A Piece Of Hope

Year End Bonus

2011-12-30T11:26:00.000+08:00

Many of us right now at this time of year will think ofgetting a fat or not so fat bonus from our employers. Sometimes it is hard toeven think about it as we might get a very disappointing bonus amountespecially at these economic trying times.

Well for us at APOH, we are really thankful to all ultimatesupportive donors out there that has given a very very fat ‘bonus’ to PersatuanKanak-Kanak Istimewa Hulu Langat (PKKIHL). This ‘bonus’ came in a form of anover the top unexpected donations received for APOH 2011 Chapter 5. Look belowat the mock cheque amount imprinted…

YES you are right! The final total donation amount receivedis RM220,987.69. What an astonishing satisfaction for PKKIHL when they saw thisamount in their bank account as at 30^th November 2011. This has madetheir building fund raising effort easier as they can settle their loansearlier with this amount received.

As for us at APOH, we are indeed humbled by the supportgiven by ALL donors this year in order to achieve this amount. This has givenus more ‘juice’ to continue our efforts next year for APOH 2012 Chapter 6. Thesuccess of APOH each year can not only be attributed to the committee membersbut also to YOU donors which has made a little ‘piece’ difference in the livesof these underprivileged children.

Cheers and a very Happy New Year to all!

Photos courtesy of Mr. Mok JS

The Ultimate 'Mountain' has been CONQUERED

2011-10-13T16:39:00.003+08:00

A great news to all!

PKKI president has just informed me that they have reached

RM 203,391

in donations collection. An early surprise for them as well as for us. In merely 4 1/2 months of our donation drive, our target of RM 200,000 have been fulfilled. This is our largest donation collected so far out of our 5 years A Piece Hope Hope Mt. Kinabalu charity climb.

Thanks to all of our generous donors and a special BIG THANK YOU to Mr. Foo Jong Wee for his unwavering support and assistance in being the main 'pusher' for donations.

We still got until year end before formal closure of our APOH 2011 donation drive. If you are still soliciting donations, please don't stop there just because we have reached our target. Carry on.....

Thank you.

A Piece Of Hope CHAPTER 6 : 2012 is now OPEN for booking

2011-10-05T16:23:00.003+08:00

We are pleased to announce that A Piece Of Hope (APOH) CHAPTER 6 : 2012 is now OPEN for booking until 31^st December 2011.

The charity climb will happen from 14 – 18 July 2012. This time we are also allocating 200 pax. The cost per person is RM1,000 (including RM200 compulsory donation to NGO). Air ticket is not included as this you have to buy on your own. Whoever is interested, please follow the steps below:

Email to Jimmy Lim at jimmylim@malton.com.my
Once got firm reply, please proceed to buy your air ticket arriving Kota Kinabalu airport on 14^th July 2012 on or before 11.15am (Please ensure that you adhere to this time as this is our bus pick-up times. If you arrive after 11.15am, you will have to arrange your own transport to Kinabalu Park).
Next, proceed to bank-in non-refundable deposit of RM300 to Jimmy Lim’s bank account. Please download the ‘Climb Booking Form 2012’ to get Jimmy Lim’s bank account details (link to download this form is on the right hand side of this page).
After you have done the above, please email to Jimmy Lim:

a) copy of air ticket itinerary

b) copy of non-refundable deposit bank-in slip

c) fully completed ‘Climb Booking Form 2012’

Once we have received all of the above, your booking is CONFIRMED.

(FYI, Jimmy Lim is our climb coordinator head whom have been organizing this since 2000)

Below are some FAQs to facilitate your understanding of this charity climb.

Q1) What is the brief itinerary for A Piece Of Hope (APOH) CHAPTER 6 : 2012?

A1) Day 1 (14^th July) – fly into KK, bus to Kinabalu Park, stay Kinabalu Park;

Day 2 (15^th July) – trek up Mt K, stay at Laban Rata;

Day 3 (16^th July) – trek up to summit and trek down to Kinabalu Park, stay at Zen Resort Kundasang;

Day 4 (17^th July) – bus to KK, stay at Sutera Harbour;

Day 5 (18^th July) – fly back home.

Q2) Can I fly into KK a day earlier, say on the 13^th July and get onto the bus transfer to Kinabalu Park on 14^th July?

A2) Yes you can fly into KK a day or two earlier. The extra hotel stays earlier will not be covered in the RM1,000 and you have to arrange these on your own. Please meet the bus transfer at One Borneo at 12.30pm on 14^th July.

Q3) I am flying MAS and it lands in Terminal 1 KK airport. Do your bus pick up there?

A3) Our bus transfer picks up at Terminal 1 & 2 from 9.30 – 11.30am. If you missed the bus, you might have to take a taxi to One Borneo to meet us.

Q4) Whom shall I contact when I touch down at KK airport to go to the bus transfer?

A4) You can contact Ryan Chong at 019-8628688 or Jimmy Lim at 012-2020511.

Q5) I don’t want to stay at Sutera Harbour. Can I get a discount since I don’t stay at Sutera Harbour? Can I book my flight out from KK on 17^th July then?

A5) The cost of the climb is fixed at RM1,000 even if you choose not to stay at Sutera Harbour. We book everything in a massive group of 200pax, so we don’t cater for special personal request like this (even tour agents don’t cater to this).

Q6) I heard that for the past 2 years, the climb group has been divided up into two. Can you explain this?

A6) Since 2010, we have massive groups of between 150 – 200pax. Mt Kinabalu can only cater up to 146 climbers at any one time due to constraints of accommodation at Laban Rata. So we have to divide the climb into two groups. Next year, the 1^st group of 100 climbers will start their climb on Day 2 (come down Mt K on Day 3) and 2^nd group of 100 climbers will start climb on Day 3 (come down Mt K on Day 4). We will ascertain based on committee’s discretion who goes into which group when we have the finalized list of climbers. We are sorry that you can’t choose the days.

Q7) My children wants to climb also, so how much do they pay?

A7) Children age 12 and below pays RM800 (they are exempted from paying the non-refundable deposit). If they do not climb but just want to tag along for the trip, they still pay RM800. Children age 6 and below are free.

Q8) My mom wants to come along with me but do not want to climb, how much does she pays?

A8) Non-climbers from age of 13 – 99 pays the same as climbers which is RM1,000 (non-climbers have to pay the RM300 non-refundable deposit also).

Q9) If I pull out after paying the RM300 non-refundable deposit, where does this money go?

A9) The RM300 will go to the children NGO that we will adopt next year to raise fund for.

Q10) Do I need to raise a certain amount of money for this charity climb?

A10) No, you don’t have to but we RECOMMEND that you participate in this noble cause to help raise funds for the children NGOs. Just imagine, if all 200 climbers raise RM1,000 each, the NGO would have RM200,000! Approximately in early June 2012, please check our website for the official donation letter and form to help you collect donations.

Please be reminded that we are no tour agent. We are just a ‘bunch of crazy’ Mt. Kinabalu climbing enthusiast whom have found a way to help charitable children NGOs every year since 2007. We do not take a CENT out of this event as a profit. In fact, all committee members pay the same climbing cost. We are all into this to raise funds for charitable children NGOs and so far we have helped raise closed to RM750,000 since 2007.

Have a great day and hope to see you in APOH 2012!

(click on this link to download this post)

We are getting there

2011-09-27T12:03:00.002+08:00

This is an update for those who are following the total donation amount collected so far by Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Hulu Langat (PKKI). As of end August, the bank statement shows:

If you haven't got your calculator with you, we are only shy of RM 19,165.00. Most of the donations are from corporate sector in which to show that our corporate people are a generous lot. In today's (27th September 2011) Star newspaper, we can see that also happening as a Community Chest (CC) was setup by business tycoons of Malaysia to help vernacular and mission schools. These schools can apply for funding from the CC if they ever need to.

Our donation collection period has still until the year end to reach the targeted RM 200,000. It is a mountain yet to be conquered but is possible!

The 7 distress events that painted our 7 rainbow colours of the climb

2011-07-25T15:59:00.010+08:00

Rainbows are usually acquainted with happy moments. You might see photos of jovial children playing in an open field amidst a huge rainbow in the background. In our case, it was 7 distress events that were dancing amidst a colourful rainbow. I will explain these events later in my blog.

This year we had 200 registered climbers but only 192 made the climb and it is our biggest group ever! We had to break the group into 2 days climb like last year. Day 1, 10^th July, 100 climbers and Day 2, 11^th July, 92 climbers. Apart from climbers there were also non-climbers who tagged along just for the fun of it and they numbered approximately 20. To transfer the groups from KK airport to Kinabalu Park, we had to hire 5 buses.

This year we had a corporate product sponsor, Fusion Excel. They contributed products for sale in which all proceed goes to Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Hulu Langat. There were also lucky draw prizes for climbers. Demonstration of these products were conducted by Mr. Willy Toh of Fusion Excel which got many climbers excited and awe. A rough indication of total product sales was told to me as amounting to RM19,000. Wow! A good job well done by Fusion Excel.

Unlike previous years, the climb up Mt. Kinabalu this year was exceptionally blessed with tremendously good weather. The sky was clear, wind conditions were mild and rain hold its bank till late in the afternoon for 3 days of the climb. Our 192 climbers with various fitness level, age and race could not have asked for anything more.

Now here is the interesting part of my blog in which I will detail it out the major distress events that happened using the 7 colours of the rainbow:

RED: Jimmy and committee members AirAsia flight got delayed 3 hours in KL due to airplane’s technical fault. They were promised free lunch upon landing (hooray!) but later got only Tiger biscuit and a pack of drink (what a cheapskate!).
ORANGE: Zen Resort had a landslide recently rendering some of the units unusable and some collapsed. This caused the 2^nd batch climbers to be housed in 3 separate hotels in Kundasang, namely Zen Resort, Kinabalu Pine Resorts and Perkasa Hotel. It was a long day for them as some of them had to checked-in as late as 10pm.
YELLOW: In the 1^st day climb, a man climber misunderstood instructions and used Mesilau route to climb down Mt. Kinabalu. This is the 1^st time in 12 years of our climb that this grave mistake happened.
GREEN: In the 1^st day climb, a senior couple and their friend, all from Singapore, arrived at Timpohon gate almost midnight. This is the ‘super’ latest on our record however they reached the peak!
BLUE: In the 2^nd day climb, a man climber had his leg muscles severely stressed and thus injured it got to be brought down to Timpohon gate by stretcher which cost him RM1,300.
INDIGO: In the 2^nd day climb, a lady climber in the midst of rush forgotten to collect her baggage at Kinabalu Park which she was to collect upon coming down Mt. Kinabalu. Ryan (Zen Resort boss) then had it arranged to send to her the next day.
VIOLET: One of the committee members left his bag in KK airport. He flew back to KL without that bag. The fate of the bag is uncertain.

VITAL STATISTICS:

Total no. of climbers: 192

Timpohon climbers: 55 (day 1) + 56 (day 2) = 111

Mesilau climbers: 45 (day 1) + 36 (day 2) = 81

Percentage of climbers that reached summit: 75%

Earliest time reached summit: 4.27am

Latest time reached summit: approx. 8.30am

Total donation collected (as of 25^th July): approx. RM70,000

2nd newspaper article

2011-07-07T15:01:00.000+08:00

New Straits Times has carried our news on 1st July 2011. You can read this article on our website @ www.apieceofhope.blogspot.com. Just look to the right of the main page and scroll down until you find it. Click on it to enlarge and download.

We will keep you posted on more press coverage in time to come.

As of today, total donation collected in PKKI’s bank account is RM20,100. So, lets all push harder to solicit as much donation as possible.

How to reach Mt. Kinabalu summit effortlessly

2011-07-06T16:43:00.002+08:00

Ever wondered how you could increase your stamina or strength or even get that nasty pain in the knee or back to heal quickly without taking any medication or rub any ointment?

Well, here is your answer. Rexy Mainaky (World Champion Olympic Badminton Gold Medalist) is a testament to this unique product. Read an excerpt of his experience below:

FusionExcel's Quantum Pendant has helped me with my job as the Malaysian National Badminton Doubles Coach. After I wore FusionExcel's Quantum Pendant for a week I can feel the difference. I wasn't feeling tired and fatigue at all when I sparred with my players. Usually I can only play 1 set but now I can play 3 or 4 sets without rest! I feel more energetic. A week before the 2008 Beijing Olympics I hurt my calf muscle. After wearing FusionExcel's Quantum Bracelet and drinking the charged water from FusionExcel's Quantum flask, the pain was gone in 2 days when usually it would take longer! I highly recommend everyone to use FusionExcel's Quantum Science products. It worked for me and I am sure it would work for you as well!
(taken from FusionExcel website)

Fusion Excel has so kindly donated a lot of these products for sale during our charity climb (all proceeds will go to PKKI). These products comprises of pendants, bracelets, flask and etc. They will be sold at a very SPECIAL PRICE well below market price. So please bring some cash to buy these unique products. It’s a once in a lifetime chance to get your hands on them. REMEMBER: how much you pay for these products will all go to PKKI as donation. Staff of Fusion Excel will be with us during our climb to demonstrate and explain their products.

For more information head on to http://www.fusionexcel.com/.

1st newspaper article

2011-06-15T17:42:00.002+08:00

China Press has carried our news today, 15th June 2011. For those who can read chinese, you can find this article on our website @ www.apieceofhope.blogspot.com. Look to the right of the main page and scroll down until you find it. Click on it to enlarge.

We will keep you posted on more press coverage.

The Show Must Go On!

2011-06-14T15:38:00.007+08:00

Last Saturday 11^th June @ 10am, A Piece Of Hope together with PKKI held a press conference for the Mt. Kinabalu charity climb in July. It has always been an uphill battle each year when comes to inviting the press to cover our event. This year it is no difference.

Press invitations were sent out by PKKI to various newspaper companies such as Oriental Daily, Star Metro, China Press, New Straits Times, Sin Chew, etc. To our surprise this year, we had New Straits Times confirming their attendance well in advance. As the days nearing to the press conference, surprisingly no other press indicated their attendance even though attempts were made by calling them as well.

The show must go on! That was our motto with just one press coming. NST reporter Mr. Chung Hoo arrived 20 minutes before time. With all the time in hand, he had a swell time interviewing APOH committee members and PKKI’s president, Ms. Shirley Tan. He told us that he will write our article different from our press release which is mundane. In that, we can’t wait to see his ‘interesting’ article.

Our press conference started with an introduction of PKKI’s organization by Ms. Shirley Tan followed by myself with a brief background of APOH’s past efforts and role in this year’s charity climb. Following this, a mock cheque presentation to PKKI for RM10,000 was carried out for the RM50/pax amount collected from all 200 climbers. To PKKI’s surprise, Mr. Woon (one of APOH committee member) also presented a personal cheque amounting to RM5,000.

So far, a total of RM20,000 has been collected for our A Piece Of Hope Chapter 5 Mt. Kinabalu Climb. With one firmed newspaper article in the works and a few others on the way, we hope that these publicity will help in one way or another reach our targeted amount of RM200,000.

RM200,000 here we come!

2011-05-16T17:36:00.006+08:00

Achievable or not? Yes, I think it is and will be in our means, that is if all our 200 trekkers each collect RM1,000 from their friends, colleagues and relatives. Our humble beginnings of A Piece Of Hope (APOH) charity trek started with just 66 trekkers in 2007 and now grown to 200. This is the 5th chapter and we aim to be the best and most challenging of all.

Helping the less fortunate has been the heart beat of APOH and it will always be. Without it, climbing this mountain for the 12th time expecially for Jimmy Lim (our climb organiser), will have just stopped due to no purpose. This time around Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Hulu Langat (PKKI) is the beneficiary of this charity trek. This is not a home but a centre that helps children with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities including cerebral palsy, hyperactivity, autism, blindness, down syndrome, global development delay, etc.

Agree with me or not, all of us got a soft spot for NGOs as they are self-reliant for their own expenses. Getting these funds in to support the running of it is tough. Even tougher is getting it on time to fund it. As they climb their 'mountain', we at APOH will climb ours. Which is easier? You can only answer it yourself.

With only 1 and 1/2 months to go before we ascend the mountain, we must utilise it wisely for maximum impact. No matter how much we can collect, may it be RM10 or RM10,000, we have at the least did something meaningful for PKKI.

An email detailing how the donation collection is to be done will be send out. In it a covering letter from PKKI and donation forms are attached as pictured above. If for any reason some of you did not receive these, please inform Jimmy or myself (apieceofhope@gmail.com) and we will gladly email you again. You can also download it by clicking the picture above.

Happy Soliciting Donation!

Recce visit to Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Hulu Langat (PKKI) on 30th March 2011 @ 3pm

2011-04-20T17:47:00.008+08:00

This time of the year again has brought us to make a recce visit to a beneficiary NGO. The location of this NGO was fairly difficult to find as it is located in the older part of Taman Cuepacs Cheras. The 'A Piece Of Hope' (APOH) committee members comprising of Jimmy, Engu, Foo Weng, Tat Boon and myself (Ted), all arrived at the center between 3 to 3.30pm with some directional help of Ms. Shirley Tan (PKKI's president).

The center was setup by Mrs. Aimee Chan in 1995 with a pioneering group of parents and their children who suffers multiple disabilities. They were compelled to start their own training center due to the government schools and institutions not allowing admission to their children because of the severity of their conditions. Presently, the center help children with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities including cerebral palsy, hyperactivity, autism, blindness, down syndrome, global developmental delay, etc. The center now operates from 3 terrace houses and one of which is a corner house where main activities are conducted.

Ms. Shirley mentioned that they help children from all walks of life. The children now numbers around 90 pax and there is a growing need to expand the center's premises. She showed us that they have bought a piece of land for future development of the center. At the moment, they do not have the finances to build a building on the land. Fund raising efforts are in placed to do just that.

As a mother to a child who suffers a physical disability since birth (but since passed away in 2010), Ms. Shirley could understand and feel the needs of parents to train and equip their children to be independent. She mentioned that without this center, many parents are so helpless in bringing up their disabled child. Some of these parents who come to the center could not even afford the minimal fee. Thus, her fervent and undying passion to spearhead the center to the next level needs assistance from outsiders in terms of finances.

The visit to PKKI was a successful recce that concluded in an agreement to help them raise funds. APOH has set a monumental figure of RM200,000 as the target for this year's Mt. Kinabalu trek happening from 9 to 13 July 2011.

A Great Christmas Gift!

2010-12-27T14:36:00.003+08:00

With the year drawing to a close and Christmas season is still lingering around, what would be the best gift you can possibly give someone especially to those orphaned children? A toy car? A toy doll? Beautiful clothes? Money? To me and I think all of you would agree is LOVE.

The good works of the people at Sunbeams Home have truly been blessed as they continue to work to give 'parental' LOVE to the orphaned children under their care in Taman Mawar, Cheras. We at APOH can only help them from a far by raising funds for them. Our 'A Piece Of Hope Chapter 4 Mt Kinabalu Charity Trek' about 5 1/2 months ago to date have raised an awesome...

This is a figure that we can hardly imagine when we first started. A big figure because we believed that YOU who gave have a BIG heart for these underprivileged children. Indeed this is a great Christmas gift for them.

We hope that as APOH continue to help the next children NGO in 2011, YOU can participate again in donating your resources. You can always rest assure that your contribution is genuinely directed to the NGO.

Thank you and Happy New Year to all!

A Whopping Figure!

2010-08-17T17:32:00.003+08:00

With A Piece Of Hope Chapter 4 Mt Kinabalu trek completed for almost a month now, the collection for donation has not. The 7th record this year will be surpassed in leaps and bounds. In the last sms I received from Alvin Tan of Sunbeams Home, the money in their bank now stands at a whopping:

The RM150k mark has been overwhelmed thanks to all donors and efforts of A Piece Of Hope (APOH) trekkers. As we speak efforts are still on-going to secure more donations. This will probably go on until the end of September or October 2010.

The APOH committee has set the date for next year's trek from 9th - 13th July 2011. Booking for a place in next year's trek is NOW OPEN. In order to secure a place, you have to book your flight ticket first then inform Jimmy Lim about it and he will book a place for you.

Next year's NGO have not been selected yet but we welcome suggestions on it. Two of the criterias for minimal selection are

1. Must be an NGO related to children.

2. Must have tax-exempt from the government of Malaysia.

You can email me the suggestion at: apieceofhope@gmail.com

A year filled with many ‘first records’

2010-08-03T17:34:00.014+08:00

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 4 Mt Kinabalu Charity Trek has been completed. It was a trek that saw many ‘first record’ created.

On the books, we had 140 trekkers (1st record) this year surpassing any other year. With so many trekkers from so many different places, we also had many challenges in organizing such a large group. Thanks to the tireless organization efforts of Jimmy Lim and his team, this year’s trek went on smoothly without any untoward incidences. There were a total of 4 buses (2nd record) used in transporting the trekkers from Kota Kinabalu to Kinabalu Park.

The trek up Mt Kinabalu had to be broken into 2 days, one going up on 18th July consisting of 100 trekkers and the other on 19th July consisting of 40 trekkers from the Hash Hound Harrier group. From the onset, the organizing committee tried their best to keep the trekkers together but to no avail as the park management could not give the 140 beds at Laban Rata. Nevertheless, the spirit of the trekkers were high. So it was the first that A Piece Of Hope trek had to be done in the span of two days (3rd record).

A Piece Of Hope trek in previous years had children trekkers but not as many as this year. There were a total of 5 children (4th record) below the age of 12 years old who took part. Most came from the Pang family who had 3 children, one of them had a hole in the heart.

One of the first to arrive at the peak of Mt Kinabalu is Mok Jee Sang. Here is an excerpt from his climb to the peak, “We started the trek to the summit at about 2.30am. I was given the task of carrying the Sunbeams banner to the summit by some smart fellow. I was asked to come back with some photographs taken with the banner at the Low’s Peak. Guess that was the motivation for me to hit the summit. A failed mission will not be too pleasing. We were stopped by the ranger at the Sayat Sayat check point as our guide has not arrived and he just made us wait in the chilling weather (about 4 deg. Celsius) for about 15 minutes or so and finally he allowed us in. This last 1.5km trek up to the summit was quite demanding not so much on the stamina but due to the thin air at that altitude. We somehow managed to reach the summit with the photographs taken and so mission accomplished”.

With this year’s exceptionally good weather at the peak, many made it to the peak for the sunrise before 6am. At last count, 102 trekkers (5th record) out of 140 trekkers made it to the peak. The rest had either tried but went only half way in the night climb due to Air Mass Sickness or just rested at Laban Rata after a tiring day’s trek. There were several trekkers whom on the way down from the peak or Laban Rata took on leg injuries. They had to virtually ‘limp’ their way down and some had to be ‘portered’ down. So the latest arrival time at base camp was at 9pm! (6th record).

One of the greatest story have to be this. Lisa while resting during the trek, mentioned about A Piece Of Hope charity trek to a British couple. To her surprise, the couple after hearing the noble cause pass her some cash for donation. This goes to show that there are many charitable people, even in the most of unlikely situations.

To cap off a year of many ‘first records’, the total collection for A Piece Of Hope Chapter 4 Mt Kinabalu Trek has reached the RM130,000 mark as informed by Alvin Tan of Sunbeams Home. With some other cheques not sent to Sunbeams Home yet, the figure could easily surpass RM135,000 (7th record), the highest of all the 4 years.

Finally, a word of million thanks to all of YOU who have helped to collect donations and donated in some way or the other.

Statistics:
18 July – 97 trekkers (14 Timpohan and 83 Mesilau); 25 didn’t make it to peak
19 July – 39 trekkers (9 Timpohan and 30 Mesilau); 8 didn’t make it to peak

Go for Goal... Lets start collecting donation for Yayasan Sunbeams Home

2010-05-25T16:54:00.005+08:00

Apart from just conquering Mt. Kinabalu for our self-achievement, this year again we are able to share our achievement with the less fortunate. Our target this year of RM100,000 should be much easier than last year due to our sheer size of 140 climbers. As the malay saying goes, ‘sedikit sedikit menjadi bukit’. This is not the compounding interest notion but is the power of collective effort.

Maybe for some of us collecting donation is harder to do than climbing Mt. Kinabalu, just for the sake of the unfortunate children of Sunbeams (YSH), we must conquer this ‘mountain’. It is a ‘mountain’ that needs no physical strength but only the will of our human mind. So lets set our goal to conquer both mountains. After having done these, we can say to ourselves that we have indeed made a BIG difference in someone else’s life.

With only time as a factor to us, we must utilise it wisely for maximum impact. No matter how much we can collect, may it be RM10 or RM10,000, we have at the least did something meaningful through this Mt. Kinabalu climb. Just think of it, we have so many friends, colleagues and relatives that we can ask for donation. The technology of the internet has made us to be in constant contact with one another through applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, etc. Use it and use it wisely and meaningfully this time.

An email detailing how the donation collection is to be done was sent out recently. In it a covering letter from YSH and donation forms were attached as pictured below. If for any reason some of you did not receive these, please inform Jimmy or myself (apieceofhope@gmail.com) and we will gladly email you again. Or if not, you can download it by clicking the picture below.

Look out in the newspapers for the write up of our charity climb some time early June. Happy Soliciting Donation!

Recce visit to Yayasan Sunbeams Home on 21st March 2010 @ 3pm

2010-04-20T17:53:00.003+08:00

It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon. The ‘A Piece Of Hope’ (APOH) committee comprising of Jimmy, Wendy, Engu, Foo Weng, Samantha Lee and Ted, conducted a recce visit to this year’s benefiary home. The committee brought along some goodies for the children such as KFC and cup cakes (specially baked by Samantha Lee).

Located in Taman Mawar, Cheras, Sunbeams have been established since 1995 by Mr. Alvin Tan and his wife Lucy. What started as a noble act turned into today’s Sunbeams Home that shelters 80 children from various races whom are abandoned, abused or neglected. At the time of our visit, all of the children were out so we did not meet them in person. All the children are housed in 2 terrace houses, one of which is a corner house where main activities are done.

Mr. Alvin mentioned that the children comes from all walks of life except Muslim children where they must be placed in a Muslim home (provided by law). He continued to tell us that they are also looking for a bigger place to house the children. He was asked whether the neighbours welcome their presence in the community, he quickly said that the neighbours are very supportive of the home. Ted mentioned that it was not so at the Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah, a home in which APOH helped 2 years back. They are indeed fortunate with such good neighbours.

As the conversation progress into the immediate needs of the home, Mr. Alvin said that they have plenty of food especially rice in which they sometimes sell to others. Help in the form of money is their main concern every time. Jimmy then said that APOH is the right vehicle to raise such funds as it has been doing so for the past 3 years.

The visit to Yayasan Sunbeams Home ended with an agreement that APOH will help to raise RM100,000 through its Mt. Kinabalu climb happening in July 2010.

Final Tally for A Piece Of Hope (APOH) 2009 and Brief Information for APOH 2010

2010-03-03T15:04:00.002+08:00

How time flies... It has been a good 7 months since APOH 2009 concluded its climb up Mt. Kinabalu in July 2009. The climb was for Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang (PKIK). Our target to raise RM100,000 for them was indeed a tall order given the global economic situation that has affected not only businesses but the 'local man on the street' as well.

We are proud to announce that at the end of January 2010, the fund raised for PKIK has surpassed our target. The final tally stood at RM113,204. Although it took a long time to reach this figure, it was indeed well worth the wait.

A very big THANK YOU once again to all our generous donors whom have contributed to this fund.

Now... Its time for APOH 2010. As the committee is gearing up for yet another climb up Mt. Kinabalu, preparations are also underway for the charity part. Up until today there are 3 NGOs that are on the selection list as the beneficiary of our climb. The committee members will be finalising the selection hopefully by mid-March. This year's APOH 2010 have already gotten overwhelming response so far. As many as 140 would be climbers or APOHers have already signed up with some even bought their flight tickets.

APOH 2010 will run from 18 - 19 July. More information to come...

The Journey Up The Mountain… narrated by Ted a.k.a Sunny Ting

2009-07-28T15:52:00.013+08:00

As like any other year, our flight out to Kota Kinabalu on 11th July was at 6.50am. Most of the 100 trekkers were on this flight, while the rest were on flights a day earlier or later in the afternoon. On hand to greet and send us off was the staff of Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang Selangor (PKIK), headed by Ms. Lai (Ms. Kong was away at this time). Some last minute donations in form of cheques were also given to PKIK at this time.

Upon our arrival at Kota Kinabalu Terminal 2 airport at 9.30am, Api Tours 3 coaches were ready to pick us up to Kinabalu Park a.k.a base camp of Mt. Kinabalu. Along the way, we had KK famous fish head noodles for lunch, stopped at a mall to buy heaps of rations and ate deliciously sweet pineapples. We arrived at Kinabalu Park (approx. 5,000ft ASL) at approximately 4.30pm. Jimmy Lim our ever faithful organizer, quickly arranged to check us all in to our various accommodations spread throughout the park.

Dinner was served at 7pm and later followed by a briefing from myself, Jimmy and park ranger. During the briefing, Jimmy conducted an impromptu demo on Fusion Excel products which got the trekkers excited and dumb-founded. For those who got the lucky draw in the form of the sponsored Fusion Excel pendants, they were all eager to see how this special pendants work for them during the trek. Here, a special mention of THANK YOU to Fusion Excel for their generosity in donating RM10,000 to PKIK and RM11,000 worth of pendant products to the trekkers.

As the morning breaks on 12th July, the sight of a clouded Mt. Kinabalu beckons a rainy trek ahead. Most of the 100 A Piece Of Hope (APOH) trekkers were ready at 8.30am assembling with their gears in check at the park management office. At last count, only 98 trekkers were registered for the climb. Approximately 33 trekkers took the Timpohon trail while the rest Mesilau trail. With all the nametags given out and park guides and porters arranged, APOH trekkers and organizing team then posed for a group photo before embarking on the trek.

As the morning turns into afternoon, trekkers start arriving at Laban Rata (approx. 11,000ft ASL). The earliest to arrive is approximately 2.00pm. From then on, many arrive between the time of 3 to 5pm but some as late as 7pm plus. After shower and some dinner, all trekkers one by one hit the bed for a much needed rest and to recharge for the final assault come the wee hours of the morning.

The following is an excerpt from Jimmy Lim of the night climb:

“Come morning at 2.00am the strong wind was still howling and some trekker decided they will not proceed to the summit while the rest of us brave the strong wind and manage to reach Sayat Sayat Hut (the last stop to the summit) where we have to check in. After Sayat Sayat Hut the strong wind persisted and the mist was heavy with visibility of not more than 10 meter and the strong wind blowing with misty rain make us more difficult to walk as it was cold, wet and windy.

As we struggle towards the summit some of the earlier trekkers have make their way back to Laban Rata saying it was impossible to stay at the summit (Low’s Peak) as it was extremely cold. I was able to convinced one or two of our trekkers to follow me to the summit, we did finally reach the summit but did not stay very long at Low’s Peak as we could feel frost bite on our fingers and toes and the strong wind and misty rain continue to hit us.

On our descend from Low’s Peak we did not see many trekkers coming forth like we use to in the past years and as we reach Laban Rata rest house we were informed by our fellow trekkers that most of them upon reaching Sayat Sayat Hut were turned away by the guide for fear that it might be too dangerous for the trekkers to proceed and they felt so disappointed.”

With such extreme weather conditions, assembling the jigsaw puzzle at the summit is near impossible. Our ever strong trekker, Ng Har who willingly took the task of carrying the jigsaw base, had to resort to waiting at Sayat Sayat Hut for the pieces of jigsaw to arrive with the trekkers. Here, although far from the summit, many trekkers made it but as in the words of Jimmy, they had to turn back for safety reasons. Approximately, 15 pieces of jigsaw didn’t make it to be stuck on the jigsaw base.

Although the weather condition was extreme, the first trekker reached the summit at 4.15am, a marvelous feat indeed. As an incentive, Fusion Excel promise that the first 5 trekkers to reach the summit, a pendant each will be waiting for them. Listed below are our heroes and heroine:

1) Mr. Joseph Sim
2) Mr. Ng Har
3) Ms. Chan Poh Sim (photo not taken as she went back a day earlier)
4) Mr. Low Chong Yew
5) Mr. Chew Ling Kiat

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 3’s main aim is to raise funds for Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang Selangor and along the way make friends and have fun conquering Mt. Kinabalu. As to date (27th July 2009), a total of over RM50,000.00 has been collected so far. Donations are still pouring in even after the trek. With more continuous effort from our trekkers, we will eventually reach our target of RM100,000.00.

Thanks to ALL who contributed in some way or another.

For more photos of the climb, one of our trekker Mr. Lim Beng Hong (some of the photos above are from him) uploaded loads of them at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/xinhui8810/MtK110709
http://picasaweb.google.com/xinhui8810/MtK120709
http://picasaweb.google.com/xinhui8810/MtK130709
http://picasaweb.google.com/xinhui8810/MtK140709

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 3 donation collection begins… Lets Get On It & Go!

2009-06-09T17:10:00.005+08:00

With only one half month before we climb Mt. Kinabalu, the journey to the summit have already started for most of us with the launch of our donation collection. The journey this year will be tougher as the bleak ‘economic storm’ affects would-be donors in some way or the other. Nevertheless, our effort has to go on. Needy lives must be touched and hope must be kept alive, more so in this stormy season.

An email detailing how the donation collection is to be done was sent out recently. In it a covering letter from PKIK and donation forms were attached as pictured below. If for any reason some of you did not receive these, please inform Jimmy or myself (apieceofhope@gmail.com) and we will gladly email you again. Just a mentioned, you can be creative in your donation collection such as if you are running a business then profit of a certain period can go to PKIK or if you are employed then when having a game of badminton, every point you win your friend they pay you $xx.xx as donation. Whatever you do its for charity.

We will be calling for a press conference soon to give A Piece Of Hope Chapter 3 some leverage. If any of you climbers got press contacts please do let us know. Pictured below is a sneak preview of the jigsaw puzzle that we will be carrying in July up Mt. Kinabalu.

All the best for your effort!

Our recce visit to Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Istimewa Kajang Selangor (PKIK) on 5th April 2009.

2009-05-19T07:28:00.010+08:00

When we think of a NGO children home, we always tend to think that it is an orphanage or a physically handicapped home. This one is different. Generally, PKIK it is not a home but a special learning centre. Located on the fringe of Kajang town centre, this first visit to PKIK for Foo Jong Wee, Engu and myself was an educational tour in itself.

Ms. Kong Lan Lee, director of PKIK, explained and gave us a brief tour of their place. PKIK started in 1995 for children with learning disabilities (such as Down Syndrome, ADD, etc.) and is presently serving 104 of them in 5 shoplots at Taman Kajang Utama. Ms. Kong explained that they have many programmes and services in placed to help these children/persons such as Early Intervention Programme, Day Training Programme, Therapy, Independent Training Group Home and etc.

She said that these children usually do not have the chance to go to normal schools because there is no such curriculum catering to them. Many parents of these children struggle to find a school that can accept them. Many parents too encounter dead ends to find a school that can educate and help their children. PKIK was born to fulfill wishes of parents to see their children become independent, meaningful and useful people to society. These children most of the time are deemed as outcast of society by the general public due to their disabilities. Parents of these children feel disappointed and most fear to bring their children out into the public.

With very little help from the government, PKIK have to turn to regular fund raising projects, donations from families and the public. To sustain the cost of operations which is ever escalating and plans to get a place to call their own, PKIK needs fund to bring them into the brighter future. A Piece Of Hope: Chapter 3 is stepping up once again to help raise fund.

You can visit the home’s website for further information @ http://pkik.my.diip.net/. Alternatively you can contact PKIK Ms. Kong @ 03-87366385.

Stories Of The Climb

2008-07-21T16:38:00.008+08:00

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 2 Mt. Kinabalu charity climb for Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah was a success and like many other charity events it was riddled with many challenges and happy moments.

Booking of beds at Laban Rata was not an easy task as this year we had 106 climbers. Although booking for these beds were made much earlier, the KK Park management made a technical blunder as to the actual number of beds required. These were ‘cleverly’ and ‘painfully’sorted out by our climb organizer Jimmy Lim who had to battle until the final minute of our climb. Thankfully, all was settled when we all arrived at KK Park on 12th July.

On the morning of 12th July, one Air Asia flight departing at 6.50am carrying a majority of the climbers encountered some problems. It was not a delayed flight or anything happened to the aircraft but 4 climbers were not allowed onboard even though they arrived at the gate 13minutes before flight time (Air Asia boarding tickets states that gate closes 10minutes before flight time). It was a disheartening start for these climbers but later they bought tickets for the next flight out to KK.

This year we had a blessing in disguise involving our transportation in and around KK and Mt. Kinabalu. The usual person who arranges these could not offer transportation up to our expectations and requirements. Then came a ‘saviour’ in Ryan, the owner of Zen Resort who gladly arrange 3 comfortable and air-conditioned coaches for us. It was a far cry to the minibuses that we had to endure with the previous years that were not only sloppy interiorly but did not have air-conditioned.

At last count, only 97 people opted to take the treacherous hike up Mt. Kinabalu. Those ‘grounded’ had valid reasons that were personal. Out of 97 people, 7 took the Timpohon trail while the rest the Mesilau trail which was 1.8km longer. This year it took unusually longer to start the climb, some as late as 10.30am due to shortage of shuttle to the Mesilau trail.

As there were a variety of ‘fitness’ among all the climbers, the earliest to arrive at Laban Rata was at approximately 2.30pm. From then on, many arrive between the time of 3 to 5pm. We must thank God for a perfect weather for this year’s climb. Even at 5pm there was no sign of rain (usually at this time we will be soaked in rain). The latest to arrive was at approximately 7pm. There were 3 casualties who did not make it to Laban Rata due to sickness. They only managed to climb to Layang-Layang which is 2km down from Laban Rata. The mountain guides had to open up the staff quarters there for them to stay a night.

The next morning at 2.30am, A Piece Of Hope climbers prepared for the final assault to the summit. It was yet again an exceptionally good weather for the night climb. Rain was not insight and wind was at its lowest. Temperature was approximately 5 degrees Celsius. The start of the night climb usually is slow due to a long queue hiking up the wooden stairs.

Not long into the climb, some climbers reached the summit at approximately 5.30am, in time for day break panaromic scenes at the summit. The summit is where our charity climb breeds its purpose. Each climbers having one piece or several pieces of jigsaw, assembles it by sticking onto a banner. As wind conditions start to pick up, assembling the jigsaw was a chore. Moreover, as more and more climbers reach the summit, space to stand and sit gets tighter. As time goes by the complete picture of the jigsaw puzzle seems to be surfacing and beams as bright as the morning sun.

To end my story and our adventure, A Piece Of Hope Chapter 2 main aim is to raise funds for Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacar Taman Megah and have loads of fun climbing Mt. Kinabalu. As to date (21st July 2008), a total of RM80,000.00 has been collected so far. Donations are still pouring in even after the climb. Our target of RM150,000.00 seems to be a far fetch thing but we are sure that it will be reached thanks to the generosity of YOU!

Special mention: More than RM60,000.00 is from corporate donors of Mr. Foo Jong Wee’s clients. His effort is daunting but is well praised by all of us at A Piece Of Hope.

Those who wants to see more pictures of the climb can go to these websites below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chan.chongmeng/MtKinabaluJuly08

http://picasaweb.google.com/siahkang/MTKKTrip2008_aPieceOfHOPE

Thank you to Chan Chong Meng and Khoo Siah Kang for providing the pictures.

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) chips in to help A Piece Of Hope Chapter 2 charity climb

2008-07-21T16:33:00.001+08:00

During the 3 days before our climb on 12th July 2008, UTAR management and students offered to help in our A Piece Of Hope charity climb. Donation boxes were placed all around their Section 13 campuses, Petaling Jaya.

Careful effort were made to place notices informing of this charity drive by those involved. Neatly decorated donation boxes were hand made to ensure all cash are secured properly. Although UTAR not long ago organized a donation drive for the China earthquake victims, the generosity of its students towards A Piece Of Hope charity climb for Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah were still genuine.

On 11th July 2008, Jimmy Lim, Foo Jong Wee, Janice Lim, Ting Ted Sun and UTAR management jointly opened the donation boxes. It took us almost 45 minutes to fully count all the cash which was donated. Finally tally of the cash donation stood at RM2,621 not bad for a 3 day effort by UTAR.

A word of thanks to:
Dr. Yeoh Suan Pow (Vice President)
Ms. Sum Kwai Seong (Manager, Department of Student Affairs)
and all students of UTAR who in some way or another donated or helped out.

THANK YOU

Press Conference on 2nd July 2008

2008-07-06T07:10:00.004+08:00

After the postponement of our press conference last Wednesday due to some unforeseen reasons, the press conference on 2nd July 2008 was conducted successfully. Although there was a hour an half delay in starting, 3 press reporters came namely China Press, Chinese Oriental Daily and Malay Mail.

Those present from A Piece Of Hope were Jimmy Lim, Foo Jong Wee, Engu, Lai Foo Weng and myself (Ted). The conference lasted about half an hour with many questions posed by the reporters. Mr. Cheah from PPKKCTM also joined in the conference to answer questions on the home itself.

With the publishing of our news in Malay Mail on 3rd July, it give us an extra mileage to further push for donations. Authenticity is very important as with any donation drive. So with this publicity it negates any suspicion altogether. As there is only 10 days before the charity climb, it is time for us to have the final push!

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 2 begins...

2008-06-17T15:12:00.006+08:00

A Piece Of Hope Chapter 2 fundraising drive was kick started on 3rd June 2008. Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah's official letter seeking for donations was emailed out to all 106 climbers. Together with the letter, a donation form was attached for donors to fill in when submitting in their donation.

PPKKCTM's letter

Donation form

A press conference will be held soon to boost publicity and validate this event. All climbers will be inform in due course when this will happen so that they can come and lend support. Tentative venue will be at the home's official address.

As it is only less than a month before our climb, we urge all climbers to exercise extra effort to solicit donations. You might be surprise through this fundraising drive who among your circle of friends and relatives that might be so generous. If you don't try, you will never know.

All the best!

Our recce visit to Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Taman Megah (PPKKCTM) on 24th May 2008

2008-05-27T15:41:00.005+08:00

The visit to the home was indeed an eye opener to all of us. Those present were Jimmy Lim, Doreen, Foo Jong Wee, Engu, Lai Foo Weng, Patrick Teah and myself (Ted). If I miss out any of you, please forgive my memory.
We had a fruitful discussion with one of the home director, Mr. Cheah. He showed us the home in general and explained to us what the home does for these special children. Compared to Shelter Home (beneficiary of our campaign last year), this home shelters children whom are physically challenged/disabled. They have 4-5 houses that shelters 130 children of which 100 of them are physically challenged. This home also accommodates some adults whom are of the same condition.

With so much to do but with very little help or non from the government this home have touched many lives that some think that they are useless. These children, although they are ‘special’, needs love and care like any other children. The surrounding neighbours have lodged numerous complaints to the local authorities in an effort to remove them from their premises, reason being, they are dirty, noisy and nuisance. Given this unfriendly gesture, they are planning to move out into a property that will shelter all of them under one roof. The project will cost them some 6 million ringgit.

As the cost of operations escalating, there is an urgent need of funds to sustain the home’s 130 inmates. A Piece Of Hope is stepping up to help them in any way we can. You can visit the home’s website for further information: www.ppkkctm.org

What happened in A Piece Of Hope 2007: Chapter 1

2008-05-12T22:07:00.019+08:00

The fund raising campaign started on 3rd June 2007, about one month before our climb on 7th July. Contact with Shelter Home (http://www.shelterhome.org/), an NGO that shelters abused, abandoned, neglected children through their 5 homes located in Selangor, was established 2 weeks before to inform them about our intention to raise funds for them. A fund amount of RM100,000 was then targetted after understanding their operation cost and needs.

Shelter Home children

A covering letter and donation/pledge form were quickly drawn up and sent out to all our 66 climbers from all over Malaysia and Australia. Climbers were requested to solicit donation from their networks of friends, colleagues, business partners and family members. Unlike other fund raising campaigns, A Piece Of Hope do not solicit donations from the general public. We find that in this way, it is more reliable and effective given the personal approach.

Shelter Home & A Piece Of Hope letter to donors

With the help of Creative Vision, a press conference was called on 20th June 2007 at Shelter Home premises in Section 5, Petaling Jaya. Through this, A Piece Of Hope fund raising campaign was published in 3 major newspapers namely The Star, Sin Chew Daily and Nanyang Siang Pau. This gave us a huge mileage in further publicising our effort throughout the country and the authenticity of the campaign strengthen.

The Star Metro 25th June 2007

Sin Chew Daily 23rd June 2007

Nanyang Siang Pau 22nd June 2007

In just one month, A Piece Of Hope through the collective effort of the 66 climbers manage to collect an astounding figure of RM120,000. About half of the sum came from corporate donors. Here, a word of thanks and commendation must be given to Mr. Foo Jong Wee who single handedly solicited donations from his corporate clients and friends. No less thanks must also be given to the rest of the climbers who willingly contributed their time to make the lives of Shelter Home children more meaningful.

On 7th July at Mt. Kinabalu base camp, all the jigsaw puzzle pieces were distributed to the 66 climbers. These were their reaction: Some were reluctant to take the piece in fear that they could never reach the summit. Some took it as a motivation to reach the summit because failing which there would be an empty spot on the jigsaw. Some offered to carry more than one piece to assist their friend's jigsaw to reach the summit. Some even vowed to their donors that they will carry their 'piece of hope' to the summit to fulfill a promise made.

At the summit on 8th July, some climbers made it some didn't. Surprisingly, most of the jigsaw pieces arrived on the summit through the effort of some climbers having to take more than one piece. Weather at the summit were adversed making it difficult to assemble the jigsaw puzzle so it was called off. To record the effort this photo was taken at the summit.

At the summit

In appreciation to all donors and climbers, A Piece Of Hope would like to thank you for making it a success. The children at Shelter Home were indeed blessed by your generosity and caring heart. Thank You !!!

A Piece Of Hope 2007: Chapter 1