Saturday, January 01, 2005
new year's day.
Spent the day at the Soka Assc headquarters sorting out clothes for the tsunami victims. Saw some really ridiculous things some pple gavelike used undies. I mean c'mon. Who the hell wants to reuse your used underwear? And there were some clothes that were ripped/ soiled/stained really badly. Hey, it ain't a dumping ground ok? Winter wear? rattles?? (!)
On the other hand, there were really awesome ppl who donated new clothes! med supplies, food.. blankies. the list goes on. I suppose some pple were well meaning.. but after today, i can see why the org. keep appealing for cash donations. Coz lotsa the clothes simply weren't appropriate for a Muslim country. A lot of clothes that were still usable were rejected coz camisoles and hot shorts had no place in the places where they were to be sent.
Cash, medical supplies were probably the most appropiate. Boo to those ppl who used the place as a dumping ground for the most unimaginably unusable clothes. pls think twice before donating that free hand bag you got from metro or that pair of SIA socks you've worn a couple of times. Is it useful to the victims?
note that i'm not mad at these pple who gave the used undies. just a little disappointed that there is a degree of inconsideration among uz still.
The ppl helping out ranged from preteens to middle aged. but regardless of their age, they all worked tirelessly to receive, sort, package and seal the endless stream of clothes. The Uncle who was helping me seal and label the boxes placed his hand on his aching back and groaned. Poor guy had spent the large part of the afternoon bent double. we worked under the instruction of an energetic but slighly eccentric Indian auntie who had an impressive no. of charity project experiences under her belt.
"Tired? I can tell when u fall silent" The angmoh opposite me noted as we sorted through the pile of donated clothes.l
" goodness.. look at this shit.." he pointed at bag of used and stained undies next to me and grimaced. yez..OK FINE now.. i guess i do have smth against pple donating used underwear.
It was a bit of a logistics nightmare. Soon bags were overflowing out of the tent. Engrossed in sorting out clothes, i didn't realise the extent of the prob until one poor dude tripped and sent a bag sailing through the air.
I surrendered at 6pm, bade 2 of my sorting buddies farewell and slunked off to my dad's car. clothes probably weren't the best thing to render to the victims now.. but i felt a bit better than i 'd tried to do smth to help.
Spent the day at the Soka Assc headquarters sorting out clothes for the tsunami victims. Saw some really ridiculous things some pple gavelike used undies. I mean c'mon. Who the hell wants to reuse your used underwear? And there were some clothes that were ripped/ soiled/stained really badly. Hey, it ain't a dumping ground ok? Winter wear? rattles?? (!)
On the other hand, there were really awesome ppl who donated new clothes! med supplies, food.. blankies. the list goes on. I suppose some pple were well meaning.. but after today, i can see why the org. keep appealing for cash donations. Coz lotsa the clothes simply weren't appropriate for a Muslim country. A lot of clothes that were still usable were rejected coz camisoles and hot shorts had no place in the places where they were to be sent.
Cash, medical supplies were probably the most appropiate. Boo to those ppl who used the place as a dumping ground for the most unimaginably unusable clothes. pls think twice before donating that free hand bag you got from metro or that pair of SIA socks you've worn a couple of times. Is it useful to the victims?
note that i'm not mad at these pple who gave the used undies. just a little disappointed that there is a degree of inconsideration among uz still.
The ppl helping out ranged from preteens to middle aged. but regardless of their age, they all worked tirelessly to receive, sort, package and seal the endless stream of clothes. The Uncle who was helping me seal and label the boxes placed his hand on his aching back and groaned. Poor guy had spent the large part of the afternoon bent double. we worked under the instruction of an energetic but slighly eccentric Indian auntie who had an impressive no. of charity project experiences under her belt.
"Tired? I can tell when u fall silent" The angmoh opposite me noted as we sorted through the pile of donated clothes.l
" goodness.. look at this shit.." he pointed at bag of used and stained undies next to me and grimaced. yez..OK FINE now.. i guess i do have smth against pple donating used underwear.
It was a bit of a logistics nightmare. Soon bags were overflowing out of the tent. Engrossed in sorting out clothes, i didn't realise the extent of the prob until one poor dude tripped and sent a bag sailing through the air.
I surrendered at 6pm, bade 2 of my sorting buddies farewell and slunked off to my dad's car. clothes probably weren't the best thing to render to the victims now.. but i felt a bit better than i 'd tried to do smth to help.
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