Food for Thought : Life after SGB

Now that the big hoo-hah of SGB has ended, I feel a little lost. It is as if i am at a crossroad, not knowing what to do from here. However, upon thinking of the families who benefited from our work, I am glad that our efforts are not to waste.

During the period of SGB, I can see that everyone has put in their maximum effort in every aspect. I felt really touched that all of them were willing to work so hard for an event which did not benefit them. This was especially on the day of collection, when we had to bring the food packs back to school from different blocks. It was a tedious task but there were no complaints or grumbles. This was because they know their sacrifices are for the greater good of the event. Combining our hearts as one, there is nothing we cannot overcome. I really hope to have more of such meaningful events, events where we can actually contribute for the greater good of the unfortunate ones.

My First Food Pack!

Monday 23 Nov was the Opening of SGB 2009 in SP. Although I was not able to attend, I could feel the excitement through the facebook status updates and tweets of some of you Primers.

Not willing to be left out of the action, I shared with my students about SGB and how they can raise a food pack as a class. I wrote to my colleagues in TOUCH and my cell mates to rally their support. I went to NTUC to check out the prices, and in my excitement I bought my first food pack!

My Tweet: Bought my 1st food pack! Fingers breaking. Pray for an empty 147. $55 poorer, but million dollars happier! :)

Checking out the price means find the cheapest alternative available, the value of food pack amounts to about $40-45.

Although I had in mind to prove that you can get a food pack at $40, the outcome is vastly different.

I started to consider, what flavour of instant noodles would the family like? My personal favourite is CQYD sesame oil. I bought that and a Myojo Abalone flavoured one. Oil was priced lowest at $5.95, but Knife (branded oil ok!) had an offer. Lee Kum Kee Oyster sauce comes FREE with $7.90 Knife Brand. I think the family will be thrilled to have OYSTER sauce for their cooking! So I took that instead.

Between a pack of 15 sachets instant milo $6 vs 1.4kg tin Milo $12. A tin of milo would surely last a whole month? That is 15 servings vs 50 servings of milo drink! So milo tin it is…

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself thinking for the anonymous families. I know that we choose to give because the beneficiaries need the food items. But I learnt that I NEED TO give because I NEED the warmth in heart that comes when I give. I guess that keeps me a human. =)

In the end, it is no longer about fulfilling a food pack, but the PEOPLE behind the food pack that matters.

=cand=