Monday, October 26, 2009

Helping the Poor

Good morning to our beloved teacher and fellow friends. It is an honour for me to be here and the topic that I would like to share with you today is entitled: “Helping the Poor”.

Sometimes it is easy for us to forget how lucky we are with our family always by our side, making sure that we live a comfortable life and getting formal education. We often take things for granted because we do not have to worry about basic necessity unlike many people who are not as fortunate as we are. Many people, for example, the community living in Kampong Tupai who is living below the poverty line, have to go through their daily lives from hand to mouth. Since Kampong Tupai is a typical rural area, there are very little job opportunities for the community there. Those who are lucky enough to secure a job will still have to work on a minimum wage as they make ends meet. In fact, majority of the residents of Kampong Tupai cannot even afford to seek medical treatment. Worst yet, most of them have to live in a deplorable and unhygienic condition because they are unable to improve their standard of living.

We should be aware that there are many more places around the country like Kampong Tupai, where people do not have much to defend themselves from the problems of poverty. They desperately need our help and assistance but you may wonder: what can you do to help the poor? The answer is simple. You may start a local charity drive in our school or even local residential area. Get people to gather various forms of aid such as groceries, medicine as well as cash aid.

Besides that, schools can definitely help by having welfare and service clubs that are like any other co-curricular activities. The only difference is that such student bodies will focus on community service and get the whole school to be involved in helping the needy people. Furthermore, students can be encouraged to participate in school organised trips to visit local orphanages and old people’s home. Through such noble effort, students can become more understanding and giving in charity work.

All in all, in line with the effort of creating a caring society, we should all be involved in social work and serve the community voluntarily. By helping others, we do not only bring happiness to strangers but we are also sowing the seed of love in the lives of those who are living in hopelessness and sorrow.