Money Isnt Everything

One thing I have learnt during my tenure as Founder of Project Awareness, is that Money truly isn't everything. As I have always shared with my friends and volunteers of Project Awareness, the main reason why Project Awareness was set up was to extent help in our personal capacity to aid those who are facing difficult times in their life and who need temporary help or assistance.

These can be families who face temporary hardships like sudden illness of a family member, a sudden loss of one important family member, or as simple as making sure time to time that an elderly staying alone is ok. Contrary to some beliefs, we are definitely not here to offer long term assistance or financial assistance to the poor, as these are already well taken care by our government.

Throughout these years, we have, most of the times, enjoyed good relationships with our beneficiaries, volunteers, family service centres, other NGOs and NPOs like SPCA, Singapore Kindness Movement and many others, as well as several politicians who stepped in to do their part for fellow Singaporeans regardless of which party (like I have always stressed: We are just a group of volunteers coming together with a common cause. Everyone is a volunteer, we are not politically driven or affiliated to anyone or in anyway). 

We also realise that while money can definitely help in most ways, there are also other things that money cannot buy, like company, joy and laughter. That is why our volunteers are always there paying visits to our families and lonely elderly, bringing them out for outings and sometimes buying food for them. Does that mean that the family cannot survive without Project Awareness? Definitely not. But it is definitely true that we have brought joy and laughter in their lives in a way or another.

It is the fact of life that no matter how kind you are, there will always be someone who thinks you are not. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone who think you are not. This is normal. I am not saying I am the best or a saint, but I dare say i have definitely sacrificed a part of myself, be it monetary or time, to bring joy and laughter to everyone we helped.

Unlike most social workers, I am not under payroll, and do not draw a salary from Project Awareness. I, like many of my volunteers, have my own full time job. At times, even if I am busy with work or travel overseas due to work, I make sure the activities do not stop. This is all down to my volunteers and my Project Coordinator and Team Members, who also contributed their own time and effort.

My question to the critics is, have you done your part for these people? If the answer is "Yes", I applaud you and encourage you to continue doing it within your capacity, even without Project Awareness. But if the answer is "No", then I think the least you can do is stop creating trouble, and stop preventing others who wants to give from helping. This post may sound harsh but I think it is necessary for me to speak up at this moment in order not to affect the lives of our beneficiaries and the spirit of our volunteers. Thank you.