Another Week Beyond – 2329

Dear Friends,

On Monday evening, we welcomed 13 cyclists and their volunteer safety crew with a home-cooked dinner, clean towels, and ice-cold drinks. Since 2014, the Epic Cyclist Group has been organising an annual endurance ride that covers at least 1000 kilometres to raise funds and awareness for charity. Over the years, they have raised some   S$4.4 million dollars for the Kidney Dialysis Foundation and HCA Hospice Care. This year, the Beyond Epic Ride which began on Friday, 14 July at Betong Thailand, raised some $40,000 for our work.

The cyclists aged from 35 to 64 years covered 250 km a day which took them from Thailand to Malaysia on the first day where they rested at Telok Intan. It was then Port Dickson, Batu Pahat and our office at Jalan Klinik, Singapore. For Cheryl and Xiao Ting, it was their first endurance ride and they told me that they persevered because they felt deeply for the children in our programmes and the experience of how a group of people with the single-minded purpose of ensuring every one of its members crossed the finishing line was simply invigorating. It was teamwork at its best and the deep care members extended to each other was an experience they would always savour and remember.

As I presented each cyclist with a medal of completion and expressed our thanks, I was moved by their response. All of them thanked us for the opportunity to contribute and the very satisfying achievement. They were aching from the hard work but were filled with joy knowing that they have helped a good cause.

Thus, it seemed fitting when a passer-by who was taken by the sight of these cyclists riding in asked a colleague what was going on. Upon learning of the effort, he smiled and quoted Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who has a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how’.”

What we are most grateful for is that these cyclists and their volunteer safety crew completed this endeavour incident free. A week before they began their ride, they held their safety briefing at our office. Then I also learnt how they have been conditioning themselves for the ride and I was thinking that when fatigue sets in, accidents are likely.  

Anyway, that evening as I spoke about our work, I may have come across a little tired when they enquired about our challenges. Ron, a 64-year-old participant told me that I had to keep going because it matters to someone I may not even know. He said that he was very sure of that because if a human service professional did not care about him, he would not be there that evening.

During our appreciation dinner, I learnt from Ron that he was incarcerated 7 times and he reckons that his problems began at 13 when he could not see eye to eye with his father. This led to a long struggle with substance dependency, poor mental health, and the painful consequences of getting arrested for various misdemeanours. Eventually, he acquired a faith-based strength and had raised a family trading in preloved cameras and other equipment for photography.

Ron is also a volunteer mentor for young offenders, and he tells them that the best way to honour their relationship would be to care for someone else. The way he sees it, it is service that has kept him sane, stable, and sound and a better world is created when everyone does their little bit. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Great advice from Mother Teresa he told me.

For peace and community,

Gerard

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PAST AWB POSTS

2443 – Why Do You Work?

I was visiting Meelah, a resident who has led food drives and many social activities to enhance the wellbeing of her neighbours.   I listened intently, as she expressed her concern for families that would require assistance. I was   touched that she continued to keep track of so many lives in spite of her own declining health. She donned on the new spectacles she had recently afforded and checked her reflection using her phone before looking at me expectantly for a response. “How? I look like a teacher or not?” She exclaimed while tucking some strands of hair behind her ears.

Read more >

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Every morning, like clockwork, four-year-old Lisa (not her real name) stops by her neighbour’s flat on her way to preschool. She stands at the gate, waiting patiently to say “Hello” to the elderly man who lived there. Known for his stern demeanour and habit of scolding noisy children, this Uncle wasn’t someone most would approach. At first, he ignored her. Undeterred, she stands there, day after day, offering her simple greeting. Then one day, something changed. The Uncle returned her greeting. Soon after, they began sharing quiet moments – sitting together, eating biscuits, and watching TV —always under the watchful

Read more >

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As a community worker, I knock on doors to introduce myself and to explore how residents may contribute toward the wellbeing of their neighbourhood.  By chatting with them, I discover their talents, aspirations and values. Of course, not everyone talks to me when I knock but it is always so rewarding when they do. Last week, I met 98-year-old Madam Wong and her son who is in his 70s. I learnt that Madam Wong shares her art and craft skills with the older residents in her community.  What she enjoys doing most and is really good at is “weaving” together

Read more >