the lives of these refugees !

The next trip is scheduled in 2 weeks and we will be focusing on the following :
1 ) Building project to house a small set-up to create jobs for the refugees.
2 ) Understanding from the authorities the deportation plan (See my previous article)
3 ) MILK Mission ! We're aiming to bless 500 hungry children with Milk, biscuits and entertainment

Lets await for a miracle !

Some pictures to update our collection progress ! Please be also reminded of our Fund Raising Bazaar in Tanglin Mall. Please come down to give your fullest support !

These are the clothes which have been
collected and repacked for boxing at Hillview Ave !

While staying at CCOF, I had the opportunity to interact with the children residing in the orphanage. All 74 children tell of heart-wrenching stories- Stories of their lives. Some nights when these little ones start sharing their hearts out, my eyes would well up with tears.

Many of these children have been dealt a great blow at a young age. Some were abandoned and thrown to the streets to die while others are orphaned by their HIV parents who now in turn suffer deadly inheritance of the virus. Through these turmoil, it would be understandable if they had been disgruntled, disillusioned with life and blaming God for everything.

But it’s the total opposite with these kids! They are always bubbling with such joy and just so thankful… thankful for all the small things like being able to attend school !

For the HIV children, knowing deadly condition, many are just grateful to be alive… Though they know of their limited lifespan, they still hang on to a hope... the hope of being a teacher, policeman, musician etc etc

But for the HIV children, all these may well be just as a hope and nothing more....

How many times have we wallowed in self-pity and forgotten about how blessed we really are? I for one am guilty. But it was through the eyes of these children, that I see.

Learn more about children sponsorship at www.CareCornerOrphanage.com

Footnote :

Owners of Care Corner Orphanage Ricky & Lay Hwa, thank you for such a heart-warming ministry !