Tuesday, May 19, 2009
money?
forex, betinternet, singaporepools, sky city and poker. see, in total i've lost 600 sing over the past year over all of these. it isn't a small sum, not too hefty either, but is it the right price to pay in pursuit of greater wealth?
i've been thinking of something to write about. somehow while i have always been interested in news i have never been able to conjure any fantastic ideas or take on any solid viewpoints. i started this blog to make myself write, to takes steps away from the horrid levels of english evident in the armed forces. the thing is, i've always chosen the middle path, or if you put it bluntly, been sitting on the fence on topics and issues. there is often nothing i want to write about. and worse still, the pursuit for greater wealth has pushed writing even further down the priority list.
but today, i'm gonna write. afterall, doing so could prove more profitable than losing money in forex right?
last saturday i attended a fund-raising rock and dance concert organised by one of the 79 peeps. with gyrating hips and a vocalist's throat that went sore, they managed to raise $2000 for an OCIP trip to Cambodia. Not too long ago, i was extremely eager to put together such a project too. yl and i did just that, but till this day i've yet to see how much we actually helped.
the thing about ocip, or more appropriately termed as volun-tourism, is that it is nothing more than a fleeting exchange between two different communities. what can you sustainably do in 2 or 3 weeks? build a house? yeah, but could it be better to donate the money spent on your airfare tickets to purchase materials for another house? you can teach english, but without schools constructing and implementing a long-term teaching syllabus, i can only see the students getting more confused with different groups coming to teach english in a different way. i had planned the trip to thailand with earnest hope to come back satisfied but i was hardly so then. yea, i was satisfied, but satisfied that it was finally over (no more worries and no need to act like a leader anymore) rather than with what i have achieved.
yet, signs are pointing that more of these projects will be planned. why so? 'for i want to reach out to the poorer communities,' they say. cynics, however, pointedly accuse these students of the darker 'truths' behind these projects - resume building. well certainly it does look good on your CV but with so many like-minded people, you ain't too special anymore.
whatever the reasons behind these trips, they are matters of personal choice. however, to create sustainble good, we need more long term projects led by experts in different fields, rather than untrained students with no real expertise to share. We need water experts to deliver water catchment devices to drought hit regions. We need doctors and nurses to bring healthcare to communities inaccessible to it. We need civil and structural engineers to build better infrastructure in developing countries.
while i do not deny the goodwill intents of my friends heading to cambodia, i think it'll help if they understand they are goign there for 'community involvement' rather than 'community service'. i guess for now, we should concentrate on earning big bucks or learning some useful skills before even thinking about helping others?
disturbed you at 10:16 PM