This year we are keen to support innovative projects that will benefit children. We are looking at two groups that work with children with a variety of problems. In Kuala Lumpur there are many children living on the streets, both local children and refugees. In Hong Kong where many children come from wealthy families but miss out on other aspects of their lives and turn to drugs.
In many cases children helped by these groups suffer from low self esteem. Rather than donating money to maintatin current activities we want to see children involved in activities that will develop their self esteem and confidence. One way to achieve this is through the use of video. We want people with video and film making skills to help out by getting involved with these groups to teach children the basics of film making. In Hong Kong we have been fortunate to receive the support of Elissa Rosati of Focus on Film (http://www.focusonfilmhk.com) who has agreed to work with Kely Support (http://www.kely.org/en/index.html).
We would really like to find someone in Kuala Lumpur who could offer the same support to Nur Salam (http://www.chowkids.org). If you know of anyone then please let us know.
Nur Salam
Nur Salam currently operates a 24 hour drop-in and crisis centre that provides a safe and healthy environment available to all children in the Chow Kit district of Kuala Lumpur. Chow Kit is a low income area with a longstanding reputation for sex work, drug sales, and organized crime, as well as being a neighborhood of undocumented immigrants. At Nur Salam all children, particularly those at-risk, can get food and shelter, as well as participate in educational, health and recreational programs, including homeschool, computer classes, and an educational “toy library.” Play therapists come every week to work with children in need of counseling. We have volunteers who come into the centre regularly, and others who organise recreational outings to performances or local attractions.
TrunkAid aims to help people by finding sponsors to support projects run by people who live in and understand the communities. Although we have worked with organisations in Africa in the past we are now concentrating our effors nearer home and are looking for projects in South East Asia only.
You may not have cash to donate but you may have skills to offer. Maybe you are an electrician, plumber, builder, physiotherapist, doctor, nurse, teacher, etc. and can spare a few weeks for a 'holiday'. You could make a huge difference to people's lives.
When you give money to charity do you know what happens to it, what it is used for or who actually benefits from it? At TrunkAid we try to make charitable organisations more accountable for how they spend your money. People running the projects we promote will send reports and photographs to show how your money is being spent. You can contact the organisers directly and you can even visit the projects. This way we believe that more of your money will be spent on what you want it to be spent on rather than disappearing on administrative costs.