My 2010 Hope List

Even the most cynical among us probably harbour a belief that the new year will bring new hope. Even though it is just another day, it is symbolic of a new start.

My hope list for 2010 is just so long...I hope for freedom from poverty, freedom from child abuse, freedom from child labour, freedom from all forms of oppression, freedom from discrimination, freedom from exploitation, freedom from injustices... and most of all... the freedom for all the children in the world to live a life free from war, strifes, hunger and pain.

House rennovation going at snail pace (4)

Four and a half months after it all started. Almost there but still not quite. Contractor gave his assurance to deliver by 30th December.

Christmas wishes

Christmas lights in laid back city, Shah Alam, Malaysia, a place I had called home for the last 10 years.



All dressed up for a slumber party?

May the spirit of Christmas brings you peace,

The gladness of Christmas gives you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grants you love.

The hazardous nature of child labour!

In 2008 a rapid assessment of child labour in non-traditional mining was carried out by the Mining Sector Diversification Programme (funded by the European Commission) in partnership with the ILO’s Time Bound Programme Support for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Project for Zambia (funded by the U.S. Department of Labor).

The assessment found that child labour continues to exist in mining and that children are involved in all aspects of the production chain as well as in informal sector stone crushing (quarrying). Children, some as young as seven years, carry out support functions in the mining areas such as fetching water, preparing and selling food, and, in some instances, in the actual mining operation. It provides clear evidence of the hazardous nature of many of the children's tasks; their exposure to toxic substances and extreme heat, lifting heavy loads, working long hours and working at night.

Full article at https://webdev.ilo.org/pls/apex/f?p=109:51:844024720561387::::P51_CONTENT_ID:18275:

If you think you are deprived...

If you think you are deprived and miserable...please look at these pictures!

Hands of 8 year old Munna working in a rickshaw parts factory! He works 10 hours a day and gets USD8 equivalent a month! Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

13 year old Islam in a silver pot making factory. He has been working here for 2 years, under very hazardous conditions! Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

Children at a brick crushing factory. Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

An 11 year old in a silver pot making factory in Dhaka. He had been working in this factory for 3 years, getting the equivalent of USD10 a month. Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

A young labourer making metal components in a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh . Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

7 year old Jasmine collecting rubblish from a rubbish heap on a cold winter morning in Kajla to support her family! Picture from http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

Child selling balloons in the streets of New Delhi. Picture from http://www.sadashivan.com/

Although numerous international treaties and organizations work tirelessly to improve conditions for children, there are still 320 million children under the age of sixteen working around the world—150 million of those in the most harmful industries.

Let us be content

Let us be content, my soul,

With what the years have brought.

We desired a heaven, but it seems we were caught,

In the net of mundane things.

We trod the old prosaic path of humdrum circumstance.

And yet it has been good, my soul,

For looking back today - I see there was a golden light on the familier way.

Quoted from Patient Strong's "Thoughts for Every Day"

Shopping

More window shopping /shopping for furnitures.

A modest looking dining table... still under consideration. Need to see more options.

A nice day bed, but the arm rest is on the wrong side for me

A very comfortable day bed with arm rest on the left as I wanted, but a bit expensive

A lovely setting in brown/beige. Chose the 2+3 sitters, not the 2 chairs...look nice but I think not comfortable

That which is beautiful

Went serious shopping for furnitures with second son and daughter in-law yesterday and today. Love the couch! Placed an order for a set in a darker colour.

Couldn't make up my mind whether to get a long or round dining table. Looks like I have to think about it for another week or so.

I saw a classic arm chair (picture below) just like the one the late Tun VT Sambanthan (then Minister of National Unity) had in his office nearly 40 years ago, which I helped in purchasing.

That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful. ~Ninon de L'Enclos

Some hard truths!

You're getting old when you don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.

Statistics show that at the age of seventy, there are five women to every man. Isn't that an ironic time for a guy to get those odds?

Middle age is when you have stopped growing at both ends, and have begun to grow in the middle.

I have found at my age going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of my face.

Extracted from: http://www.dobhran.com/humor/GRhumor264.htm

Ke...ke...ke...

World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse

Today, 19 November, is the World Day for the Prevention of Child abuse, , initiated by the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) in 2000, with the objective to create a culture of prevention around the world by encouraging governments and community/society organizations to play more active roles in protecting children.

Among the activities associated with World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse is the Yes to Prevention of Child Abuse! Yellow Sticker Campaign, which advocates posting a yellow sticker in prominent places to show your support for preventing child abuse. In addition, on November 20, UNICEF, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization will release the United Nations Secretary World Report on Violence Against Children, to coincide with both World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse and with the 15th anniversary of the Commission for the Rights of the Child.

Information from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/resources/spotlight/112006_child_abuse_prevention.cfm

A life lived for others

Today on the long drive with Fuziani to Kuala Selangor to buy fish, we started talking about our Mothers, both of whom had passed away, her's in 2003 and mine in 1998. When she asked me what I remembered most about my Mother, I told her it is my Mother's selfless devotion to her family. I gave her an example.

There was one year when my Father got quite sick. I was still in primary school. He had quite bad diabetes and had to go to the Ipoh General Hospital regularly, about 2 hours drive away from Parit Buntar (a small town where we used to stay) to get his regular insulin jabs. Then my Mother learnt from an old Thai lady about a small wild plant which could cure diabetes.

Mother used to walk out of town to the fringes of the jungle to harvest the plant at least once a week, most of the time bringing her children with her. She painstakingly plucked and washed the leaves, pounded the leaves into a paste and cooked the paste with a whole big piece of meat on low heat for several hours. When it was done, she would take out the meat and serve the paste to my father. But each time, 2 hours before she served my father the paste she would take 2 tablespoons herself first. Why? I asked her. Do you also have diabetes? I still remember her reply "if nothing happens to me within 2 hours, then I will give father the paste".

Actually, she was never sure whether the wild plants she harvested were the right ones and she was afraid that Father may be poisoned and die. What if you die? I asked her. Her answer was" it is better for me (rather than father) to die because I do not earn money. Your Father has to live to earn money to bring you all up". Even though I was still small and could not fully appreciate her selflessness, I had never forgotten what she said. Also my father was actually cured with the paste.

Fuziani was amazed. Would you have done the same? We asked each other. Neither she nor me gave an answer...

Only a life lived for others is worth living - Albert Einstein

In solitude

In solitude the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself. - Laurence Sterne

Child labour is simply the single most important source of child abuse in the world

• Child labour remains a serious problem in the world today.
• According to estimates by ILO, the number of working children between the ages of 5 and 14 is at least 120 million.
• The majority of the children are in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But pockets of child labour also exist in many industrialized countries.
• Numerous children work in occupations and industries which are plainly dangerous and hazardous.
• Working children suffer significant growth deficits compared with children in school: they grow up shorter and lighter, and their body size continues to be smaller even in adulthood
• Many working children are exposed to hazardous conditions which expose them to chemical and biological hazards.
• Large numbers of working children work under conditions which expose them to substances with long latency periods -- for example, asbestos -- which increases the risk of contracting chronic occupational diseases such as asbestosis or lung cancer in young adulthood.
• Children in certain occupations are especially vulnerable to particular types of abuse. For example, many studies confirm that child domestic workers are victims of verbal and sexual abuse, beating or punishment by starvation.
• Child labour is simply the single most important source of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today.

Information above from http://nird.ap.nic.in/clic/Rrdl12.html

Pictures from flickr.com, bized.co.uk, news.everyclick.com. instablogs.com

My next life

I ask myself this question. If I were to be granted one wish in my next life what would I request from God? God, can I ask for more? Most of all I wish I will never fall sick, never feel hurt and I wish nobody on earth would live in sickness, poverty and hunger.

I can see the humorous side of things and enjoy the fun when it comes; but look where I will, there seems to me always more sadness than joy in life. ~
Jerome K. Jerome

I am in His debt

Another year older,
a tear on your shoulder.
Life has not been so bad,
my tear is of joy not because I'm sad.

Another day older,
more pages added to my folder.
I'm glad of whom I am today,
I would not have myself any other way.

So don't mind that I write my own birthday rhyme,
I've lived through my life up till this time.
I think it is safe to say,
that things will go as planned His way.

He's got more for me yet,
It'll be even better I bet.
Another year older,
and I am in His debt. - by Anonymous

You would be sickened reading this!

Harrisons Daily reported that in Arkansas, USA a husband and wife were arrested on 29 October recently for extreme child neglect. According to the report their children, ages 8 and 10 were rarely let outside the house. They were kept in a small room with the windows boarded shut and doors padlocked from the outside.They were forced to use a “potty chair,” which was sometimes full, inside the room and also made to eat in the room. The carpet inside the room was “heavily soiled and saturated with human waste and had a repulsive smell to which the children were constantly exposed. The children had never been to school and were unable to read or write.

Please read the full article: Parents accused of child abuse

Readers were outraged. I copied several of the comments below:

sickened wrote on Oct 30, 2009 10:57 AM:
" HANG THEM! This is terrible to do this to children. The poor kids can't even defend themselves. We have killers, rapists, & drug dealers in jail that have better lives than these poor children. I feel so badly for these kids."

Mr. Mad wrote on Oct 30, 2009 11:32 AM:
" i cant beleive this. they got only a 10,000 dollar bail. and also got out hours afterwards? i have finally lost faith in our judiciary system. NOT HAPPY AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

Bob wrote on Oct 30, 2009 2:06 PM:
" That is truly sick and I think they deserve the same treatment! Off with their heads! "

House rennovation going at snail pace (3)

This is how the rennovations look like after 2 and a half months. Electrical lines, phone lines, TV lines all installed. Next week contractor had scheduled to install aircon conduits, water piping and to complete plastering...hopefully...keeping my fingers crossed on that! Toilet and kitchen tiles have been chosen, using shades of grey for all toilets and white for the kitchen. Quotations for wood laminated floor received... laminating the sitting and dining and the bedrooms. Decided to carpet the staircase instead of wood lamination, partly to save cost and partly for safety (less slippery).