ONE MORE TIME
I have to give a 2 minute speech tonight at the fundraiser..you know the one @ Carlos, Pavillion? The one I hope most of you are coming too?
Funny, coincidental things happen when you've beein involved in NurSalam- things ( I call them little miracles or 'nods from God' ) just fall into place and things that were seemingly difficult or hard to do just work out in time,faith and with patience. The fundraiser tonight is , I believe, another little 'nod from God 'that we're doing something right-so many friends, family, strangers, friends of friends have pitched in,once again to make sure that we raise funds for our educational centre and ensure that all children have the opportunity to go to school..even if it is a primary school education for now!
The UN Convention non the Rights of the Child says in Articles 28 and 29th of every child's right to free and equal primary school education. Yet here and many countries abroad, many are denied this inherent right because they have no proper or complete documents or in our case, no Malaysian documents.
So many inherent rights that many of us take for granted...the right to an identity, the right to be a child, the right to a nationality, to access to health and free education..yet many, many will never have these rights given.
I digress again..sorry..but true story to drive my point home...
Yesterday a family dropped by our centre about lunch time. The father had been involved in a motorcycle accident, felll and cracked his head. Painful, painful, ordeal but he's fine even if he did have only 3 days of medical leave. He was afraid of losing his job but he was even more afriad not to come to our centre because he wanted to amke sure that his almost 6 year old stateless son could enrol in our school.
You know, the school we haven't built?
I told him that we hadn't built it yet and in the meantime, there were 12 other stateless children from our centre who had just enrolled in a refugee centre to have some kind of educational services- Tuesday to friday, 12- 4pm. The commute was long -almost an hour there and another hour ( or more, depending on traffic) back.
The commute was too far for the parents to send and pick up their son everyday, so could he please stay with us on the days when there were school. I am struck by the fact that the child is so young- too young to be separated from the family for 4 days every week, but the child and parents are insistent. He wants to go to school, he tells me. He's big and he is fine staying with us.
Almost 3 years ago, my friends, family, strangers and supporters believed that I had to help the children in Chow Kit and helped me raise the deposit to build our centre that is NurSalam today. Again, now,old friends, new friends, supporters, family, strangers and supporters, rally once again to make sure that we build this school ( and other schools) so that all children, not just the children in Chow Kit, or NurSalam, but all children have access to education. They said then, we couldn't pull it off but we did, and again now, some naysayers say we won't pull this of, but I believe we will.
How can we not, with this much outpouring of love and support and faith?
Thank you all so much for you consistent love and support. To the team ( you know who you are..too many to name), on behalf of all the children and staff, we thank you for your tireless and thankless effort and the wonderful event that will happen tonight.
Am so scared I'll botch up my speech tonight and start bawling, so I thank you all now!
I know I am forgetting names...but please know you have my gratitude and love and many thaks!
See you tonight...
Love and blessings,
Tini
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