Welcome to UNICEF

After my return from Vietnam, and having decided not to return for a third year, there was a sudden urge to contribute to another community. (Volunteering can sometimes be addictive.)

So, many of my personal friends, or readers of my previous blogs would know, there are a couple causes I strongly support. Namely (but not an exhaustive list), education of Children in developing countries, reduction of plastic bag usage and campaigning for the Arts. As an ad hoc supporter of UNICEF over the last couple of years, I finally decided to commit to a subscrīption with UNICEF International and a membership with UNIFEM Singapore this week. (UNICEF does not have a dedicated station set up in Singapore, but UNIFEM Singapore also campaigns for causes related to children.)

Here’s a welcome email I received.

UNICEF email

Instead of just emailing 2 people, and sharing my beliefs over dinner, I’m gonna do one up, and share this with all of you (I’ve checked my stats, there’s definitely more than 2 people reading this page. LOLz~)

(1) Why I joined this cause?

I grew up with a generous mother, who made volunteering a way of life really. As for UNICEF in particular, it’s because I think children are the most innocent victims as well as the brightest future we have. They are a group of human beings that did not choose to be in a particular scenario due to greed, irresponsibility or any other vices. They were simply born disadvantaged, and one cannot be fault merely via their birth. Also, I’ve met many people in my life from disadvantaged backgrounds, but have achieved great feats when given the right opportunities (one of them is a recipient of the prestigious President Scholarship). So why not make a difference to those who can make the most out of it?

(2) Mention something from the UNICEF website.

(Paraphrased and heavily edited)

In a first world country, many of us often take schooling for granted. In fact, we often dread making the daily trip to school. BUT, DO YOU KNOW, in the aftermath of war, often nothing can make a child feel more secure than having a school to go to?

After the Rwandan genocide, many children had witnessed horrible violence or were forced to commit atrocities. For these children, going back to school meant a return to normalcy.

DO YOU KNOW THAT…

Your MacDonald’s meal @ US$5 can provide ten children with a pencil and exercise book.

Your weekend clubbing @ US$60 can provide a School-in-a-bag with individual school supplies for 40 students and 1 teacher.

Your new pair of jeans @ US$100 can provide 100 children with a sketch pad and crayons.

I do not advocate that you join UNICEF, unless there’s an emotional commitment attached to it. However, it would be awesome if you can dig into your pocket, and make a ONE TIME donation, even if it’s only a hamburger worth of US$5. Even dollar makes a difference.

Vulnerable Innocence