Charity & Volunteering 01 (Jun 08 - Mar 11)

[winston]

Not sure I like this idea...

"Putpockets" give a little extra cash

LONDON (Reuters) - Visitors to London always have to be on the look out for pickpockets, but now there's another, more positive phenomenon on the loose -- putpockets.

Aware that people are suffering in the economic crisis, 20 former pickpockets have turned over a new leaf and are now trawling London's tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets.

Anything from 5 pounds ($8) to 20 pound notes is being surreptitiously deposited in unguarded pockets or open handbags in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and other busy spots.

The initiative, which runs until the end of August in London before being rolled out countrywide, is being funded by a broadbrand provider, which says it wants to brighten up people's lives in unusual ways.

"It feels good to give something back for a change -- and Britons certainly need it in the current economic climate," said Chris Fitch, a former pickpocket who now heads TalkTalk's putpocketing initiative.

"Every time I put money back in someone's pocket, I feel less guilty about the fact I spent many years taking it out."

London's police have been briefed about the plan, which will see at least 100,000 pounds given away.

[winston]

Nursing home says children hardly visit parents to avoid paying fees

SINGAPORE: Abandoning parents may not be common but it is becoming an emerging issue in Singapore.

Five per cent of the elderly at Bright Hill Evergreen Home have not seen their children for some time. The home said the children do not visit so as to avoid paying ward fees.

Ninety per cent of some 140 elderly in the home have children who are unable to support them.

Staff at the nursing home said the children would cite reasons such as being busy with work, being ill or that they are having family problems.

The staff added that the elderly who have not seen their children in a long time are prone to depression, and most refuse treatment.

The home said they usually turn to counselling and games to help the elderly keep their minds off their children.

One elderly at the home said: "My children do not come over to visit me, they never came once."

Tang Yip Chong, head nurse, Bright Hill Evergreen Home, said: "The family normally has to pay (the ward fees) for a long time for the parents to stay in the home. (There is a) burden on them (the children), so after some time, they come (less often) to visit the patients so they can more or less escape paying the ward fees."

— CNA/yt

[kennynah]

dont worry.... these unfilial children will get their just treatment....

they better pray we will always have clear skies... but that's just not possible... they can run, but they will never be able to hide from the inevitable...

[winston]

Clap Clap. Some people are good at giving speeches and having elaborate public ceremonies. Others just do ..

Mercy Relief sends water purification systems to typhoon-hit areas
By Channel NewsAsia's Taiwan Correspondent Christina Lo

KAOHSIUNG: In Taiwan, mudslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot have contaminated water supplies in many areas. But relief has come in the form of a water purification system that makes use of little more than pedal power.

Baolai Village, once a prosperous area known for its hot springs, is now a place full of muddy roads, fallen trees and half-buried houses.

It has been three weeks since Typhoon Morakot hit southern Taiwan and it is one of many areas in Kaohsiung county that is still covered with dirt.

Soldiers are helping to clean up, but their efforts can only go so far. For example, there is a shortage of clean tap water because the floods have disrupted the supply network.

Wang Fu-Ing, a Baolai villager, said: "We have no tap water. We can only find the source on our own. We send (spring) water in from Baolai bridge."

Many are still experiencing the shortage of potable water in Baolai Village. But with the I-water system, murky water can now be turned into usable water in just a matter of minutes.

A bicycle, two filters and some pipes are all the items that are needed for the water purification system provided by Mercy Relief, a Singapore aid organisation.

Hassan Ahmad, chief executive, Mercy Relief, said: "This machine is designed for disaster areas because it doesn't require electricity. They work with manual power with pedals, so it allows appropriate deployment in the disaster areas."

Peddling the bicycle pumps water from a storage tank through the filters and into a clean tank. The system also has a way of removing any dirt that is trapped in the filters to improve water quality.

As one hour of peddling will result in 800 litres of clean water, Mercy Relief has set up eight of such water filtration systems in Taiwan.

"There is still a huge need of water. In a lot of places, the water has been contaminated. Because of that, the authority has requested Mercy to send in more filter systems in the next one to two weeks," said Mr Hassan.

The water systems are housed at schools in Kaohsiung and Pintung. Hopefully, students there will also have a chance to learn the importance of water resources.

- CNA/so

[winston]

There's money to send people to the moon, to subsidize new cars, to bail out the investment bankers, to bail out AIG, to build bridges to nowhere, to build stadiums, to have nice ceremonies yet we dont have money to feed the hungry ..

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World food aid at 20-year low, 1 billion hungry

LONDON (Reuters) - Food aid is at a 20-year low despite the number of critically hungry people soaring this year to its highest level ever, the United Nations relief agency said Wednesday.

The number of hungry people will pass 1 billion this year for the first time, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said, adding that it is facing a serious budget shortfall.

To date the WFP has confirmed $2.6 billion in funding for its 2009 budget of $6.7 billion.

"This comes at a time of great vulnerability for the hungry," the WFP said in a statement.

"Millions have been buffeted by the global financial downturn, their ability to buy food is limited by stubbornly high prices. In addition, unpredictable weather patterns are causing more weather-related hunger," the WFP said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/ ... pnewsearly

[winston]

If you are ever in a position to decide where to spend your country's money, please do try to spend the money on the old, the aged, the sick eg. food, housing, medical benefits rather than on parades, ceremonies, stadiums, excessive arsenal of weapons, fireworks etc..

[kennynah]

if i was in power to expense my country's money, i will broadly spend it in order of priority :

a) National Defence
b) Continuous Education
c) Economic Development for Singapore Corporations
d) Infrastructure Building
e) Home Security
f) Arts and Fun
e) Selective Social Welfare

[winston]

While you have money for stadiums, opera houses, ceremonies, parades, weapons, fireworks and sending a few guys into space ..... shame shame

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World's hungry reach more than 1 billion in '09: U.N.

5:04am EDTROME (Reuters) - A combination of the food crisis and the global economic downturn has pushed more than 1 billion people into hunger in 2009, U.N. agencies said on Wednesday, confirming a grim forecast released earlier this year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program said 1.02 billion people -- about 100 million people more than last year -- are undernourished in 2009, the highest number in four decades.

"The rising number of hungry people is intolerable," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf as the new annual report on world hunger was released.

"We have the economic and technical means to make hunger disappear, what is missing is a stronger political will to eradicate hunger forever," he said.

The increase in the number of hungry people is not a result of poor harvests but is due to high food prices -- particularly in developing countries -- lower incomes and lost jobs.

Even before the recent twin crises of food and recession, the number of undernourished people had risen steadily for a decade, reversing progress made in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Group of Eight countries in July pledged $20 billion over three years to help poor nations feed themselves, signaling a new focus on longer-term agricultural development.

That has sparked some concerns that emergency food aid might be cut back as a result.

The WFP last year raised a record $5 billion to feed poor people as a spike in food prices in 2006-2008 sparked rioting and hoarding in some countries.

So far this year it has received $2.9 billion, and has had to cut food rations or scale back operations in places like Kenya and Bangladesh.

FAO and WFP urge a twin-track approach, saying longer-term investment in agriculture development should not come at the expense of short-term initiatives to fight acute hunger spurred by sudden food shortages.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/ ... pnewsearly

[winston]

TOL:-

I think you all have heard of the odd case, where some Teenage girls purposely got themselves pregnant, so that they can collect Social Assistance...

What is your response to the above ? If I read you correctly, your response is that there should not be any Social Assistance at all, right ?

Think about it. How many such cases are there ? And if there are such cases, why are they doing it ?

Just because they are a few odd cases that abuse the system, does it mean that with one brush, you should not help the Poor & Sick at all ? Do you think people really want to be Sick and Poor ?

Instead of helping the Poor & Sick, there's money for ceremonies, fireworks, parades, useless studies, stadiums, opera houses etc..

[kennynah]

I think you all have heard of the odd case, where some Teenage girls purposely got themselves pregnant, so that they can collect Social Assistance...

where is this happening? china?