Friday, August 27; 8/27/2004 08:30:00 PM
hey hey...now i'm having my dinner and updating at the same time...haha...having chye sim for dinner...i remembered to cut the stems ok maureen....hahawent to play badminton today maureen jie ying michelle n brian...ya ya i noe prelims coming yada yada....was quite fun havent enjoyed myself playing badminton in quite a while...oh b4 tt i went back to ij to collect the books...they din sell a single one...luckily maureen went wif me otherwise i wouldn't noe how to carry them back to sch 50 books leh damn heavy can...den still got to climb the slope to get to the staff room...haiz... but mr low very nice leh...when i was in amk central i called him to ask if he was still in sch...den when he heard tt was carrying fifty books back to sch he offered to come to amk central to collect the books from me i think he wanted to gif us a lift but den we were waiting for brian n jie ying so ya...we din accept his ride...so nice of him...sometimes i think tt i should really appreciate what i haf in life and the pple ard me...i may not be the richest person in the world but at least i noe tt there r pple ard me who care...n in tt respect i think i'm qt lucky..to have known pple who r so giving..thank you to u all...u all r the best...
Saturday, August 21; 8/21/2004 05:36:00 PM
some info on Child Labour
"We have no time for study and education, no time to play or rest, are exposed to unsafe working conditions and we are not protected". Children's Forum Against the Most Intolerable Forms of Child Labour, Bangkok, 1997.
As disturbing as it is, this quote understates what many children throughout the world experience daily as child labourers. They face trauma, disease, rejection and violence. In some cases, they even die.
The worst forms of child labour include children who are:
· child soldiers
· trapped in the sex industry
· bonded labourers.
This category of child labourers face greater risks and trauma compared to children in other working situations. They need to be rescued immediately from their situations.
The statistics on children in child labor are appalling:
· 250 million children aged 5 -14 are involved in child labour
· 120 million of them work full-time, for 8-12 hours a day
· 50 – 60 million of them work in hazardous circumstances.
Child labour is unacceptable. On top of denying a child the right to education and play, it has lasting consequences for the child, their family, community and nation. Child labour exploits a child's innocence and also involves physical or psychological stress, dangerous working conditions, inadequate or no pay at all. It forces children to take on too much responsibility and undermines their dignity and self esteem.
Children work in many places such as factories, workshops, construction sites, streets; in the sex, agriculture, transport and fishing industries; in family businesses and also in homes as domestic servants.
Not all work is child labour. Some work is useful and helps a child to gain skills that are helpful later in life, gain confidence and learn adult responsibilities. But any work that infringes on a child's right to survive, develop and be protected, can be classified as child labour.
Most children work because of poverty. It has been observed that the poorer the country, the higher the rate of child labour. Africa and Asia lead in the global statistics on child labour because of their higher levels of poverty.
this iare some info tt i found on the net for reading gross but interesting...
FGM and Alternative Rites of Passage
Note: This section contains descriptions of female genital mutilation which some readers may find disturbing.
Two million girls aged 4 -12 undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) each year. FGM involves the removal of part or all of the female genitalia. It is mostly the excision of the clitoris and sometimes the cutting out or stitching together of the inner or outer labia, leaving a small hole for the menstrual blood. This has very serious consequences on the girl that sometimes last a lifetime.
In Kenya alone, 50% of the communities practice FGM. It is a health hazard and has negative effects such as excessive bleeding, trauma and pain, difficult labour and delivery including complications such as fistulas, the spread of HIVAIDS and other sexually transmitted infections and high drop-out rates for girls who often leave school soon after circumcision for early forced marriages.
Where practised, it is highly valued as a cultural rite of passage tradition that needs to be preserved. Several "advantages" are used to justify its existence, such as:
· guaranteeing of marriage for girls
· an increase in the dowry paid to the girl’s family
· preparing the mother-to-be for labour pains
· tribal cohesion enhanced during the feasts
· honor to the family, girl and the circumciser
· economic value to the circumciser.
Several myths are also attached to justify the practice. These include beliefs that:
· circumcised girls are 'clean' unlike their 'smelly uncircumcised' counterparts
· the clitoris will grow to touch the ground if not trimmed
· any traditional birth attendant (TBA) that assists an uncircumcised girl to deliver will turn blind
· any husband of an uncircumcised woman will die prematurely unless he undergoes a cleansing ceremony.
Practising communities will have varied myths depending on the origin of the practice.
Recognising the cultural value attached to this rite and the core purpose that it marks the passage from childhood to adulthood for the girls, World Vision promotes an alternative that is harmless.This is known as an Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP). World Vision Kenya is a lead example in this. ARP takes the positive aspects of this practice. It incorporates traditional, customary symbolism and information on how to make the transition into adulthood for the girls, but not the cut.
Girls go into seclusion for a week or longer, just as in the traditional rite. They receive training while there and a diversified information package helpful in their adult roles. This includes counselling for the girls on how to take up adult roles, personal hygiene as adolescent females, modern family education, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, career education choices and religious education as per the community's beliefs. The occasion is celebrated with new clothing and gifts, song, dance, feasting and certificates of graduation.
Every community member is usually encouraged to participate. The ARP, unlike FGM, contributes to freedom from trauma for the initiates, does not risk transmission of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, reduces the maternal and child mortality rates that come with complications in child bearing, recognises women's rights and provides a rare information package on career choices for the girls. They can therefore diversify their roles/career choices in the future, whereas FGM often leads them only to one choice - early forced marriages.
The ultimate victory in the fight against this practice will only be realised when there is a complete change of attitude by the communities, which is what Alternative Rites of Passage aim to achieve.
'Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness
Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so.'
this is the mission statement for world vision...isn't this beautiful
Sunday, August 15; 8/15/2004 01:33:00 AM
hey i came back at abt 12 juz now...wad was i doing? i was doing ushering for the alumni performance...frankly speaking i was actually quite disappointed at the turnout...it was ok lar at least the middle porton of the audi was filled...but still...anyway i thot tt they put up a splendid performance esp my juniors...they din even flinch when the lightbulbs burst duiring their play... and i truly feel that it's dis kind of events tt will bond pple together...nvm the great difference in age..u will juz come together to try to make sure tt the whole thing will run smoothly...and the thing is tt the older alumni members could be present to share their experience and teach us juniors and help us see wad we are doing wrong...i hope that in the next alumni performance which will be organised by our batch i think...will be even more successful than dis...
actually i'm dying to go to sleep now..but i'm still waiting for my hair to dry... so ya..i'm here...i've been awake since 5.30 in the morning...
apparently my uncle came to fix my com juz now...y can't he fixed everything at one go...darn it...my com still dun haf sound so wad's the point of having a dvd drive.... well at least now my printer and ms word is usable i guess..y does he always gif us stuff tt we dun need i got a new keyboard now and frankly speaking i prefer the whole keyboard...i would rather he change our monitor...my monitior is like 10 times thicker than the LCD screen lor...hai wad to do....
Thursday, August 5; 8/05/2004 06:12:00 PM
haven't been feeling too good this few days...dunno leh juz tt i haven't felt like toking much or even doing much...i think subdued is the correct word to use...
finally the long awaited national day holidays r coming...haha...i want to go watch the fireworks at the esplanade... oh btw i feel so fortunate for my hair...luckily smita said she din want to cut my hair haha...tt thing is dis sunday at centro...i could haf gone juz tt i was a bit underage...
prelims r drawing near...yet y dun i feel e urgency? i understand tt to do well at A levels i got to put in more effort than at O levels but it's 5 weeks to prelims n i haven't started studying yet...i planned to study at the pace at which the revision lectures were gg at...but i failed...
i think whoever gets my econs j2003 paper as they 'test' paper next wed will be damn lucky...y? coz i finished it alr...haha...coz i was bored yesterday so i din feel like doing any other hw...haha
i'm dying to go on a shopping spree...but i got no money...sponsors anyone?haha
i think i'm a bit nuts today coz dis is the 3rd time i'm updating today...haha...i was supposed to be studying for my tests on sat n i only planned to come online to email my fren my cca record....
i've been thinking qt a bit about life n death....i dunno i seem to see so many funerals nowadays n the other time i went to watch the church drama eternity: life after death...so ya i've been thnking abt it...
is there really a heaven?where will we go after death? wad will we feel?or will u feel nothing?wad does nothing feels like?is there really a hell? is there such a thing as reincarnation?at least if u noe u r gg to heaven u noe u r gg to heaven...or when u r g to hell u r gg to hell...but wad if there isn't any heaven or hell...wad happens then?will u feel anything when u r lying in the coffin?how does it feel to be buried under the earth forever?or for tt matter being cremated?
pple who haf gone tt way could not come back n tell us for our documentation...isn't this unknown scary...it's a paradox isn't it...in this world and age all the unknowns haf become knowns except for this: life after death...it is still a big unknown...
i was also wondering wad does it feel like to be still a mass of cells in the womb? does the foetus haf any feelings?how does it feel like to be going in the womb?well i dun exactly remember how it feels like to be in my mum's womb...
haiz~ ignore me...i'm in one of my morbid moods...
INTERESTING CONVERSATION
An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the
problem
science has with God, the Almighty. He asks one of his new
Christian
students to stand and.....
Professor: You are a Christian, aren't you, son?
Student : Yes, sir.
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student : Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to
heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God
didn't.
How is this God good then? Hmm?
Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella.
Is God good?
Student :Yes.
>> > Prof: Is Satan good?
Student : No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student : From...God...
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything.
Correct?
Student : Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All
these terrible
things exist in the world, don't they?
Student :Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and
observe the
world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student : No , sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your
God? Have
you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol,
science
says
your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student : No sir. There isn't. (The lecture theatre becomes very
with
this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat,
superheat, mega
heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have
anything
called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no
heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such
thing as
cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of
heat. We
cannot
measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat,
sir, just
the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something.
You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But
if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness,
isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make
darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there
is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing
the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir,
science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism,
but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To
view death as
the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death
cannot exist
as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just
the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that
they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process,
yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to
realize where the argument is going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of
evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going
endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a
preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the
Professor's brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor's brain,
felt it, touched or smelt it?.....No one appears to have done
so. So,
according to the established rules of empirical, stable,
demonstrable
protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his
face unfathomable.)
Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir.. The link between man & god is FAITH. That is
all that keeps things moving & alive.
interesting isn't it...this conversation
Sunday, August 1; 8/01/2004 08:47:00 PM
Today I smiled, and all at once things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else, a bit of hope I had.
Today I sang a little song, and felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile, with not a cloud in sight.
Today I worked with what I had and longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds, were flowers at my door.
Today I loved a little more and complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself, I forgot my weariness.
Author Unknown
Love
misstamchiak
12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004