Local and International Volunteers

Habitat Kuching’s work is an ongoing battle against poverty housing. You can help by giving in cash or in kind (for example, by sponsoring materials such as bricks, windows, etc, or even giving good, used furniture). You can also give up some of your precious time and come build with our local and international volunteers, or help execute our plans by joining our Board (soon to be Habitat Resource Centre).

For more information, do call Angelina Tong at our office (082.242.700) or James Lo (james.lo@hfhkuching.org). You will be in illustrious company, such as former US President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rock Icon Jon Bon Jovi and even *squeal* Brad Pitt:

CONTACT US NOW! Thank you very much for your kindness and compassion. Keep checking back on our website (or sign up for RSS notification) to keep up-to-date with our next event to raise funds and public awareness . . .

350 happy diners

We then launched into the entertainment for the evening, starting with SingleTrackMind’s first set. This was followed by the first part of the charity auction during which various desirable items such as Alex Wong’s guitar, a Jeroboam bottle of premium champagne, a dinner at the Junk Restaurant and two wooden decor/ furniture items from Asiana Gallery were sold. Full credit as well to G2000, 4 Points at Sheraton, Harbour View Hotel, Merdeka Palace Suites, Orchidwoods and the ArtSchool for sponsoring items for us to sell. In between the rockin’ sets, the crowd enjoyed a performance from the young girls of LayNa Ballet Academy.

Thanks once again to Global Upline Sdn Bhd (kudos especially to Datuk Danel Abong, Datu Yusof Hanifah and Mr Bobby Ting for rising to your Corporate Social Responsibility) who paid for the dinner; Terrace Jade at the Sarawak Club Golf Resort for staging an impeccable service; George and Roselyn Ling for crafting the menu and decor; Wine ‘n’ Liquor and Guinness Anchor Marketing for sponsoring the wine and beers; Les Paul Music Studio for the sound system and last but not least ThePlaygroundSydney for the gorgeous backdrop and dinner programme, without whom the dinner would not have been possible. Lest I forget, a big shout-out to Design Network Architects and Artemas Architects for their design assist, and of course Ron Lim, Georgette Tan and Edwin Lay, who toiled tirelessly and for no reward (they did not even have time to eat the scrumptious dinner that night!). Take a bow, people…

Months ago, this dinner was just a hope.  But as a black man who dreamed of being US President once wrote, sometimes if your hope is audacious enough, you just might succeed.

 Tonight we have raised a handsome amount for Habitat to continue with its mission.  Tomorrow we must hope for more.  A better world in which the breadwinners of the family can come home to a safe and restful environment.  A better world in which their children can play and study, with adequate hygiene and light, and space.  This is my hope.  To break the cycle of poverty, we must help these children emerge from their cocoons, like butterflies.

 Drive safely, and good night.

George and Roselyn of the Junk Restaurant (and Terrace Jade, the Golf Resort restaurant) are excitedly planning a fun-filled evening with great food for all — with a lot of help from Shentel Lee of theplaygroundsydney. Do check out her site, it’s absolutely fabulous!

Work, in the meantime, goes on. We’ve just hosted a Global Village (GV) team from Japan, capped off with a farewell dinner at Jambu Restaurant. Apparently Kuching is such a great destination that one of the GV team leaders who came last year, Alaine Bunce from England, wants to return and stay for around three months! Any kind soul would like to offer a roof over her head? Alaine will pay her own way — come on, let’s show her our famous Kuching hospitality!

I guess the key to fairly regular blogging is to keep the posts short and snappy. So I shall leave you with a cool shot of our very own pop/ rock star, Mr Alex Wong a.k.a. SingleTrackMind . . .

They were struggling to come up with the high cost of materials as Diloi was the sole breadwinner in the family. Rosita’s father has a piece of land at Kampung Petung, 22nd Mile, Kuching/ Serian Road. The father consented for them to build on his land. Their application was approved and, in July 2004, construction began. Many family members, friends, neighbours and volunteers worked on the house, including a Habitat Global Village team from Japan comprising of 11 English teachers. The 3-bedroom 20′ x 30′ concrete block house was completed and dedicated in November 2004. 

However, since 1999, Diloi had had numerous surgeries done to remove a recurring large tumour in his abdomen. In the middle of 2008, he was due for yet another surgery but unfortunately Diloi succumbed to the tumour on 9 May 2008. On his last day, Diloi had insisted to cook a “cha kueh teow” dinner for his family and he had also invited his parents-in-law. They had a good time that evening. Later that night, he passed away. 

Diloi has been a very responsible husband and father. When he knew about his worsening health condition, he made many plans to ensure that his family would be well taken care of: he started to clear the land next to his house to plant paddy, sugar cane and fruits so that his family would have a source of income; he has also started to build a chicken coop so they could rear chickens for their own consumption and for sale (unfortunately this was only half completed). Now, Rosita works diligently on the farm, which is her source of income. Their eldest daughter is a temporary school teacher. Their 2nd son is a general worker. Their 3rd and 4th sons are factory workers in Kuala Lumpur. The youngest one is only 9 years old. With Diloi’s passing and the loss of his income, the family faced trouble making their no-interest loan repayment to Habitat.

Move by their plight, Habitat Kuching’s President (2008/ 2009), Albert Law, took action. Calling upon the generosity and compassion of his church cell group, Albert collected more than RM1,600 and, just before Christmas last year, presented this sum to Rosita, to enable her to substantially repay her debt. Yet another way in which Habitat’s Board members are quietly helping the underprivileged. 

The dinner will be generously hosted by Global Upline Sdn Bhd. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by SingleTrackMind and LayNa Ballet Academy. There will also be fun events like a charity auction and a lucky draw.

Tickets are sold at only RM150 each, and are available from the HfH office (please call Angelina Tong on 082 242 700).

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The Sarawak Club Golf Resort is located on a 216 acre site next to the Unimas campus along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway. It features an 18 hole golf course, 25 bay driving range and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse. Complete with banquet hall, bar and cafeteria, an Olympic sized swimming pool, gym, conference room and library, this elegant resort was designed by Kuching’s own award-winning architects, DNA.

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Three AIM Award nominations for debut album ‘NO REASON’ in 2004, and two more nominations in 2008 for follow-up album ‘HEY’ have firmly established SingleTrackMind (STM) in Malaysia’s indie music scene.

STM’s music is a deft blend of influences, but yet uniquely its own. STM’s music is eclectic and can range from singer-songwriter pop to intense more brooding rock and still carry the STM stamp.

STM will perform two acoustic sets in aid of HfH and will auction off one of Alex Wong’s guitars, a Squire Stratocaster hardtail.

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LayNa Ballet Academy started in July 1996. Each year, students of the Academy are enrolled for the Ballet Graded and Vocational Examination by the Royal Academy of Dance, London; and they have consistently achieved a high percentage of Distinctions.

The Principal of the Academy, Miss LayNa Chan, the first recipient of the MLNG Scholarship for the Fine Arts in 1991, was appointed a Ballet Graded Examiner by the Royal Academy of Dance, London, in 2003.

The Academy has taken part in various private and government events, including numerous fundraising projects for the needy.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to meet the Form 3 students at Lodge School. I spoke to them about Habitat’s mission to eradicate poverty housing and was deeply impressed when one of the first questions that came as we got to the Q&A part of the morning was, “When do I start?” 

Well, Daniel Kong, I’m glad to give you the answer: 15 November 2008. That’s when you start. I’d like to personally thank you and your Lodge schoolmates for coming to Kampung Senibong in Bau to build with Habitat for the day. You do your parents proud, and you do me proud. I have full confidence that the compassion you’ve shown, by volunteering to build for those less fortunate, will burn within you all your lives.

* “You must be the change you wish to see in this world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

** “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

Not meaning to show my political bias here — this is not the venue — but Obama is good for Habitat. In case you didn’t know, in Sept, Obama Works Twin Cities did a build with Minneapolis HfH, and back in July 2006:

Barack Obama The US Senator for Illinois visited the Musicians Village today and saw firsthand the progress being made by New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) in bringing back the communities in the 9th Ward. The Senator was led on a tour by Jim Pate, NOAHH Executive Director. He listened to music from JD Hill, one of the first homeowners at the Musicians Village. He also met with partner families, and volunteers. He held discussions with NOAHH executive team led by Jim Pate, and took part in painting a home. NOAHH is grateful to Senator Obama for visiting and supporting our efforts.

Here’s hoping for a stronger loving world, with the first black President in the White House…

The successful birthday build is written up on her own site — scoot on over to www.georgettetan.com for some absolutely fabulous reading dahlings — and she collected RM500 from her friends to boot! 

Kudos also to Faith, who borrowed the same idea and raised RM515.83. (Any of you readers out there interested in taking a leaf from Georgette’s book, drop her a line through her blog!)

Faith and ‘Gette, it’s friends like you who help keep Habitat going. You have reaffirmed my faith (no pun intended) in human kindness.

In this tough world, a little compassion goes a long way. Take a bow, ladies. James Lo Vice President HfH Kuching