How Many More?

About thirty minutes ago I read in today's Star newspaper of a case yesterday, (Friday), where a single mother in her 30's died giving birth to a baby girl in a toilet in a factory near Melacca.
She bled to death.
The newspaper report is an afterthought.
Its not on the front page, or second page, or fifth page, but hidden away, almost like the newspaper is not interested in the issue but will report it cause there ain't much news really apart from the Bersih rally and stuff.
I don't know the circumstances.
I don't know why she was a single Mum.
I don't know what the issues are with her pregnancy.
I don't know why she chose to give birth in a factory toilet
But I do know one thing. SHE AND HER NEWBORN BABY GIRL DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE LIKE THIS!
There is no excuse in any society for this to happen.
There is also no excuse for the media to almost ignore this.
This should be front page news.
So should domestic violence.
These issues should be reported. They should be front page news.
These issues should be condemned by all decent society.
These issues should be condemned and addressed by the Government and the agencies empowered to protect its citizens by investigation, and prosecuting all violators to the full extent of the law. And by enacting measures to protect women like this from meeting their death in such an inhumane way.
Every time. Without fail.
Society has lost a woman. A woman who was working for her life. Who was bringing a gift of new life into the world. She was someones daughter. Someones sister. Someones friend.
And we, (yes we, all of us), lost her in a most traumatic and disturbing way.
Disturbed. You bet I am.
And now she is nothing more than a post note in a newspaper.
I know my blog is about voluntary work, but I see girls on the street, homeless and afraid when I'm with Reach Out. And this is why this tragedy disturbs me.
We try and help. But what happens to the ones who fall through the net that we and other NGO's don't see and therefore cant help?
Are they destined to die in toilets, afraid, alone, ignored, in pain, abused?
I started White Ribbon in Malaysia to empower men to stand up against abuse to women and girls. Women also need to stand up against this. I still believe that men and women can be empowered to stop these types of events that I discuss above from happening. But we need to really, really push this hard.
Before another girl dies unnecessarily.

They Need Your Help!

I love this photo. Its taken at 02.15am on Sun morning on the banks of the river between Pasa Seni LRT and Dayabumi, (down river).

Artist unknown.

Message clear. Says it all!

Values.

Been a really interesting week or so with Reach.
Funny how you really see peoples values when the fan is on and the brown stuff is flying!!
Thankfully, our boys and girls that work with Reach are made of strong stuff.
Reach is moving. Going from strength to strength.
We have had to adjust our street food run timings so as not to overlap other organisations who are working on the street.
They may not even consider that but we want to make sure we get food to the needy at the time they need it and if that means we have to adjust our times, so be it.
You see, its easy to come out at 7pm or 5pm and feel that you are doing something good. Or on Saturdays or Sundays.
No issue with doing that, but don't you damn well dare start spouting in the press about what you are doing. That's EGO!
We are out at 11.30pm, 2am, 4am, Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, in fact everyday of the week. We feed in places where other groups cant or wont go. So don't get holier than thou through the press.
If your gonna do this do it for the right reasons.
Then we have the Obedient Wives Club.
Lots in the press.
I'm supporting the AntiOWC for one main reason.
I DO NOT accept that domestic violence is the fault of the victim! Thats what they have said and repeated time and time again.
That's why I started White Ribbon Malaysia. To add Malaysia to the growing global movement called White Ribbon.
I know who this OWC are and who they are linked to and if you don't stand up against this then you condone their actions/statements/views by your silence.
Of course if you agree with the OWC then fine. I don't. That's my choice. And its everyones choice to stay quiet or make their concerns known.
So lets just say, I say NO. NEVER. NOT IN MY LIFETIME will I accept and stay quiet on the OWC and their shameful, disgusting, discriminatory views on women and girls.
NO. NEVER. NOT IN MY LIFETIME.
Not until they are gone and it is shown that civilised society will not allow their warped, deviant, and disgraceful stance against women to remain.
They must be consigned to a distant memory, a bad memory and one that we wont ever let come back.
Its a new Reach week.
Time to meet new friends and volunteers on the streets. Time to continue to try and get our street friends reintegrated back into society.
A time to share what we do with those that want to help.

Tough? You Bet.

Haven't been on this blog for a while. Haven't had the heart to write really.
Not been well, house got burgled, but in the end I haven't had the heart to put onto the site some of the stuff I have seen.
Don't get me wrong though. There have been some outstanding moments in the recent Reach Out journey, but I suppose, like all human beings I get depressed.
Whilst we have managed to get quite a few folks off the street and back into mainstream society, the numbers coming onto the street keep increasing.
They are from everywhere and the tide continues to push against what Reach Out is doing.
Our volunteer base is increasing and we have a group of truly wonderful people out all days and at all hours doing what we can to help those in need.
We have brilliant sponsors, although we always need more, and they, together with our volunteers keep the whole thing moving.
But are we winning the battle against poverty?
No.
That's the truth.
That's the depressing part cause we know who can do this and how they can do it and how we can help them achieve this but they don't care.
So we continue to do the best we can with what we have.
I talk a lot with our street friends. Their message remains the same.
They respect us for what we do and that we care. That the food we give is fresh and enjoyable. They look forward to our street teams meeting with them every night. They are happy that someone actually cares about them.
But its not enough.
They want jobs.
They want homes.
They want to enjoy many of the things that we take for granted.
I sit by myself sometimes at night having a last cigarette before going to sleep and I think of them. Where they are, what they are doing, how they are coping.
I think of our Reach volunteers out there doing what they can to bring relief to those in need.
And I get sad.
I think of those in power in their beds in their lovely homes or at their functions who don't even give a second thought.
And I get angry.
I walked the river last week with some volunteers from JAWI. I showed them and introduced them to the guys and girls who live under the flyovers that nobody knows about except us. They were shocked.
For a while no one talked as they took in the scene before them.
The previous joyful mood as we went about our work became somber and thoughtful as the new volunteers tried to understand what they were seeing.
The realisation that these were not drug addicts, criminals, drunks, but were in fact just breathing human beings the same as us, with aspirations and a life, sunk in and the reality of the street feeding programme and why Reach Out does what it does made sense to them.
And that's when I felt glad.
Glad that our street friends could show, just by their simple existence, that what Reach Out does is of value. That it is needed. That it is welcomed by those in need.
And I felt glad that a new group of volunteers maybe changed their perception of what poverty really is about.
I suppose that I should feel lucky that I have the opportunity to do this type of work. But how can I feel that when there is so much suffering.
And so I continue to pray for the strength to do what I do and for the safety of our volunteers, and for the speedy relief and end of the suffering of my fellow human beings.
I break it down into one small success after another. Celebrate these successes, and move onto the next challenge.
Once on this journey there is no retreat.
Forward, forward, always forward.
Truth and justice will prevail.
I believe that. Strongly and without question.