# data[].attributes.body
Sandra was sent to stay with her cousin who is married and has a kid. One day Sandra was playing with her niece when she had to leave to go to the market but Ganzas dad would not let Sandra go. When they left he grabbed Sandra and forced her on the bed and made out with her. The Ganza came back in the house and he let Sandra go.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra could not sleep ever night she would be having a night terror. She would be shaking until 4 in the morning then finally pas out. Sometimes she wished she died so she could stop dreaming about it.

# data[].attributes.body
When we arrived to are other family they did not know how to act. They were to afraid to ask any questions because we were all still heartbroken.

# data[].attributes.body
The next day our entire family looked for Deborah's, our cousins, and aunts bodies.We found Deborah's skull and the rest of her body was burnt. Then we found our cousins body he was not burnt but shot

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra finds her entire family but it is not the same with out her younger sister Deborah. In the text it states "Our lives would never be the same.Our Deborah was gone."(83) No one in the family asked what happened they just knew she was gone.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra got out of the tent in time but a Congolese men saw her and held her at gun point but saw someone else fleeing kicking Sandra to the ground and running away. Sandra was following everyone and that running.A women asked Sandra were her family was she said they all died. But then she saw her uncle  and her uncle said she saw her mom but did not believe because she saw her get shot then die. But she found her mom who was wounded in the shoulder. Then she started to cry because her sister wasn't there her mom told her what happened. "Deborah had been shot in the head, but survived long enough to say the heartbreaking words to my mom, "Hold Me" " (78).

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra and her family had to get out of their home town because of there religion they were being threatened. So while they were trying to leave there driver stopped were all the Congolese people were. They were shaking the van throwing rocks and sand at us. "a grown man-he appeared to be in his forties-marched up to the van, looking like he wanted to kill us. He reached in through the window and punched Deborah in the face"(64). But lucky one Congolese person drove us out of there and got us to the border.

# data[].attributes.body
In the rainy season the river would rise causing it to flood in the middle of the night. Making us run to find a tall hill to run up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For Christy of Arlington, Va., one late night last April was especially memorable. Awaking unexpectedly in the middle of the night, Christy found that her basement bedroom was filled with water as high as her bed.

The drain outside the back door of Christy's bedroom was clogged, and rainwater had been collecting for six hours as she slept. According to Christy's roommate, Tricia, "it was only when she kicked off a sock off the bed and heard a splash that she realized something was wrong."

"Christy knocked on my upstairs bedroom door at 4 a.m., and we jumped into action to help salvage what we could of her possessions," Tricia told APHA's Get Ready team recently. "In the meantime, the water swelled to two feet high."

Luckily, the two roomies were able to reach a 24-hour emergency plumber, who snaked the drain and removed the clog, which turned out to be a dead squirrel. (Yuck.) The water quickly subsided, but the cleanup and recovery were just beginning.

As this wet (and messy) story shows, you don't have to live in a flood plain to be at risk of a flood in your home. Water can enter your house from broken pipes, clogged gutters and sewage drains, heavy rains or melting snow. Should your house flood, know what steps you should take to protect you, your loved ones and your possessions.

Here's a few tips you can use:

* Once a flood occurs, remove the water as soon as possible. If you have a large amount of water and there's no drain, use a sump pump.

* Be careful when using an electric appliance in a house that's been flooded. Never turn on wet electric appliances, because they may cause an electric shock, overheat or cause a fire.

* Once the water subsides, open doors and windows to let the moisture escape and use fans to help dry out the house and prevent mold.

* If you are working in potentially contaminated areas, wear appropriate protective clothing and respirators. Wash all clothing and body parts that may have come in contact with sewage or other contaminants.

For more helpful flood tips, download and share the Get Ready campaign's flood fact sheets, (pdf) which are available in both English and Spanish.

"My housemates and I now have a flood detector that sounds should water collect on the basement floor, and we've installed a protective cover over the back drain to prevent future clogs," Tricia said. "If there's one thing we've learned, it's no fun to wake up to a wet, flooded house."
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Tony Campbell

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What to do when your house floods: A real-life preparedness tale

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For Christy of Arlington, Va., one late night last April was especially memorable. Awaking unexpectedly in the middle of the night, Christy found that her basement bedroom was filled with water as high as her bed. The drain outside the back door of Christy's bedroom was clogged, and rainwater had been collecting for six hours as she slept.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra's dad was never home he was always looking for his lost son Heritage that was taken into the army without a choice. My dad heard some news of his son he was injured badly so the army left him so they wouldn't have to pay for the medical bills. "Heritage was in such bad shape that he was no longer of any use to the army"(52).

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra kept getting picked on at school so her brother    stuck up for her and got in a fight. But Sandra's parents told her to ignore them and just keep doing your thing. My parents "were determined to raise us peacefully, even though we were growing up in a conflict zone"(46).

# data[].attributes.body
At school something you could hear the bombs that were far away at war. But one day we heard the loudest bomb it was so close that we had to take cover under our desk and stay there till our family picked us up. "I could feel the ground shaking. I wondered where my parents were, worrying whether they were safe" (42). But my older brother came and got me and convinced my teacher to let us go home.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra's family would always feed the less fortunate because giving always returns the favor. Whenever Sandra's family had no food they would ask their neighbors and they would always return the favor back.What you do comes back around to you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I first started joining these Feed The Poor & Homeless Sessions back in 2013 when I was still studying for the Certificate In Legal Practice (CLP) examinations.

At that time, I chanced upon this blog post by Timothy Tiah on a feed the poor & homeless session he joined (blog post here) and also heard of such initiatives from friends who heard from their friends. I thought that it was a very meaningful initiative and hence I Googled about it to find out how I could take part in one of the sessions.

As a result, I stumbled upon this group on facebook named Feed The Poor Project, Malaysia; which is essentially a group of random Malaysians from all walks of life who come together every once in a while to Feed The Poor & Homeless in the back alleys of our very own city, Kuala Lumpur.
A RANDOM GROUP OF MALAYSIANS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
The group is led by EJ from swimin12.com (he also happens to be a very good swimming coach) and a few others who would take turns to organize such sessions. EJ told me back then that they started this as a group of friends who wanted to do something and start the ball rolling so that more people would start their own feed the homeless sessions. Their aim was for more people to learn how to do it by joining them the first time so they could organize their own sessions in the future so more and more people would be aware of what they could do to help the less fortunate in the city, and together, make a difference.

I was fortunate enough that they were organizing a session soon in Jan & Feb of 2013 as part of an initiative called the People Of Hope, led by Firdaus Feeq from CVS Productions & Raj who happened to take some photos and videos of some of these sessions.

Here's one of them.
FEB 2013 FEED THE POOR & HOMELESS SESSION
It was really an eye-opening experience and I learnt a great deal from the experience. I made it a point to join the subsequent ones if I had the time and gradually started organizing random sessions of my own and got my friends involved who in turn got their friends involved too.

Till today, I still join or organize such sessions every once in a while. Sometimes it is not even planned, it could be a spontaneous session where one of us was at an event that had a lot of leftover food that was going to be thrown away anyway and we would ask if we could pack the food, then call a few friends up to help distribute the food later that night. I first got the idea that you could do this when one of the regular participants in those early sessions, Joanne, brought boxes of leftover kuih-muihs from an event she organized to be distributed to the homeless. I was really inspired by that kind act of hers and hence I tried to do the same whenever possible.

It is an amazing and meaningful experience that I personally feel everyone should try to be part of at least once in their lifetime. Here are some ways the experience benefitted me and touched my life which I feel could do the same for you too.

1. YOU WILL BE REMINDED OF HOW FORTUNATE YOU TRULY ARE

When you see the conditions that the poor & homeless people in your city live in, you will come to understand how lucky and fortunate you truly are to be able to live in a proper house. Even if you're just renting a room and can't afford a house yet, it is still much much better than having to collect recycled bottles to make a living during the day, and scavenge for a piece of used cardboard at the end of the day so it can become your bed at night.

Not only that, they would also need to wait until all the shops have closed before they can "roll out" their makeshift cardboard beds by the sidewalks in front of these shops.
WHEN IT RAINS, THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO SLEEP
There are times that we went on a rainy night, and we realized that the poor & homeless will not be at their usual spots when it rains as all the sidewalks and back alleys would be wet and flooded. Up till today, I still do not know where they would go when it rains, they probably have a temporary shelter under a bridge or in some building's basement where they all go to when it rains, but I can't be sure.
RAIDS BY AUTHORITIES
Every once in a while, the authorities will round them all up and ferry them off in trucks. Where to? I do not know, but they will not be on the streets for some time after that, only to return again after a while.
WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO LIVE LIKE THAT?
A lot of us from the modern generation take having a roof over our heads for granted, some of us have never even been on an outdoor camping trip before (which to be honest is still much better than having to live on the streets because you're still likely to have all the equipment & food you need).

Can you even imagine having to wait till the shops close before you can "go home" because your "home" is actually a busy street by day? Sleep on nothing but cardboards and hard cold floors on sidewalks, exposed to the wind, noise & street lights and always be prepared to shift when it rains or take a trip on a truck in the middle of the night when the authorities come raiding?

Once you start realizing that, that's when you truly start to understand and be thankful for how lucky you are to at least have a proper roof over your heads.

2. IT SUDDENLY MAKES ALL YOUR TROUBLES SEEM SMALL & INSIGNIFICANT

We all have our own problems and struggles in life. It could be our failing grades, business challenges, cashflow & HR problems, incompetent subordinates or superiors, the teacher that doesn't like us, the boss that hates you, a spouse that doesn't understand you, not making enough to buy the newest iphone, or a better house or car, rising costs of living, judgmental friends, our parents favouring our siblings more, our car breaking down or someone banging into it etc.

But when you find out the troubles the poor and homeless face every single day, you'll suddenly realize how trivial and insignificant our problems are compared to theirs.
EVEN FINDING DRINKABLE WATER IS A PROBLEM
When I first started distributing food to the poor & homeless, I was actually quite surprised that a lot of them asked us if we have water.

"Abang, ada air kah bang?"

I have always thought that what they really needed was food because that was more expensive and water should be quite easily available to them. But then I realized that I was wrong. I suddenly realized that they din't have a home, and hence no tap to collect water from to drink, let alone find the utensils to boil it.
WATER FROM PUBLIC TOILETS?
They probably get the bulk of their water supply from the tap water in public toilets or public water coolers that are few and far between, but even then I suspect they would have to do it secretly and out of sight because most people would probably be uncomfortable sharing the same toilet as them while they're drinking from the tap or hogging the public water cooler, I would think that the security guards in public malls or toilets would chase them away too. Once in a while, they could probably afford to buy the occasional bottle of bottled water from the money they begged or money they earned selling used soda cans or cardboards.

That's why nowadays, we try to buy cartons of packed drinks or bottled water when we go as well. Sometimes, if the drinks are not enough, some of us might buy some more from a nearby 7-11 to give it to them.
THAT'S NOT ALL
That's not even mentioning what they have to do when it rains heavily on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, the judgmental eyes of passer-bys and so many other challenges they face.

In light of these, sometimes I feel ashamed to complain about the problems and struggles I am facing in my own life, because I know that there are many more people who are facing much worse and fundamental problems than me like the lack of drinking water out there.

3. YOU OPEN YOUR EYES TO WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IN YOUR CITY

A lot of us are very fortunate to be brought up in a very good environment, where all our friends are well-educated, civilized and well-off. We have been taught from young by our parents and teachers to stay away from the so called "naughty kids", work hard and pursue success in life.

In the end, we work really hard and achieve a lot of success. We've been overseas, have a stable good paying job, won numerous awards and built up an impressive set of achievements, at which point we'll feel that we have worked hard, seen the world and deserve all the success we have today. It is easy to understand why someone in that position would feel like they have seen it all, deserve to have everything they have because of their own hard work and that their world view is likely to be right.
LIVING IN A PROTECTED BUBBLE
But the reality is that most of us are living in a protected bubble, one that is built by society's natural class system and social dynamics.

If you are a working professional today who came from a normal middle class family, the chances of you coming across the poor & homeless and can totally experience and understand the perils they go through is quite slim. Your life probably revolves around your comfortable home, offices, malls, restaurants and the occasional vacation.

The poor & homeless seem to be living in another universe altogether.

But if you are truly smart, inquisitive and well-informed, you would want to make the extra effort needed to learn more about the poor & homeless, and why and how they ended up that way.
YOU'LL REALIZE THAT THERE'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD OUT THERE
You'll slowly realize that although yes, you have worked very hard and deserve credit for it, you can't deny the fact that you're fortunate enough to be given a decent head start as compared to the truly poor & homeless. Yes, there are many people much more fortunate than us, but there are also a lot more people much less fortunate than us.

You'll realize that some people don't even have parents and a roof over their heads to begin with, one fine day they just found themselves alone as a kid on the streets. Some come from broken families, or parents who are involved in drugs or gangster-ism who would keep extorting you for money or try to sell you into prostitution if you were their children.
HOW WOULD YOU HAVE FARED?
How would you have fared if you were born into that kind of situation. Do you think you would still be able to find out for yourself the secret to success, learn how to network, met all the people you knew, work hard and know all the things you know today that helped you succeed?

If you were sold into prostitution or forced into gangster-ism at a young age, do you think you would still know how to read and write the English language and pick-out self-help books or watch motivational speeches or TED talks on youtube to set you on the path to success? It won't be that easy.

I, for one, believe that there is hope, and that anyone at any stage of their lives or in any situation can still pursue and achieve their dreams.
HELP THEM, AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
I believe that if they work hard and persevere, they'd one day be successful. But if they are in a situation so dire that even drinking water and a place to sleep at night is a problem, someone needs to help them solve these basic needs first, and if you have the extra resources, help point them in the right direction and hopefully a handful of them would find the courage to break out and pursue their dreams. But first, you'll need to give them hope that one can exist for them, and tell them that it is possible to have one, and how to achieve it from where they are. Most of them would be so battered that they won't want one, but well, at least you can say you've tried your best to help those who want to be helped.

All these experiences will help you understand that there is a whole different world out there and the various factors and circumstances that might have caused it, a world that you might not have known existed if you were only indulged in your own world and social circles.

You'll also realize that people can fall from the elite and wealthy to the poor and homeless sometimes. Life happens, and it would be good to know & understand why things like that happen.

4. IT HELPS YOU STAY GROUNDED & CONTENTED

Sometimes, in the pursuit of our dreams, for example my "Impossible Grand Plan To Help Malaysia Fulfill Its Full Potential", we might start to lose our direction. We might get too engrossed and blinded by the pursuit of "success" that we forget why we wanted to pursue our dreams in the first place. We forget to be thankful and grateful for what we have, and forget what it truly means to be happy & contented.
IT REMINDS US THAT SUCCESS IS FLEETING
Feeding The Poor & Homeless helps us stay grounded because it reminds us that there are still many people who are less privileged than us out there, and that one day we might end up in their position as well because you'll learn from these visits that anything can happen in this world, that once wealthy businessmen and restaurant chain owners can end up homeless as well. (You might meet some once successful & wealthy people who are now homeless during these sessions)
IT REMINDS US THAT TRUE HAPPINESS COMES FROM BEING CONTENTED
When you see how these homeless people can be so happy & kind (they only take one packet for themselves and will share theirs with their friends if we run out of a certain item, they'll also save one for those who are not back yet) & courteous to each other and us even when they have so little, you'll realize that true happiness comes from contentment, and being thankful for what you have.
(Read more here)
5. YOU LEARN NOT TO JUDGE

During these sessions, you will see old aunties and uncles who are sick or got abandoned by their families, but you'll also see young drug addicts or able-bodied teenagers who ran away from home.
EVERYONE IS THE WAY THEY ARE FOR A REASON
Some of you might feel that we should not help the able-bodied young teenagers because they are healthy enough to find a job and are throwing away their life because of their own choices, that they deserve to be homeless. For all you know, there is a possibility that they might be involved in crime and snatch-theft as well.
PUT OURSELVES IN THEIR SHOES INSTEAD OF JUDGING
While I felt that way at first too, I soon realized that if I was born into a homeless family, an orphan, or with parents who were drug addicts or was an abandoned kid on the street, I myself would probably have taken up drugs and resorted to stealing to survive too! Simply because I knew of no other way!

Because society has already labeled me as hopeless, I have no other alternative, no access to education, help, and no other way to survive. My life would probably be no different than theirs if I was born into their circumstances. It is easy to say what we would do today with the exposure and knowledge that we already possess, but if we were really to be born into their situation, our lives, choices and attitude would probably have been exactly like theirs or even much worse.

Hence, who are we to judge? When we are fortunate enough to not be in their position and had to go through what they went through?
WE HELP ALL OF THEM WITHOUT JUDGING
Hence, when we distribute food, we try our very best to help all of them without judging, and instead try to understand them and do all we can to help.

6. YOU LEARN TO BE HUMBLE

When you realize that anyone could become homeless and that anything can happen in life no matter how successful you are today, as seen from previously wealthy businessmen and bankers who are now homeless and living on the streets as a result of one very bad financial recession or other reasons, you'll learn to become humble. You'll learn to be grateful for what you have today and not take things for granted.
WHEN HOMELESS PEOPLE CAN BE MORE COURTEOUS AND KIND THAN YOU
You will also be humbled when you see how homeless people care and look out for each other, sharing their food with each other when there isn't enough and saving portions for their friends who are sleeping or not around.

You will realize that most of them will say thank you and only take what they need and tell you where their friends are so you can distribute the food to them just in case we din't know where to find them.

Sometimes, I feel that they are probably more caring & courteous than some of us non-homeless people who are only focused on what we want and will stop at nothing to get it, simply because we believe that the world is unfair to us and we've got to fight for everything.

But look who's talking. If the poor and homeless who have much less than us can be caring & courteous towards each other, why can't we?

7. IT RENEWS YOUR HOPE & FAITH IN HUMANITY

Sometimes, if you get trapped in the corporate or business world for too long, you might start to become jaded and think that this is a dog-eat-dog, every man for himself world that we live in.

But when you see that there are still so many people who care, who are kind enough to make time and put in the effort to give and help those in need, who have compassion, and even homeless people who care for each other and are sincerely grateful and happy, you'll realize that there is still so much good and hope in humanity, and we can all be part of it.

8. YOU'LL MEET AWESOME PEOPLE

During these Feed The Poor & Homeless Sessions, you will also meet awesome people from all walks of life doing all sorts of interesting things, bankers, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, videographers and so much more, all kind hearted souls who made time to do something good and meaningful.

You'll get to meet interesting people, build friendships, learn from each other and have a great time doing something meaningful together.

9. YOU'LL FEEL A DEEP BUT SILENT & INDESCRIBABLE KIND OF JOY & SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT

I don't know how to describe this. But as you walk the streets and back alleys carrying boxes of food and distributing them to the poor & homeless, you'll just feel happy, a sense of quiet joy that stirs in your heart, although you're sweating from all the walking and carrying, you somehow just feel happy that you're doing something meaningful and making a difference.

10. THE EXPERIENCE IS PRICELESS

If you go to a movie, you will be entertained; if you bought a brand new Ferrari, you'll feel happy; but the feeling of seeing a genuinely thankful smile from someone receiving food from you and seeing them hungrily eat that box of food, knowing that they only get such handouts and the opportunity to eat proper food a few times each week when soup kitchens, NGOs and random volunteers like us come around, is just priceless.

"If you ask me, nothing beats the joy of seeing a genuinely happy smile from someone whose day you know you've made because of something you've done. These are things that money can't buy."

11. YOU'LL HEAR INSPIRING & TOUCHING STORIES FROM PEOPLE YOU'LL OTHERWISE NEVER GET TO MEET OR HEAR FROM

During these sessions, if you're fortunate enough to meet some of them who are more willing to talk and share their stories with you, you'll be able to hear all sorts of inspiring and touching stories about their lives that you'd otherwise probably never be able to hear about.
THE AUNTY WHO FLED HER ABUSIVE CHILDREN
There is an old aunty from Penang who sleeps under a bridge who left home because her children abused her and felt that she was a burden to the family. Although she felt sad, she never blamed her children, because she feels guilty that she can't provide for them and her children had to take care of her when they are going through a hard time themselves.
TOOK A BUS TO KL TO FIND A JOB BUT TO NO AVAIL
Hence, not wanting to burden her children any further, she took a bus to KL in hopes of finding a job but no one would hire her because she doesn't have any skills. I think she makes a living now by collecting old cardboards and soda cans to sell to recycling centers.
CAN ONLY AFFORD TO SHOWER & WASH HER CLOTHES TWICE A MONTH
She told us that she could only afford to wash her clothes and shower once every two weeks at the public toilet at Puduraya bus station where you have to pay 20 cents to enter.
THAT COULD HAPPEN TO US TOO
When I heard of her story, I realized that that could happen to me when I am old too. In all honesty, we don't have total control over how our children would eventually turn out to be and how they would treat us when we are old and becoming a burden to them. Reality is harsh, and things like these do happen, more often than you think it does. When times are tough, people are capable of many unthinkable things.

What I took away from this story was that you never know what could happen to you in the future, and we should also not take it for granted that our children would look after us when we are old. The best we can do is to love them to the best of our ability when they are young and teach them the right values in hopes that they will grow up to be nice & responsible people, while also saving up for our own retirement so as not to pose a burden to our children; and most importantly, make sure that we take care of our own parents to the best of our ability and not let the same thing happen to them.
THE UNCLE WHO LOST THE WILL TO LIVE ON
There's another old uncle who decided to live on the streets because he felt that there was no meaning left in life, and that there was nothing worth living and fighting for. Because of that, he'd rather just live life one day at a time and see what happens. Whatever happens, happens, and he will just accept it as it is simply because living doesn't really matter to him anymore.
ONCE A PROUD OWNER OF A RESTAURANT CHAIN
This uncle was once a proud owner of a chain of restaurants, but it went into serious cash flow problems during the 1997 economic crisis and eventually went bankrupt.
WIFE AND CHILDREN LEFT HIM DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
After his business failed and he went bankrupt, his wife took their kids and left him. That left him very hurt and devastated.
DIN'T SEE THE POINT IN LIVING AND FIGHTING ON
After all that had happened, he couldn't see the point in living and fighting on anymore, simply because there was nothing for him to live and fight for. He felt that nobody loved him, and nobody cared about him anyway. His wife left during his darkest times, and took their children away together with her. Everything that mattered in his life was gone.

So to him, he might as well just be dead. Even if he fought hard and rebuilt his wealth and restaurant chains, he felt that his wife will just leave him again when times are tough and he would lose everything again anyway, so what's the point in working hard? Might as well just live off the streets and take each day as it comes since there is nothing to live for anyway.
THESE ARE VERY REAL THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN TO ALL OF US
If you are a businessman or an entrepreneur, you would know very well that the same thing could happen to us any time. Sure, we can be as cautious as possible and have many contingency plans to prepare for the worst, but we all know that when shit happens, it happens; and there are 101 million things, however unlikely, that can go wrong with our businesses or investments that can either put us out of business or leave us in a pile of debt. You win big, you also lose big. It is a risk we all have to take.

The difference however lies in whether we have hope when adversity strikes, and the motivation to overcome adversity and our toughest times believing that we will come out of it and see the light one day, whether we have something to fight for and the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.
As Jack Ma, the CEO and founder or Alibaba said:

"Today is tough, tomorrow will be tougher, but the day after tomorrow will be beautiful. But most people die tomorrow evening and will never get to see the beautiful day" - Jack Ma

This story taught me to always have hope, no matter how tough the situation may be, because once we lose it, all is lost. It also further reinforced the relationship truth I discovered some time ago that a relationship built on purely external attraction alone such as physical looks and material wealth won't work because it falls under one of the "8 Types Of Relationships That Won't Work", and will ultimately break down when the tough gets going, which will definitely happen in our lifetime, like what happened to this uncle. It also taught me the importance of finding not just any partner, but the right life partner, simply because

"If we manage to find the right life partner, life would be like heaven on earth; but if we found the wrong one, it will be like a living hell"

And also how the woman a man chooses to be with can determine his life. (Read more here)
Here is another story by Joel Neoh which I came across in my facebook newsfeed some time ago:
12. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Through feeding the poor & homeless, I got to see the world in a different light, and it fundamentally changed the way I look at a lot of things in life and life in general.
IT CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE
I've realized that what most of us see and experience in life is largely confined to our very own social bubble, but through feed the poor sessions like these, you'll get to expand your horizons and discover and see things you never knew and never thought you'd ever discover.

The lessons and insights learnt from these experiences might also change your perspective on life forever.
YOU'LL LEARN OF THE UNPREDICTABILITY & HARSHNESS OF REALITY
You will also realize how unpredictable life and reality can get, that kids really do kick their parents out of their houses, that spouses do leave each other when times are tough, and very successful people can end up bankrupt and homeless just like that.

You'll learn that things like these do happen to real people, people who were once like you and me.
IT GIVES YOU THE COURAGE & FORESIGHT TO FACE WHATEVER THAT'S AHEAD
In a way, it gives you the courage and foresight to face whatever life might have in store for you in the future, because through all their stories, you have an idea of what could happen to you in the future, and what you could do to prevent it and how you could handle it if it really did happen to you.
YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO DRAW LESSONS & POSITIVITY FROM HARDSHIPS
Contrasting their choices and the choices of other people who have been through similar situations but decided not to give up, you'll learn important lessons about life and the importance of remaining positive and never losing hope in times of hardships and the huge difference it can make in someone's life.

If worse comes to worst, you also know that you can still survive on the streets and be happy as long as you are contented.
IT MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON
The experience also helps you better understand that there is a story behind every person and there is a reason why people end up the way they are.

It makes you less judgmental, more compassionate, kind, more grateful and appreciative of what you have today and also better able to empathize with other people.

All in all, it will make you a better person.
HOW IT USUALLY WORKS
Feed The Poor & Homeless Sessions usually happens at night after 10pm, simply because that is when all the shops have closed and they would be able to go back to the sidewalks in front of the shops to "roll out" their makeshift beds.

However, there are also certain soup kitchens who operate consistently a few days a week during the day at fixed spots where the poor & homeless would come to queue up for food.
RANDOM GROUPS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
The ones I usually join are the ones from the Feed The Poor Project, Malaysia facebook group or random ones organized by me or some of my friends.

We do not represent any group or organization, we are simply a random group of Malaysians from all walks of life coming together every once in a while to do something we believe should be done.

If the session is pre-planned, we would usually approach one of the few kind restaurants we know of that supports such initiatives one or two weeks in advance. On that day, they would cook extra rice, dishes and sponsor the food. At the end of the day, at around 9pm, we would go over (bringing our own Styrofoam boxes) and pack the rice and extra dishes of the day into those styrofoam boxes and bring them to the meeting point.

Sometimes, if these restaurants are not available, we would then buy our own food. But usually, we would still buy cartons of packet drinks or bottled water to distribute along with the food.
CHARITY GROUPS
There are also plenty of charity groups and NGOs who organize soup kitchens consistently.

On certain nights, you might find that there are many Christian, Buddhist and NGO groups giving out food all on the same night. But just give anyway, this is because the poor and the homeless don't get food regularly, when they do, it usually comes all at once on weekends or the eve of a public holiday, simply because that is when most volunteers like us have the time to come out and distribute the food to them. They might not have food for the next week or two, hence that extra packet of rice you give them might have to last them the whole week or more, so they would definitely need more although it might look like two packets is more than enough for one night (we have to keep in mind that they don't get food every night).

That is also why we try our best to distribute food on a weekday night where the soup kitchens are not operating or when no one else is distributing food as best as possible. However, that is actually quite hard to do because most working adults won't be free and have work the next morning. But it could be done, and we have done it before.
SPONTANEOUS & RANDOM SESSIONS
Every once in a while, some of us might have some extra food from an event, and we would just ring up a small group of friends to distribute the extra food that night. It just takes 2-3 people to do the job.
POST CHINESE NEW YEAR
We'd usually have one each year after Chinese New Year, where we would collect all the leftover CNY oranges and goodies and top them up with packets of rice and drinks to distribute to the poor & homeless.
JUST FEEL LIKE IT
Either that, or we would also do it when we felt that we haven't done it in a long time and felt that it was about time that we do it again.
MEETING POINT & A SHORT BRIEFING
We'll usually all meet at a pre-set meeting point and have a short briefing before we go off to distribute the food. Here's a short list of guidelines that would usually be included in the briefing.

Find a buddy and always walk in pairs, at least, never wander off alone

If they are sleeping, don't wake them up, just put the food beside them

If they appear hostile or crazy, don't try to engage or talk to them, just put the food near them and leave

If they ask for money, just tell them that you only give food and offer them food, don't give them cash, that is because there would be no end if we gave them cash and there is only so much we can give, plus you might be unknowingly funding their diet on drugs, so it is best to just stick to giving them the essentials like food, water & clothing

If a crazy person keeps complaining to you and harassing you, just politely nod or decline and walk away

Try to stick together and walk as a group

WE WALK THE BACK ALLEYS & STREETS TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD IN GROUPS
After the briefing, we would carry the food and water and walk as a group to the streets and sidewalks where they usually are to distribute the food to them.

Sometimes, the younger ones might all come over and queue up for the food, but we'd usually try to avoid the places with crowds and try to walk further in to give those who are too weak and sick to walk out from their "beds" first before distributing the food to those in a crowd.
IF THERE IS STILL EXTRA, WE'LL DRIVE FURTHER TO DISTRIBUTE THEM
If there is still leftover food, then we'll drive to other further locations in our cars to distribute the food and water to them.
IS IT SAFE?
I would say that if you follow all the safety precautions, it is.

But ultimately, you will still be distributing food on the streets of KL in a relatively high crime area, so you would still have to look out for things like snatch theft etc. Just make sure that you don't bring your valuables along with you, don't walk with your handbag facing the road, and always walk in pairs or in a group and you should be fine.

If you are a girl or a group of girls, make sure you have at least a few guys to accompany you on the trip, and only go if you have at least 3 people in your whole group.

But if you take all the necessary pre-cautions, it should be quite safe. At least nothing has happened to us on all the trips we went on so far.
MORE MOMENTS FROM THE VARIOUS SESSIONS HOW YOU CAN JOIN
If you're interested to join, you can start off with joining a couple of the sessions, and once you have enough experience, you could start organizing your own sessions.

You can join the facebook group here to get updated if anyone is organizing one in the group soon, or visit Kechara or Pertiwi's website here and here.
*Special thanks to Firdaus from CVS Productions for some of the videos and photos taken during the various sessions & all those amazing people and friends across all the sessions who contributed their valuable time & effort to help out and make our city a better & more loving place to live in 🙂

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why You Should Feed The Homeless At Least Once In Your Lifetime

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I first started joining these Feed The Poor & Homeless Sessions back in 2013 when I was still studying for the Certificate In Legal Practice (CLP) examinations. At that time, I chanced upon this blog post by Timothy Tiah on a feed the poor & homeless session he joined (blog post here ) and also heard of such initiatives from friends who heard from their friends.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra's parents always admired education because their mom was really smart. So they parents send them to do just as much schooling as their brothers. But they have to be careful because the older boys that are not married yet tried to steal Sandra's oldest sister and rape her so she would be married. But her brother was their to save her. "when girls became teenagers in my community, they were often married off. They weren't encouraged to prioritize their education. Sometimes, rival clans would actually try to steal a girl to marry her to their son(39).

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra's entire neighborhood had to warm water only cold they did not need it because it was warm outside most of the time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Temperature - Water Properties, USGS Water Science School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Water Properties: Temperature, from the USGS Water Science School.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra and her family were uses to having solders and anyone rest in there houses because it was the first house you would always see. Also a lot of family would be randomly staying with them. "Privacy was not something that I knew. People came and went, all day long. No one bothered to knock on the door; they just wandered in"(33).

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra got out of the tent before she caught on fire. She was scared! All the soldiers were blowing fire on the tents but someone who was the camp came and rescued her. The man picked her up and carried her to safety. She thought he was going to hurt her but then realized he was saving her.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra was one to many siblings. When she was a baby her oldest brother was 13. He got taken to go to war. His parents begged but then would not let him not go. They have not seen him since he left they don't know if he is still alive. But my parents promised to bring him home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The invisible injuries of service members resulting from our nation's war on terrorism pose complex challenges for military families, especially military children. With injuries such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), there are often dramatic changes in personality and behavior without a change in one's appearance. This "injury duality" - looking the same, but not acting the same - is troubling for family members, friends and co-workers, and can be particularly confusing for children who thrive on parental consistency, trust and safety.

This Courage to Care addresses the vulnerabilities of children whose service member parent suffers an invisible injury. This injury may include not only PTSD and mTBI, but also depression and health risk behaviors (i.e. increased use of alcohol and illegal or prescription medications, etc.) that are prevalent in many returning service men and women. Health professionals who work with military families and children should be alert to the effects of these kinds of injuries on children and on parenting, as this essential component of healthy development is often disrupted due to the family's injury experience.

Secondary Traumatization

Many children may develop symptoms that mirror those of their injured parent. An example might be a young child having nightmares because of their parent's nightmares or because they are worrying about their parent's behavior. A child may have trouble paying attention at school or exhibit new behavioral problems because he or she is thinking about her parent's problems. This impact on a child due to their worry and identification with their injured parent is sometimes referred to as "secondary traumatization." A child's symptoms can get worse if there is not a parent who can acknowledge the effects of the parental injury and communicate with their children to help them feel better.

Impact of Invisible Injuries on Children

The unique nature of PTSD, mTBI or disorders such as depression - causing changes in personality and/or behavior without altering physical appearance - is especially confusing for children of all ages. The following signs and symptoms exhibited by children may indicate distress and require professional assistance.

Increased acting out behaviors, such as disobedience, tantrums, or risk-taking behaviors

Emotional distress, such as crying, increased anxiety, or withdrawal

Feelings of loss and grief related to the change in the injured parent

Feelings of isolation

Feelings of embarrassment about the injured parents' appearance or behavior

Misinterpreting parent mTBI-related fatigue and apathy as indicators that the parent no longer loves them

Feelings of anger or resentment about new responsibilities or changes in the family such as having to care for younger children, even sharing in or taking on the care of the injured parent

Feelings of self-blame for the injured parents' irritability

Helping Children Integrate the Parental Injury Experience within the Family

Healthcare and family support professionals should encourage families to:

1. Seek out resources and instrumental support. Families may require that basic needs be met in the areas of finance, medical care, military concerns, housing, education, and child care. Children may need special services and/or supports to address any behavioral/mental health problems that develop or to connect them with community resources that provide them with social support and structured activities.

2. Support and help monitor their children's stress. As children deal with stress, they may find it difficult to express emotions, to relax, or to calm themselves. Parents can teach children to label and express their emotions giving them specific strategies (i.e., deep/belly breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or visualizing a safe space).

3. Share information with children about the injury in a way they can comprehend it. Particularly important is information that helps children understand what the injury is, what the effects of the injury are in terms of parent functioning and/or symptoms, and what to expect over time. Children may need reassurance that the injury is not their fault and that specific symptoms/emotional changes in the parent are expected. This helps to normalize and contextualize the family's current difficulties and helps children understand what is happening in their family.

4. Develop problem solving skills and goal setting. Particularly important is helping children identify relevant problems, name their goals, brainstorm possible solutions, and pick a solution to try out. Goal setting helps families identify how they would like things to be different, and how to monitor change. Parents and children can select family goals together and practice them as they plan for future challenges, recognizing incremental improvements over time.

Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Invisible Injuries of War: Impact on Military Families and Children | BrainLine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The invisible injuries of service members resulting from our nation's war on terrorism pose complex challenges for military families, especially military children. With injuries such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), there are often dramatic changes in personality and behavior without a change in one's appearance.

# data[].attributes.body
Sandra and her family moved down to the city. But everyday they would have to be safe because so many people hated them just because of their religion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
[T]rue story of Sandra Uwiringyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America, and overcame her trauma through art and activism. Sandra was just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn't pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. Sandra may have crossed an ocean, but there was now a much wider divide she had to overcome. And it started with middle school in New York. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.

How Dare the Sun Rise, the author confesses in her postface, is a "declaration of my independence. It is a story of how hatred failed and love and justice prevailed" (278). The story - based on the author's life - is told in a simple, unobtrusive narrative. It opens with the Gatumba Massacre on the night of August 13, 2004, when militiamen storm a refugee camp in Burundi and shoot indiscriminately dozens of refugees, including Sandra's six-year-old sister Deborah who, like many of her relatives, dies from her gunshot wounds. Sandra, her mother and father, as well as her other siblings, survive and are relocated to Rochester, New York, thanks to a UNHCR refugee resettlement program. In fact, only the first few chapters of the book cover life in Eastern Congo, where Sandra's ethnic Banyamulenge group settled, then Burundi (at the infamous Gatumba camp), finally Rwanda, where the family awaits their resettlement to the United States. The author provides some interesting glimpses of growing up in war-torn Africa, describing in vivid details how the normal course of life is interrupted and torn asunder by the absurdity of war. "I knew the sounds of war," she writes, "before I knew how to do a cart wheel" (42). Her arresting description of Gatumba camp, where the family seeks refuge after they are forced out of Congo because of their ethnicity, could not be more unsettling. A forlorn place with "no schools and nothing to do. No toys for kids, no dolls, no distraction" (69), Gatumba turns out to be worse than that, a deathtrap and "fiery hell" (80) that cut short the life of little Deborah.

Sandra and her family hail from the Banyamulenge ethnic group, a people without a country who "didn't fit anywhere" (94), trapped along Congo's eastern border with Rwanda, at the epicenter of the wars that have ravaged the area since the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. This overarching theme of yearning for belonging and searching for identity continues to shape her family life and personal experience even as they all moved to the United States. There, Sandra discovers that America's race relations are no less insidious and no less fraught with hatred and intolerance than Africa's ethnic animosities. She describes at length her desire to belong and fit in in America's so-called melting pot: "I looked black, but I sounded white" (162), she recalled after some years in the United States, worrying that she "could never be black enough" (165). In Rochester's seediest neighborhood where her family tries to regain a sense of normalcy, she discovers the raw reality of exclusion and discrimination stemming from racial profiling in America's inner-cities. She learns the hard way, while shopping at a mall, what so many black people have gone through when wrongly suspected of shoplifting, that no matter how hard you strive, America will always define you by your skin color.

Yet, Sandra was meant to achieve what would be unthinkable for anyone in her position, independence, success, and global fame. A small photo exhibit of Gatumba Massacre survivors that she set up in a Rochester's unassuming gallery caught the attention of several people and served as a launching pad that propelled her into a career of an activist. She is eventually invited to speak before the UN assembly, appears on the Charlie Rose Show, and attends the White House Correspondents' Dinner where she meets President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

How Dare the Sun Rise has found its rightful place among a growing genre that includes powerful acclaimed memoirs such as Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Child Soldier (2008), Lopez Lomong's Running for my Life: One Boys' Lost Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games (2016), and They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan (2015). Yet, How Dare the Sun Rise is not without its flaws. Although her compelling story does elicit her readers' sympathy for the plight of refugees, the author never really provides a context to help readers understand the history and events that transformed the Great Lakes Region into a cauldron of war. At times, the narrative verges on the trivial and the melodramatic and becomes a version of intercultural romance and a tale of struggling to embrace the "American Dream," hence losing sight of its most powerful thread. The compelling appeal of this genre, as exemplified in the story of Lomong or the three lost boys of Sudan, is precisely its ability to convey a sense of resilience, to shatter the dreary myth of Africa's "tribal" wars and sensationalized senseless violence, and to challenge Western readers (including juvenile readers) to grasp Africa's postcolonial conundrum beyond the racist stereotypes conveyed by the media. How Dare the Sun Rise could have done more to fulfil those expectations.

Reviewed by Didier Gondola, Ph.D., Department of History, Indiana University, Indianapolis

Published in Africa Access Review (March 4, 2018)

Copyright 2018 Africa Access

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
T]rue story of Sandra Uwiringyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America, and overcame her trauma through art and activism. Sandra was just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head.

# data[].attributes.body
The second thing Sandra experiences from her mom telling her, "Typically, after five or six years of school, girls simply dropped out because there seemed to be no point in continuing their education: Their fate was to marry young and produce children"(13). Sandra did not like this rule because what if girls wanted to do as much education as guys and not have their job just be producing kids.

# data[].attributes.body
One of the first things Sandra experience is, "Suddenly, I saw sparks-bright blasts of gunfire-hitting my mother. They looked like fireworks. The bullets went into her belly, and she crumpled. She was still carrying my sister on her back. I turned around and ran inside the tent".(8) At this moment Sandra felt scared for her life. Moms are supposed to protect you whenever you need but her mom is know gone.

# data[].attributes.body
Zoe. "How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of War Child l Teenreads." Teenread, 7 June
2017, www.teenreads.com/reviews/
how-dare-the-sun-rise-memoirs-of-a-war-child. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.