CHARITY RARITY

Of late, I've asked myself, do I give enough to the community, as much as I should? Actually the thought came, when I recently read about the 'Sen To Save Lives' campaign by Makna in Dr Bubble's blog. I was excited at the opportunity to effortlessly donate to charity, so I got him to send me a few of the cute donation boxes, and distributed some to friends. Some friends were happy to be contributing (Is asked for 2 boxes, kind guy), but a few were like "tengoklah nanti". I don't want to question what is in their heart or mind, but to me, it shouldn't be a problem. The box is tiny, just drop some extra change from your lunch money every other day, the box would fill up in no time at all.

Last 2 years, I signed up with an NGO as a part-time volunteer. Semangat berkobar-kobar masa training, and I envisioned doing various things like helping out at orphanages, old folk's homes, hospitals etc. I did get to join some activities, but then I found excuses to skip others. Boring la, tak free la, takde geng la, tempat jauh malas driving la etc. If I had been truly dedicated, I would have joined in, despite all that kan? I would have sacrificed my personal comforts. Instead, I only joined in activities which didn't inconvenient me, namely half-day activities on weekends held at the NGO centre which is nearby my home. Ppfff!

During the tsunami fiasco early this year, I became a bit more active. Helped collect clothes & foodstuff for donation, then spent time at the NGO operation centre to sort out & box them for shipment to the disaster areas. But that's about it la. I could've done more, like volunteer to help at the shelters in Kedah/Penang, but the mind says 'tak payah la, leceh nanti'. Again, I only did what was not inconvenient to me.

Aside from that, my only other current charitable contribution to the society is blood donation. Nak derma duit, yelah keje gomen ni berapa sangatlah pitih yang ada. Blood donation is so effortless {the 'effortless' word again! Jie memang taknak nyusahkan diri sendiri ye?} and doesn't cost a thing. After all if you don't donate that blood, in 120 days (betul ke 120 days? rasanya la) it would disintegrate and be replaced with new blood. But if you donate, your body instantly starts to manufacture new replacement blood. Healthy, yes? Most importantly, you may be saving lives. And maybe another time, someone else's blood may save your life too.

Plus, your blood would be screened for certain illnesses, so if the tests turn out positive, at least you will get an early warning from the blood bank. But please, blood donation SHOULD NOT be used as an el-cheapo blood-screening, so if you know you have/possibly have serious illness like AIDS, Hepatitis etc, STAY AWAY FROM BLOOD DONATIONS. Sadly many among my friends aren't inclined to donate blood. Tak perlu, takut jarum, tak cukup darah, nanti pengsan blah de blah blah. Early this year when my agency held a blood drive, only three people (including me) from my department came forward.

So, have I done enough for my community? Have you done enough? I think I've started to care more, but I need a structured volunteer activity and some constant encouragement to keep it up. I need to find the drive. I need to find the calling. I wish I can be more committed, and I wish my family would be more supportive of it too. I'm gonna have to look deeper within myself, and ask the question again.