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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

independent charity work

I think about the work I do in my community, my neighbourhood, it is not much, but it signifies a lot. I have come to think that a lot more can be done to serve the community we live in without having to wait for an organisation to slip a donations envelop into our mail. There always will be a need to fill, and there will always be gaps that leave these needs unmet. New needs will appear all the time.

In Singapore we are so used to having institutions for everything. We think that the government takes care of everything, so we should leave it to 'them'. But when I learn about charity work overseas, I see the independent lobbyists and fund-raisers do so much to raise awareness to their causes, so much that does not come top-down, but really bottom-up, from the community to the community.

That, is the key to so many things. Right now I am only helping animals in Ubi, one day, I want to do much more and help humans too. It seems much more attainable now to me, when I realise how easy it has been for us to be an independent animal welfare group, devoid of institutionalised support. I want that.

I know when I am ready, God will drop a need in my lap, like he did with the cats in my life. I just need to connect the dots to get that need met, and it will all fall into place somehow. I may not be ready to work in an NGO again yet, but maybe I don't need an NGO now, maybe all it takes is for me to be in the middle of a real human need and its solution. A simple good deed may become tomorrow's world-changing movement if we keep it going.