STI Jan 9, 2005 Family of four spent New Year's Eve sorting out relief donations
IT WAS 9pm on New Year's Eve. While most people were at parties getting ready to usher in the new year, the Tehs - Thien Yew, 49, Lai Yip, 47, Ernest, 16, and Erwin, 12 - were at a disused school at Lowland Road, waiting in the dark for a lorryload of donations for aid agency Mercy Relief to arrive. Earlier that day, Mrs Teh, deputy director for conservation and development services at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, had been looking for space to store the goods. After many phone calls, she hit pay dirt with the Singapore Land Authority, which offered the grounds that had been vacated by Serangoon Secondary School in October. The school is now a bustling centre of activity, with volunteers sorting and packing donated items such as medical supplies, old clothes and bottled water. Mrs Teh has been dropping by the centre after work. 'I come down to see who I need to chase to get something done,' she said with a laugh. 'But Thien Yew is the one who checks out all the centres, sees what needs to be moved and arranges transport.' Mr Teh, a businessman, has been helping out at Mercy Relief since last month. From morning to night, he traverses the island, ensuring that the donation centres are running smoothly, and buying supplies like tape. He got involved when a friend volunteering with the aid agency asked him to transport some donation tins. 'When I got to the office, the whole place was abuzz,' he said. 'Everybody was trying to do everything. So I wanted to try to chip in and organise things.' Erwin, a Secondary One student at Tanjong Katong Secondary, said of his father: 'When people turn to him, he can't say no. He's a very helpful person. I'm proud of him.'For more information, call 6332-6320 or visit www.mercyrelief.org ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4F6XtA/_WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Forum IT PPI-India: http://www.ppiindia.shyper.com/itforum/ 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
