SMILE FOR THE WORLD

Sweet smile like this can brighten up your day

Smile for peace, smile for the world

A Smile costs nothing, but gives much

It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give

It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever

None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is
so poor, but that he can be made rich by it

A Smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business,
and is the countersign of friendship

It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the
sad, and it is nature's best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is
something that is of no value to anyone, until it is given away

Some people are too tired to give you a smile;

Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no
more to give.

Author Unknown

Don't let Nurin Jazlin die in vain

I am blogging a little bit here on the above topic with the hope of creating awareness to the many cases that happened to our society recently; in regards to the safety of our children.

The brutal attack and violent abuse to Nurin Jazlin shocked the nation. She was a naive and defenseless 8 year old child. She was starved without solid food for 1 month since her abduction and was sexually abused by being stuffed with a cucumber into her vagina and followed with a brinjal into her anus that caused a rupture into her intestine, which resulted in great pain and she finally died from infections caused by the multiple abuses and injuries inflicted onto her body. She cried so much until her tears crystallised around her eyes lashes. Bruises were seen around her eyes and behind her ears. Her legs' were broken so that her body can fit into the sports bag that was found outside the stairway of a shop office near Petaling Jaya Utama last Monday, 17 September 2007.

No man on earth can ever visualise the torments Nurin had gone thru during those last moments of her life. The "worse than animal" assailant should be hunted down and brought to face the severe punishments that equal to the sufferings of Nurin. Justice must be served for the sake of Nurin and her family.

Nurin was last seen being carted away by a man in a white van while on her way to a night market 500m from her home. Her wish to buy a nice hair clip can never be fulfilled. She made a mistake that night, that was she went out there alone ...

Nurin is amongst the 17 children who were on the Police list of missing children in our country. This is an alarming sign that requires serious attention from all quarters and preventive measures must be taken to help curb this accelerating statistic.

I wish to share with you some of the following information provided by StayingSafe.org pertaining to the SAFEKIDS Strategy, which are very useful tips especially to parents with young children:

SAFEKIDS STRATEGY:

S is for Surrounding.
Be vigilant and alert in new or familiar surroundings.
Be sensitive if somebody is following or observing you and your family.

A is for Avoid.
Advise your children to avoid invitations or food from strangers, unless you are around to approve it.
Tell them its okay to say "no" to strangers or people they are uncomfortable with.

F is for Freedom
Give your children the freedom to tell you anything and everything without fear of reproach.
Remember. The victim is never at fault.
Encourage your children to inform you about events or people they are uncomfortable with.

E is for Educate
Educate your child about the various risks and dangers on a regular basis.(Emphasis on the word regular.)
Make clear what is appropriate or inappropriate.
Stay vigilant on new risks and update both you and your child's knowledge.
Education involves both theory and practice.

K is for Know.
Know where your child is or is going to be, at ALL times.
Check on them as often as you can.

I is for Identify.
Identify changes in your child's character or behavior, especially if
they become fearful, withdrawn or moody without reason.

D is for Details.
Don't reveal any personal details about yourself or your family
unnecessarily (this applies to both adults and children)

S is for Security.
This last 'S' should be obvious.
Locks that are not locked are no locks at all, and locks that lock even their owners are TRAPs. What security measures are in place at home, while driving, at school and so forth?
Spend some time to think and identify areas for improvement.

*******

May Nurin's soul rest in peace.
To the parents of Nurin, May the almighty God give you strength and faith to carry on.
Al-Fatihah

UPDATE FROM VIVIAN

Vivian seems to be doing well in Brisbane after 2 months of "adjustment" to settle into her new life alone. She left in July, 2007 for the University of Queensland to further her studies in Marine Science.

At the beginning, I used to "catch" her thru MSN on most days while she was studying in her room. Kind of worry if she is making new friends around. Soon, my worry was proven undue. She managed to locate her church, The Seventh Day Adventist "SDA" not far from the city and from there, her time was quite filled by the uni and church activities.

Though both of us, mother and daughter, do not share the same religion, but we respected each other's faith in god, and it definitely did not affect our bonding. She shares most of what's happenning around her with me, right from her daily food, friends, classes, interests to romance (a little of it) and also her faith in God. I am relief that she is well on the right path to shape her own future and I pray that God will give her the strength to overcome every obstacle in life.

The pictures shown below were taken during one of Vivian's church activities, visiting a Nursing Home:

Outside the home, slow down!

Old folks gather around for some fun time with the church members

Time to mingle

Prayer before leaving

Vivian (left) met with Sasa, a church mate from Singapore

Keen to drop by her blog?

Morning Has Broken

Sometimes my cross is hard to bear
for there is darkness everywhere
and troubles pile around my door
like autumn leaves forevermore.

The morning light seems far away
like I am stuck in yesterday
My heart is beating like a drum
I try to pray, but words won't come

But then the sun begins to rise
and hope is born within my eyes
A rainbow forms among my tears
for faith is stronger than my fears

Author Unknown

*********
My deepest condolence to the family of the little girl who was brutally attacked and sexually abused by the assailant deemed fit as animal. I pray that justice is served for the sake of the family.

May your soul rest in peace.

XIM PHOU MOON WELFARE SOCIETY MALAYSIA

Many thanks to Xim Phou Moon Welfare Society Malaysia! You have taken off the biggest headache from me recently for helping me a great deal in carting away the bulky furnitures from my old house.

I was a little bit puzzled earlier on how to remove those fairly sizable furnitures from the house before handing over to the new owner. Probably I have to pay a few hundred bucks to hire lorry and workers to do the job, I thought to myself.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that why don't I donate them instead of paying someone else to do the work? Most importantly, I can "kill two birds with one stone". So, I called up this contact in my handphone of a recycling centre and a friendly lady responded immediately with an appointment to view the items.

As promised, a man came over with this "transport" on that day:


He emptied my house with three lorry loads filled with sofa set, beds with mattresses, cupboards, two dining set with chairs, half moon table with vase, artificial tree, shoe rack, two study tables with chairs, book shelves, hi-fi set with speakers, stand and table lamps, decorative items and many bags of clothings, shoes and kitchen wares. As they drove off with the last load of furniture, I felt good about it as I know that these items will be of some use to those in need, although some of the items are old but I also gave away some reasonably new and good looking items so that they will be reused directly or they may sold to raise funds for charitable causes!

Villi is seen helping out too! Another way to show his support to recycle for charity

The 100th blog

This blog marks the 100th time of my writing in helping the needy.

I feel good about it. I hope you feel the same way too as I know enthusiastic readers like you are browses the net searching for topics offering help to the underprivileged.

I am thankful that God has given me the health, the ability as well as the time to sit down and exercise my brain, to think of what I can do using this computer and the internet facility to help others, without stepping out of home. I am delighted that this blog has somehow served its deed by receiving many encouraging comments that spurred me on from time to time. I thank you for that!

I also somehow feel that by helping others, we will be helped in someways in times of need. Because whatever we do, there is an eye watching us from above.

So, go on unreservedly to help people. The world will be a better place.

Happy blogging to all my friends!


~ "It takes a noble person to plant a seed for a tree that some day gives shade to people he may never meet" ~ Author Unknown

Please help the physically and mentally challenged!

Mr Morgun, the founder of Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-kanak Cacat Klang, Selangor called me up two days ago. He spoke about the Charity Dinner that they are organising on 26th October, 2007 at 7.30pm at the Grand Ballroom Centro, Centro, Klang to raise funds for the welfare of the centre.

He mentioned about the financial crisis that the centre is presently experiencing since a couple of months back. The centre has been facing hardship in maintaining the building as well as meeting its day to day operational expenditures.

He also shared with me the neighbourhoods' complaints about the noises at night coming from some of the children who screamed or cried non-stop which have disturbed their otherwise peaceful living environment. This is something he wish that his neighbours could understand and give him the much needed patience as he is working hard to move the centre to a more suitable surrounding instead of the present home that is surrounded by residential houses.

According to Mr Morgun, staying awake at night is very common among these physically or mentally challenged children; There is nothing much we can do other than providing comfort and care for them, he added. In fact, we should appreciate the helpers who have sacrificed their precious sleep in order to keep up with the children all night, not to mention the loads of daily chores that await them the following day.

From an outsider's point of view, let us ask ourselves, do we actually know the magnitude of commitment and conviction involved in running a centre of this nature? can we feel the pains and sufferings of these poor children? and are we prepared to sacrifice and willing to do what the centre's helpers are doing for the sake of these children? These are just a fraction of the problems Mr Morgun are facing everyday, if you want to know more, spend half a day with him and you will walk out with your hat off. This is a superhuman job only for the strong hearted.

I personally think that generally homes that are located outside Kuala Lumpur receive much less attention from the general public, in terms of receiving visitors as well as donations. The homes' caretakers have to work twice as hard to create the public awareness in order to achieve their objectives such as fund raising campaign, charity dinner etc. To help kind people like Mr Morgun, I urge those who are keen in visiting homes, do consider venturing out of the city if circumstances allowed. Let's reach out a little further to the needy, because they simply do not have the means to come to us.

Before I conclude, please lend your generous hands to Mr Morgun by buying a table or two from him at RM1,000.00 per table for 10pax or help him to achieve the target fund size of RM120,000.00 by selling the tables to your relatives, friends or colleagues. Perhaps, you could also send your kind donations to him directly at: "PUSAT PENJAGAAN KANAK-KANAK CACAT KLANG SELANGOR" (Payee). No:4, Lorong Bunga Raya, Kampong Raja Uda, 42000 Port Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

For further inquiries to the Charity Dinner, please contact Mr S.Simon at 012-5172722 / 016-3710248 or Mr Morgun at 012-3915893

Meantime, do enjoy the song that is playing now which I would like to dedicate to you who is taking time to read my blog.

On behalf of Mr Morgun, God Bless you with great health and happiness!

YOUR URGENT SUPPORT TO OUR FURRY FRIENDS!

This is an unbelievable act.

One of our local councils- The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) had launched a "brilliant" competition to catch stray dogs in its municipal. See Malay Mail today.

According to the MPS website, residents’ associations would be awarded RM20 for each live stray surrendered to the council.

Winners will be picked every six months and to qualify for the three top prizes — RM15,000, RM13,000 and RM11,000 — more than 150 dogs must be caught within six months.

The association that catches the most strays would also be rewarded with a RM2,000 consolation prize if the target of 150 dogs is not achieved.

It even stated that all dogs must be surrendered to the council "alive" and to be accompanied by photograph as prove for each catch!

I can't believe that such a cruel thought can be brought up for discussion in the first place. Scenes of harming and beating the animals with tools and all sorts of methods used by people who are eagerly going after the prize money is simply beyond one's imagination. Let alone the chain of effects kicked up by this competition where residents start to report lost of canines, people injured by the enraged dogs, fighting for the prize money...and so on.

Dogs are like human, they have life and senses too. They are not here to take our life and why should we attack them in such a brutal way? Can't the authority work with SPCA or any animal shelters to find out a long term solution in solving this issue?

You can help them before it's too late. Sign your support today and keep the good karma going.

Introducing Hannah, our little princess

And our ever cheerful and friendly buddy, Sookie

She is our dearest play mate she is one of us!

OLD FOLKS' HOME AROUND KLANG VALLEY

Thru my sitemeter, I can see that many are looking for Old Folks' Homes around Selangor, I have a few in my list:

1. Persatuan Kebajikan Rumah Grace
No:925, Jalan Sekinchan, Pandamaran
42000 Port Klang, Klang.
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel:03-31663500
Contact: Pn Chew Chong Way

2. Rumah Sejahtera Kerling
Jalan Besar, Kerling
44100 Hulu Selangor
Tel:03-60642169
Contact: Y.M. Raja Abdul Karim

3. Rumah Sejahtera Seri Setia
Lot 13559, Jalan SS 9A/20
Sungai Way, 47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-78768594
Contact: Puan Chen

4. Rumah Sejahtera Seri Kembangan
Jalan Besar, Seri Kembangan
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-89419639
Contact : En Chai Kon Soon

5. RUMAH ORANG TUA CKS
(RUMAH ORANG TUA CHONG KENG SEONG)
No:80, Jalan Bukit Mertajam
Off Jalan Kapar, Klang
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-33441028
Contact : En Cheong Choong Chin

6.Persatuan Warganegara Kanan Evergreen
No:18, Jalan 12/24
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel:03-79566212
Contact: Mr K Retnam, G.C. Gomez

7.Rumah Orang Tua Ampang
Kg Baru Ampang
68000 Ampang
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-42918978 (New Updated as of 2010 )
Contact: Datin Paduka Rosmery Chong, En Lee Check How

8.Yayasan Sunbeams Home
54, Jalan Bunga Melor 16A
Taman Mawar, Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-42953949
Contact: En Tan Ooi Seng

9. Rumah Amal Cheshire Selangor
No.10875, Jalan Rawang Batu 7 1/2
68100 Selangor
Tel:03-61387118

10. Rumah Amal Cahaya T A Rahimah
No.1164, Jalan USJ 1/18
Taman Subang Permai
47500 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-56312664

11. Rumah Ozanam
No:15, Lorong 4/48E
Seksyen 4, 46050 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel:03-77835593

12. Persatuan Kebajikan Cihang-Chempaka Sel (Rumah Bakti Cihang)
No.3794, Lorong 4D
Kampung Baru Subang
40000 Subang
Selangor
Tel:03-78465593

13.Rumah Ibadat Siva
Jaln 5/66
Seksyen 5
46000 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel:03-77810153

14.Persatuan Rumah Warga Emas Klang Selangor
No.3, Slk Kaw 5
Taman Selatan
41200 Klang
Selangor
Tel:03-33720060

15.Penghuni Rumah Orang-orang Tua
Rumah Kebajikan, Jalan Merdeka
Kampung Baru Ampang
68000 Ampang
Selangor
Tel:03-42918978

16.Caring Old Folks Home
No.11, Jalan Muhibbah 7
Taman Muhibbah
43000 Kajang
Selangor
Tel:03-87377680

17. Little Sister of the Poor
Batu 5, Jalan Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:03-91311464

18. Home for the Aged
5th Mile, Jalan Cheras
P.O. Box 6141
55710 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:03-91310838

19. Rumah Charis
77, Taman Lucky
Batu 6, Jalan Puchong
58200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:03-71915977

20. YMCA Senior Citizen Club
95, Jalan Padang Belia
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 22741439

For more information pertaining to Old Folk Homes and Orphanages, kindly log into : http://charitymalaysia.freeservers.com/senior.htm
http://www.hati.org.my/

Any contribution to the list? Please email me the information and I will add it in for the benefit of all.

Thank you.

HEART ATTACK!!!

OMG! I almost fell down the chair after reading this news from The Star Newspapers, you have no idea how many bottles of Silomat both my hubby and myself had consumed during this round of cough.

Who are we consumers turn to in this event?

Followings are the excerpts from The Star On Line:

Tuesday September 4, 2007

Silomat taken off the shelves

PETALING JAYA: Boehringer Ingelheim has decided to withdraw from the market Silomat, one of its products used to treat irritable cough.

The cough mixture contains clobutinol hydrochloride.

The decision to withdraw the product from the market was decided with authorities in Germany after new findings from a clinical study on clobutinol hydrochloride suggest that a potential risk of cardiac arrhythmia cannot be excluded.

The company has advised patients to discontinue usage of the product.

Diethelm Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the vendor and appointed sole distributor of Silomat in Malaysia, will refund customers who have bought Silomat.

Patients may return the Silomat bottles by Oct 31 to the pharmacies, clinics or hospitals where they got the medicine.

Wednesday September 5, 2007

Firm withdraws its cough mixture

KUALA LUMPUR: Boehringer Ingelheim has withdrawn its cough mixture Silomat as a precautionary measure.

The drug, prescribed to treat irritable cough, contains clobutinol hydrochloride, the company said in a statement.

New findings from a clinical study by Boehringer Ingelheim and analysed in the last few days suggest that a potential risk of cardiac arrhythmia cannot be excluded.

I guess we could only start praying for ourselves...

SHIATSU SELF MASSAGE

Update

I am down and out recently. Since the last time I fell down with a sprained ankle, I have not been well for more than a month. The swollen ankle had not fully recovered until now, cut me off from my routine exercises.

Spate of sickness continuously pounding on me with conjunctivitis, fever, flu and bad cough. I usually don't fall sick so easily, it has been umpteen years back since I had fever, and this time really come on hard. Perhaps the antibody in me is running low. I should be eating more healthy food to fight all the viruses these days.

I can't spend much time sitting in front of the computer as my cough is really disturbing and the cough medications make me drowsy. Hopefully I should be back to normal in a day or two.

As the saying goes, Health is Wealth.

I definitely treasure health more than anything else.

Child's Bill of Rights

My son came home from school one day,
with a silly grin on his face,
He thought he was smarter than me, his mom,
and he could put me in my place.

HE SAID:
Guess what I learned in Civics Two,
that's taught by Mr. Nelson,
It's about the laws of the land, today,
its called the Children's Bill of Rights.

IT SAYS:
That I don't have to clean my room,
I don't even have to cut my hair,
Nobody can tell me what I can eat,
or choose the clothes I wear.

IT SAID:
Freedom of speech is my constitutional guarantee,
and its my choice of what I read, or what I watch on T.V.
I have the freedom of religion, and regardless of what you say,
I don't have to ask your God for help---I don't have to pray.

IT SAID:
I can wear an earring in my ear,
and if I want to--I can pierce my nose,
It's my choice if I so desire,
to tattoo Satan's numbers--across my toes.

Hey, if ever again you try to spank me,
I will charge you with the crime,
and I can back up all my charges,
With the marks on my behind.

HE SAID, NOW:
Don't ever touch my body again,
this body of mine is for me to use,
And not for your hugs and kisses and stuff,
that's just another form of child abuse.

HE CONTINUED WITH:
And stop trying to fill my head with morals,
like your mama did to you,
Things like that are called mind control,
And that's illegal too!

Mom, I have these Children's Rights,
you can't do a thing to me,
I can call the Children's Services,
better known as C. S. D.

MY TURN ---
My very first impression was,
to toss this boy right out the door,
But here was a chance to teach him a lesson,
for once and for ever more.

I took my time and mulled it over,
but something like this I couldn't let go,
This kid of mine didn't realize,
that he was messing with a pro!

AND AWAY WE GO!
The next day we went shopping,
very much to his dismay,
I didn't buy him 501s
or shirts designed by Nike.

I had called and talked to the C. S. D.,
they said that they didn't really care,
If I bought him Volume shoes,
or a pair of Nike Airs.

AND THEN:
I canceled his appointment with DMV,
so he could test his driving skills,
I'd probably be dead by now for sure,
If only looks could kill!

I SAID:
By the way, I don't have time to stop and eat,
or pick up stuff for you to munch,
I think you should follow C. S. D.'s advice,
And make yourself a big sack lunch.

So, you say what? That you're not hungry,
that you can wait until dinner time?
Well, I am fixing liver and onions,
Cause that a favorite dish of mine.

Can we stop to get a movie,
so you can watch on the VCR?
Gosh no! I sold what was your T.V.,
And bought four new tires for my car.

I also rented out your room,
sorry, you really don't need a bed,
All I really have to do for you,
Is put a roof over your head.

As long as I have to buy your clothes,
and the food that you must eat,
The money I gave you for an allowance,
Is going to buy me something neat.

No more eating after we shop,
no more joking along the way,
Son, I too have Bill of Rights
That goes into effect today.

What's the matter, why are you crying?
What are you doing down on your knees?
Why are you asking God to help you,
Instead of C. S. D.?

Author Unknown

HEART

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees. The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.


Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?


Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints.

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa, who was my patient.

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age
(I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad .

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, sedentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?

Ans: Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart? What precautions would you recommend?

Ans: When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans: Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans: No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans: No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans: Fried food like Kentucky, McDonalds, samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans: No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans: Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?

Ans: No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans: Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes, a strong relationship, since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans: Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?

Ans: No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans: There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans: No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans: Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans: Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup if you are past the age of 30 ...

RUMAH KELUARGA KAMI (OUR FAMILY HOME) - Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Some of the children from the Rumah Keluarga Kami

Rumah Keluarga Kami (RKK) was set up in 1990 with the aim to provide shelter for underprivileged, abused and abandoned children irrespective of race, creed or religion and is a project of the society of St.Vincent D'Paul, Malaysia.

In the 17 years since it was formed, more than 190 children have come to live in this home. Currently the house has 40 children cared for by 4 full time staff and about 16 volunteers. The children who come from very difficult backgrounds are given all the basic amenities and necessities and all school going children are placed in government schools and provided with additional tuition.

As this is a charity home, the operations are funded strictly from well-wishers and public donations. The home requires about RM16,000.00 a month to meet its operating overheads. The home is proud to announce that some of the children have excelled in their studies in the various examinations. One of the girls have graduated with a degree in Business Information System and another completed with Diploma in Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management. (Both are from Sunway University.) There are seven teenagers continuing their skill training in Montfort Boys Town, Selangor.

As part of its commitment, RKK intends to purchase the adjoining plot of land to build a house for the boys wing which is currently in a rented premises. In order to achieve this objective, RKK is organising its 9th Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, 8th September 2007 at Kelab Golf Perhidmatan Awam Malaysia (KGPA) Bukit Kiara, Off Jalan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. To those Golf enthusiasts, why not have a round of friendly game and do charity at the same time? For non-golfers, you can contribute by joining the dinner and prize presentation ceremony, (and be a sponsor for the prizes too!.)

For those who wish to donate to the home directly, kindly make your payment in favour of : "Yayasan Ozanam" and all donations will be tax exempt.

Your generosity and support will go a long way in helping and shaping the children's future.

For inquiries to the 9th Annual Golf Tournament 2007，please contact:

YAYASAN OZANAM (SSVP- RUMAH KELUARGA KAMI)
No:139, Jalan Bukit, 43000 Kajang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-87367877
Fax:03-87371581
email: rumahkkm@tm.net.my

A 100 YEARS FROM NOW

A hundred years from now no one will remember
How much money I had in the bank
what kind of car I drove
or what kind of job I had.

But I will be remembered
as someone special
because I made a difference
in the life of a child.

Author Unknown

"FEEDING THE NEEDY" CHARITY DRIVE

The "Feeding The Needy" fund raising campaign is part of the year long program organised by The Buddhist Maha Vihara (BMV) in memory of and to honour a great human being, the late Dr. K. Sri. Dhammandanda.

The objective of this campaign is to provide food provisions and other essentials to 120 under-privileged families.

In order not to burden the under-privileged by going to the Buddhist Maha Vihara ("BMV") at Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur to receive food and donation, BMV instead planned to distribute the essential provisions by holding a "Charity Drive" on Sunday, 19 August 2007 to send the items to the needy. The provisions which are packed into cartons are : 10kg of rice; 5kg of cooking oil; 1.2kg Milo; 2kg sugar; 800gm biscuits; 2cans sardines, 1kg margarine; 1kg salt; toothpaste; 3 per pack toothbrush. Each food carton weighs approximately 12kg and one 10kg of rice.

BMV is requesting interested volunteers and volunteers with own vehicles to help by:

1. Offer your services to drive / deliver the food cartons to an under-privileged family.

2. Offer to help in the charity drive.

The locations are as follows:

Location No.of Homes / Families Drivers & Volunteers needed
Batu Arang 1 Home 1 car (to carry 3 cartons)
Rawang 1 Family 1 Home 1 car (to carry 4 cartons)
Puchong 4 Families 2 cars (to carry 2 cartons each)
Puchong Jaya 3 Families 1 car (to carry 3 cartons)
Len Seng, Cheras 4 Families 1 car (to carry 4 cartons)
9th Miles, Cheras 10 Families 3 cars (to carry 10 cartons)
Jalan Loke Yew 2 Families 1 car (to carry 2 cartons)
Shah Alam 1 Family 1 car (to carry 1 carton)
Jalan Peel 1 Family 1 car (to carry 1 carton)
Carey Island 65 Families-Bus Provided Volunteers to help deliver

For those who wish to volunteer, a briefing will be held on Friday, 17^th August 2007 at 6.30pm at the BMV Wisdom Room.

Please contact, Sis Pamela at 016-3690191 or 03-90749261 or call Buddhist Maha Vihara at: 03-22741141 Fax: 03-22732570 if you wish to assist.

The Buddhist Maha Vihara is located at:
123, Jalan Berhala, Brickfields
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

DHAMMANANDA’S THOUGHTS

"Happy is he who has lofty and noble aspirations.
Happy is he who enriches the lives of others.
Happy is he who allows others to live in peace.
Happy is he who makes this world a better place to live in.
Happy is he whose work, chores and daily tasks are labours of love.
Happy is he who loves love".

The Compassion Home, Subang Jaya

My hubby and I share a common belief in teaching our juniors, that is to inculcate compassion and kindness in them from young. That is the guiding principle of our children's upbringing.

We celebrated Valerie's 2nd birthday at The Compassion Home in USJ, Subang Jaya this afternoon with 14 brothers and sisters together with the home caretakers, Mr George and Mdm Teresa.

It was a wonderful gathering in a simple way.

We were truly amazed by the well manners demonstrated by the boys and girls. All of them came upfront to introduce themselves and started playing with Valerie and the rest of the party's guests. A prayer was said by a 15 year old boy after the birthday song was sung and followed by a pre-packed Kentucky Fried Chicken lunch.

The home was so well kept with all the children taking turns to clean the place and help out in the kitchen work. Some volunteers from a nearby college come periodically to clean and maintain the garden and the buildings. With everybody's effort, they make the home a very warm and homely place. Both Mr George and Mdm Teresa deserve all the praises for instilling strict discipline and moral teachings to the children, who were deprived of parental love. Both of them wanted to see the children grow up to be independent person and a useful citizen to the country, their love to the orphans are never lesser than that of their own.

Before I conclude, I must give credit to the Taipan USJ KFC outlet Manager, En Adly for his generosity by offering 2 sets of complimentary value meals for the home out of the total 23 sets we purchased. Also, not forgetting to thank The Taipan USJ Berry Cake Shop for giving a 10% discount for the 2 cakes that we bought over the counter this afternoon. Although these offers are not significant to many, but honestly, it is not that easy to obtain support from vendors when you are doing it on a personal basis.

For those of you who wish to do the same, here are some general information in organising a small party at orphanages or old folks homes:

1. Call up the identified home and ask for their choice of meal. (Of course to work within your budget.)
2. Buy some gifts for the children/old folks
3. Buy a birthday cake
4. Buy drinks and tibbits
5. Order your meal
6. Bring balloons and party packs
7. Budget in the caretakers and your contingent's portion of food and beverage
8. Don't forget lots of love and smile

In our case, for a home with 14 children, we spent about RM500. Don't you think that this is a very meaningful way of having a birthday party?

The group photo session

The "contingent"

Hi there big brother, my name is Valerie

Each child will get a gift too...


and a bit more...

The children helped to set up the place

Great team work, blowing balloons to brighten up the Home

KFC ... yummy


Mr George, the Home administrator

and the home that can make you fall asleep there

Here is the contact

More about The Compassion Home:

Compassion Home is part of a larger family of Persatuan Rumah K.I.D.S and Grace Community Services Bhd (GCSB) since July 1, 2003. The chairman, Rev. Dr. Henry Ramaya is the visionary founder of GCSB - a charitable organization with various social works that include underprivileged children homes, a drug and alcoholic rehabilitation center, homes for homeless and destitute women and unwed mothers, HIV hospice and home for juvenile delinquents.
There are some ways that you can partner with Rumah K.I.D.S. to offer help and care for the children like giving donations in cash or in kind, providing a meal, offering free tuition and doing voluntary work at the homes.

For further enquiry, please contact:

Persatuan Rumah Kanak-kanak Ini Di Sayangi (Rumah KIDS)
7, Jalan Durian, Off Jalan Dato Dollah
41100 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel/Fax: 03-3373 3400
Email: r_kids@tm.net.my
Website: www.grace-intl.com

New Telephone Contact to The Compassion Home:
03-56379366
Mr George

Happy Birthday My Little Darling

Hey, my little darling Valerie will be turning 2 on 8 Aug.

Guess what? We are planning a birthday do at an orphanage near our home in Subang Jaya tomorrow, it is called The Compassion Home with 14 children aged between 7 to 15 years old.

My sweetie is beginning to pick up Mandarin now with very simple words. She is a little slower in picking up words as compared to other kids her age. Probably because of us speaking to her in multi-languages at home. But we are not rushing her any where, she has all the time so long she is healthy and chirpy everyday.

Valerie on the day she was born on 8 Aug 2005

Turning one year old

... and now

Here's a nice message I've received from a friend that will surely warm your heart ... happy reading:

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and learned that little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who do not.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I will have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt but it is all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking!"

~ Author Unknown ~

Something for all of us to ponder about