By Pauline Wong
Sometimes charity is more than a cheque you fill out every month. Sometimes it takes more than money to truly make a difference in someone's life. Sometimes, just sometimes, believing in the power of a wish will do what money can never buy.
And believing in this premise is how Promise Me, a campaign by the Truly Loving Company (TLC) in collaboration with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, came to be. What started out as a search for a philanthropist has become a search for everyday, young Malaysian heroes who will fulfil pledges to make changes in the lives of others, especially the less fortunate.
Working with bloggers from Nuffnang as well as students from AIESEC and the ELC, Promise Me has seen many inspiring stories: Stories prove that generosity and kindness isn't dead - which is heart-warming and touching, especially since recent times have shown that money can buy just about anything except kindness.
From a simple makeover to a game of chess, from a girl's day out shopping to a football game - Promise Me is all about the little things that make a big difference.
You'll Never Walk Alone
It sounded simple when Kong Tian Leong (who blogs as Saimatkong) took up his pledge to raise money to buy a stroke survivor an ankle foot orthosis, but it took great effort to organise a charity car wash and battle through the soap and suds to help 60-year-old Kau Tan Chong buy the orthosis.
The 27-year-old helped Kau buy the special brace, which is designed to help the stroke survivor control the motion of his ankle joints and give him support for his foot.
Thanks to the kind support of the owner of Shine N Shield (an automotive detailing shop), Raymond Tan, Kong was able to raise around RM450 from the car wash alone, and with donations from various parties, raised a total of RM758. It may not seem like much, but something so small has helped so much.
"Mr Kau is a very optimistic and cheerful man. I sense though that he really needs a lot of care and people to talk to him. I was there (at NASAM) and chatted with him for about an hour," said Kong.
In his blog, Kong details his experience:
"Last Sunday was one of the most meaningful days in my life as I raised funds to fulfill Mr Kau's wish. I must thank Raymond, the owner of car detailing shop Shine N Shield at Sunway for supporting me in this car wash campaign. He not only gave a place to host this charity car wash campaign, but also provided me with two of his own workers to help out!
Rest Easy, Thyn Tong!
Even though Kimberley Low, who blogs as Kimberleycun, was cynical from the start about this campaign, it all changed when she received an anonymous donation from a kind soul, who offered to match what she had already managed to raise on her own.
Having taken the pledge to buy a new hospital bed for mentally-challenged and bed-ridden 17-year-old Goo Thyn Tong, she was humbled and touched when donations came in from all directions to enable her to raise a grand total of RM4,900.
In her blog, she writes:
"This is truly a humbling experience for myself. I gotta' admit, you guys are not just helping Goo but are doing me a HUGE favour too. I've never felt better in my life. Even the boyfriend has noticed a difference to my personality; according to him I'm displaying much less madness since I undertook the pledge! Being surrounded by so much kindness does make you view the world in a different light."
With that amount of money, Kimberley is looking not only to buy Goo a decent hospital bed, but possibly one more bed for the Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children's Association of Johor, where Goo is cared for.
Your Move, Mr Teoh
82-year-old Teoh Chee Cheong is an avid Chinese chess player, and for years, he has waited for a worthy opponent to play against. Having had to abandon his favourite pastime when a stroke left him less mobile than before, he wanted to relive his past glories as the neighbourhood champion - and the students from AIESEC Malaysia happily obliged.
Teoh then found himself facing off in an intense game of Chinese chess with Datuk Sri Ong Tee Keat!
"It was an invitation I could not refuse and I was delighted to help in fulfilling Mr Teoh's wish," said Ong, who added that it was his personal wish to see more youth organisations like AIESEC Malaysia take up initiatives to help the less fortunate and under-privileged in Malaysian society.
Howard Tee Wei Heng, an AIESEC student, credited TLC's Promise Me campaign for giving AIESEC this opportunity from amongst the 35 other wishes of the less fortunate and under-privileged. "AIESEC's mission is to develop student leaders and via this campaign, we can achieve our goals whilst contributing back to society".
Go for the Goal
When a student of the Business Development Manager of ELC International School. Approached Rajan Kaloo early during the campaign and asked for his help and ideas in fulfilling an orphan's (from Rumah Aman) wish to learn football, he rose to the occasion.
They talked at length about getting a coach, finding the space to play football, convincing their friends to participate and generally making the event as special as they possibly could. Whilst most of their dreams had to be adjusted to fit in the Rumah Aman boy's school schedule, one of the grand ideas was to secure one of Malaysia's finest football legends - Santokh Singh to come and visit the Rumah Aman boys and give them a sense of pride about Malaysian football.
It was a request which Santokh was only too happy to accept. "We sometimes forget that future football heroes are not made from football academies, rather they are born when they begin to believe that their dreams are possible". He added that being under-privileged and less fortunate does not mean one is less likely to achieve one's dreams and he hoped that the TLC Promise Me campaign would enable the orphans to dream of larger goals in life. Following his inspiring talk, the entire orphanage with ELC students and Santokh descended to the local football field for a friendly game together.
A Beautiful Lily
When Cindy Tey, 24, the first Malaysian Dreamgirl (she was winner of online-only reality TV show, Malaysian Dreamgirls), first heard about Promise Me from a fellow Nuffnang blogger, she jumped at the chance to take up a pledge. Having blogged about fashion, beauty and all matters girly for years now, she decided to fulfill the wish of Lily Sin, who is a stroke survivor, to have a complete beauty makeover.
"I first heard about TLC Promise Me campaign from Nuffnang. A Nuffie called me up and asked if I were interested to take up a pledge. I immediately said: Yes, count me in! And since I've always loved blogging about beauty, health and fashion, I try to make sure my readers get to see more than just the surface of each posts. There are two parts to this pledge - to get a pair of multifocal glasses and a hair makeover for Lily. That obviously sounds like something teycindy.com can relate to perfectly!"
Thanks to the generosity of sponsors Grace Salon and Optimal, Cindy was able to fulfill her pledge.
"It was challenging, fun, but most of all, rewarding. At first I was worried that no one would be interested to sponsor, but when I discovered that there are so many generous people out there, the whole pledge process became fun and lively! At the end of the day, I believe everyone who took part felt the same way too."
Tey feels, above all, that there is so much good that the youth can do - no matter how small it may seem.
"There's a Chinese proverb that says 'Youth are Capital'. This is the time for us to contribute to society because we have what it takes - youth, energy, active mind, healthier body. It's sad to look back one day just to realise that you've never helped anyone."
Even if you doubt your abilities, well, Tey believes it's not about doing what people think is 'charity' per se.
"You know what? Everyone was born to be different. We are all special individuals who can help make a difference in ways we can never imagine. Just because you lose once in a while, you're not a loser. Give a hand. Helping others is inspiring and definitely brings out the best in you."
Girl's Day Out
When Vivy Yusof, 23 (best known as blogger Proudduck) found out that all Chan Chin Ming wanted was a day out shopping, she rose to the occasion enthusiastically.
Chan, who is in her 60s, is a wheel-chair bound stroke survivor. Even though she spoke only Cantonese and no English, Vivy did not let that stop her. With the help of Cathy, Chan's daughter, Vivy planned an entire day's outing for Chan which began with a nice breakfast at Pavillion KL, followed by exploring the shopping mall.
"After breakfast, we took Madam Chan around Pavilion. She has never been there after her stroke, so I think she was pretty excited. She kept pointing here and there to indicate to us where she wanted to go, so it was pretty easy taking her around."
In her blog, Vivy wrote:
"I was very fortunate that my pledge was super easy! Take a person out shopping, who wouldn't want that? Madam Chan was extremely easy and pleasant, so the experience was lovelyI also received many comments from my blog readers and was so happy to know other people cared too."
"At her age, she really didn't want to shop. Shopping to her just means taking a stroll and jalan-jalan (walking). Clearly our definitions of shopping differ, but hey, hers was pretty fun too!"
Not only that, there was a surprise haircut (from sponsor A Cut Above) in store for Chan, as well as a custom-made new blouse from sponsor, Mimpikita - a soft pink and embroidered number that Chan picked out herself. Although it was not part of the pledge, Vivy clearly saw that going the extra mile would make all the difference in the world, as seen by the broad smile on Chan's face.
But she didn't just take away a feel-good experience, she also learnt an important lesson: Patience and Sacrifice.
"Stroke victims require a lot of attention and Madam Chan is very fortunate to have a family who loves her and sacrifices any free time they have for her. I only wish that other stroke victims have this too, if not, we should all lend a helping hand. It surely is frustrating having hands or legs paralysed and your movement cut, and if we all realised this, we'd show more empathy to stroke victims."
"Also, I learned to be grateful. We have no idea how much things are worth until it's taken away from us."
These are but six inspiring stories from TLC's Promise Me campaign. Find out how you can help at www.tlcpromiseme.com.
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