With God All is Possible!

What can God do with an old 10yr old van that we alone can't?

This is a short testimony how a little old van that was heading towards the scrap yard gets a new lease of life!

Few months ago, whilst I was at West Mall with 15mins to spare before a movie, whilst gaping at some cakes, a good friend with the Canossians said 'hi' to me. Before long, she was asking me if I wanted an old van to export to a 3rd world country for the poor. Of cos I said 'Yes'! . I reckon it's my job to just say 'YES' and God's job to find a home for it.

And of cos HE did!

This is what the van is now :)

We are like the old van aren't we? When we are touched by God, we transform.

An obsolete old van touched by God is now a new life-saving ambulance that will last many more years and save many many lives!

Friends, if each of us avail ourselves to say 'Yes' to helping the poor, God will do the rest. What we can't do ourselves we have but to ask around and there is always one of us who can always do something wonderful for His Glory.

Many thanks to the Canossian Sisters, Budi, Christopher and all involved to make this project a success \o/\o/\o/





God Bless,
Mill

Simply delicious!




Much Thanks to Woh Hup for contributing the sugar free bird's nest for the aged at the Gift of Love Home for our Chinese New Year celebrations with them.

The resident's enjoyed the special afternoon very much. Much thanks also to Praise@Work for providing much love, other tea items, song items and games.

Christmas Party for the Kachin Children @ The New Generation School in KL



Party Happy Meals donated by Peter Twang



 



Clothings donated by Children of Nanyang Primary School



Books from Cannosaville



Christmas ended meaningfully for year 2010 as friends of Project Kyrie came together to bless kids who have little.

Helping others and making others happy need not be a big ordeal. Things easily come together when we have the same heart to reach out to bless others with our lives and our resources.

A meaningful, fun-filled Christmas Party was under way when friends said 'Yes' to driving up to KL to visit a school for Kachin ( Burmese) children.

With one 'Yes' everything else easily fell into place. We have at times, to be the one who opens the door and allow opportunites for others to do good and allow blessings to flow.

In this case, we managed to send children's books, clothes and an opportunity to have a fried chicken happy meal for 100 kids. Many have not had the opportunity to eat a happy meal before. So thats a call for celebration!

Many thanks to the Cannossians for the books, to Nanyang Primary School for the clothings and to Peter Twang for sponsoring the Happy Meals. Many thanks also to the Angels who said 'Yes' and drove all these things up to KL plus organised the Happy Meals!

Partnering KKCH medical social work dept to make the world a better place to live in

Dear friends,

I have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to say our thank-yous fast enough to all our friends in project kyrie who have been doing wonderful things with us.


Today, I would like to dedicate this page to friends who have been helping the needy and sick children in Singapore. We have worked together many times with KK children's hospital medical social work dept through the year without mentioning even once to friends who follow this blog.


We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chia Yi, Joy, Peter Twang and Budi Soehardi for fulfilling a child's last wish to have an expensive game set.


This child could not have her wish fulfilled by the make-a-wish foundation because she fell out of the qualifying age group. When the medical social workers from KKCH came to us with this request, friends of project kyrie supported this cause quickly without hesitation and a child had her last wish fulfilled. Her illness has since taken her away from us but I am sure we have given her some joy to take with her to heaven.


Thank you also to Agnes Koh for having given her entire hello kitty collection to make many KKCH needy children smile when pain was abound. Thanks also to Betty Ng & friends, Chooi Peng and many more who gave baby clothes and baby cots when help in getting these items were requested .


Most recent was the love extended by Peter Twang, Jerry Yong and Linda for supporting without hesitation the funds and gifts needed for a last minute children's party for needy sick children at KKCH. Becuse of your kindness, they enjoyed party food, balloons, games and beautiful cartoon backpacks to take home with them.

I have probably missed out many others who have given their time and love for the children and families of these children. Do forgive me. I pray that whatever each has done to make even a moment of a sick and needy child's life better in anyway that our Father will bless you all with the same heart of generosity that you have so generously extended to them.


Last but not the least, I am in awe of the love the KKCH medical social workers have for their ill and needy children. They have spared no efforts to make a difference in the lives of the patients they serve.




Together with you, serving the poor,

Mill

Giving Hope and Rebuilding Lives

Dear Frens,

It is with much thanks to everyone for contributing so generously to help Sohpeak from my last email. Your time to tell friends about it, your prayers and the contributions that came in for this project.

The money is now in Cambodia with the Don Bosco sisters and we will be working with sisters there to ensure your contribution is maximised ad spent according to plan. Sisters will as usual acknowledge all monies received as soon as they can.

It is truely with God's grace that we not only managed to help repair Sohpeak's house but also help another family in a similar plight.

This family has 7 children. The mother works as construction worker, the father is sick with a lung problem.
Their house also floods when it rains. They recently borrowed 20$ to buy some sand, just simply sand, because when it rains, the inside of the house becomes completely muddy, just as you would be on a muddy road.

The Don Bosco Sisters have also said that the ground floor is built with red bricks without mortar and it's dark and black because of the smoke and soot form the kitchen. The roof is also leaking badly as it has many holes.

The father though sick, is eager to fix the house himself  if we supply him, the materials. Two weekends ago, our friend Audrey flew to Phom Penh, she visited the house and this is what she assessed:

1. ground floor is covered in sand. There is no concrete base under. All the furniture sits on sand.
2. Staircase going upstairs is narrow and unsteady.
3. walls dividing the rooms upstairs are breaking/ rotting away
4. exterior wooden walls of the upper house are very old. Possibly from 15 yrs ago when the house was first built.
5. furniture is old and rundown; the upper rooms have no furniture - clothes are hanged on a rope or pole; bedding is worn out.

Thank you to all for blessing these families with a warm and dry home to live in.

May the generosity of all who contributed to this project in any way be filled with the Lord's Spirit and may your hearts be filled with the same warmth of love from God as you have so kindly extended to our poorer brothers and sisters in Christ.

God Bless,
Mill

Love thy neighbour as you love yourself!

Dear Frens,

We have an opportunity today to help a needy Cambodian student called Sopeak from Don Bosco, to help re-build her house which is falling apart. The minimum amount required is about USD$500 as the other half has been sponsored by another friend.

Sopheak was a student in the Food & Home Management class at Don Bosco.

By God's grace, she has chosen to be a nun & is now a formande. Her father met with 3 accidents in a year (2006 or 07) andnow now he's got TB.

Sopheak's house is  3h30' by car. Their house need to be repaired and partially rebuilt. It's now partly made of bricks to prevent the rain from ruining the wood wall. Their house is 13mx5m=65m2. For the labor of the cement work it's about $200 ($3 per square meter). Then there is the cost of the new materials, the carpentery work and the removal of the old house. Her father can't help much as he is very sick now.

Their own savings can be used to fill up their compound with red soil to raise the level of the ground by 50cm which helps to prevent the flood during this raining season.

Frens, if you feel called to help this family, to help them rebuild their house, give them hope, help them a little with their dad's medical expenses, do let me know. I will consolidate all our funds and work with the Don Bosco sisters to ensure that the money is used for the said purpose.

Let's free Sopeak's mind from worries of her family so she can focus on the committing her life to the Gloryof God! \o/\o/\o/

Yours In Christ,
Mill

ps - If we raise more than what is needed for the house we will help the dad with cost of some medicine and food for the young kids and perhaps help another family who is living in the same situation and need basic shelter.




'Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul.'
Only kindness can do that.
- Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire

Partnering ONE Singapore to take a step closer to eradicating poverty!

Thank you, ONE Singapore for your dedication to raising public awareness and striving to make poverty history!


Our heartfelt thanks to One Singapore's dedicated team for organising this charity warehouse sale in collaboration with food distributor, FoodXervices where Project Kyrie's poor families have received with gratitude much needed food packages for the month.


Frens of project kyrie, do support ONE Singapore in all their events and efforts to make a STOP to poverty. Their next food drive is on 16th October 2010, so keep that date on your radar and participate in the warehouse sales that they will be organising again.


Together we all CAN make a difference!


Thanks again Vernetta, Michael, Judy and all at ONE Singapore on behalf of the poor!

Partnering Nanyang Primary School to reach out to the poor

Dear Frens,

I have stayed beside Nanyang Primary School for years. The school is truely a gem in our society. I would be so proud to enrol my children there and would not hesitate to recommend this school to any of my friends.

Every Chinese New Year, the children would go house to house to give their neighbours hearty Chinese New Year well wishes. This little act of awareness by the school and teachers have brought so much joy to the neighbourhood especially to our family as Chinese New Year would not seem like Chinese New Year if we do not see the ernest little faces coming by, to wish us a wonderful and properous Chinese New Year! In fact, my mum have also taken to preparing little goodie bags of sweets and cookies for our little guests every year.

It is not surprising then when one of the parents introduced Project Kyrie to the school outreach team, we hit it off immediately, finding ways to help the needy around us.

In the past year, we have assisted 80 Nanyang Primary School teachers to spend a day, twice a year, befriending and giving tuition to the needy children in the community.

This Chinese New Year that just passed, the teachers and children have taken a step further and collected thousands of canned food and rice for the poor.

With this we managed to provide food rations to poor families supported by Project Kyrie for 6 months. Rations have also been distributed to families in Queenstown supported by Beyond Services and families in Toa Payoh supported by HSR.

This act of kindness and effort of the children have given hope and joy to many struggling families. We are very thankful to the children for having learnt the virtue of sharing and helping others at such a young age, to their parents for encouraging the children and to the teachers and principal of Nanyang Primary for their continuous effort in moulding the children to become good and caring leaders in our society.

Much thanks also go to - Nanyang Plastics for sponsoring the hundreds of plastic bags used in distributing the food rations to the poor. To Laura and Ynez for spending an afternoon helping us to pack and sort the food rations. To Yvonne Goh for assisting in transporting the food rations to our storage. Thank you to many others not mentioned but you know who you are for making this project successful and possible! \o/\o/\o/
God Bless,
Mill

An Ultrasound Probe for the Canossian Medical Centre in Ukraine

"Dearest millicent,
Thank you for the great help your friends gave to get the ultrasound probe. The cost of the probe was 45000.00 hyrivna that was 3930.00 euro with the exchange value at that time.From M. Natalina we received 3472.00 euro. So all the money you sent was spent for it. Thankyou. Here Iam enclosing the photo . Once more thankyou to you and to your friend Joseph. We remember you all in our prayers. "

With Gratitude,
SR. Elizabeth N.

Dear Frens,

I wish to thank Joseph Tan & his friends - Albert Foo, Soong Hee Sang, Adeline Koh, Francis Chan and Janice Koh, Liana and Joseph Santoso, Tan Chek Khiaw and Augustine Tan for raising the funds and buy this ultrasound probe for use to help the needy with medical equipment in Ukraine.

Young children in Ukraine lose their mothers to minor illnesses that can be prevented from escalating into fatalities. Friends, the effort and resources you have generously put out, will save more lives than you will ever know!

It is wonderful for me to see friends of Project Kyrie going into action. Friends like Joseph being called to help the needy in Ukraine by using his own network of friends to reach out to the poor as far as Ukraine. This is indeed the essence of Project Kyrie's outreach.

I hope more friends who want to continue supporting this clinic for the poor in Ukraine, will continue to come forward to pledge their resources. Every year there are costs to be maintained for licenses, doctor and medical technician salaries, medicines etc.

It doesn't matter where we help as long as the help goes to people who need us. We are all indeed blessed if we are in the position to give that help, don't you think?

All Glory to God, our Father, as we remain, his instruments of love \O/\O/\O/

Sharing what we have this Christmas will give hope to those who need us!

Dear frens,

It’s 4.30am, I woke up reviewing my day yesterday and can’t get back to sleep because I felt so inspired to write to you, to thank you for the years of support for allowing me to successfully bring appeals of humanitarian aid right into your offices, your homes, amidst your busy schedules and on your weekends.

Yesterday, when the opportunity presented itself, I tried a new way of raising funds for the poor. Many were involved. I spent an entire day doing up a slideshow which I think nobody really looked at. We also made exhibition boards the day before, laminated them plus a host of other logistic arrangements like getting permissions from organizers to put up a booth to organizing items we could sell to raise these funds for people in Kenya who have almost nothing.

For this, I also had to inconvenience 2 friends to try to find something last minute for me to sell. Believe it or not, one of them, I had to text him at Mt Tabor during his holidays and he had to text his office staff to set it up for us so we could collect it within hours of the same day. Not forgetting another wonderful set of people who had to drop their plans for the day to race across our island to pick up generously donated chocolates within another 2 hours for us to be ready for yesterday’s sale event.

So yesterday, the day started at 6am and ended at 6pm. We made $1,100 selling chocolates 2@$10. It was hard work. Many were happy at $1,100 but I asked myself what can we buy for $1,100?

We could get 50 or 60 mattresses for the homeless and destitute in Kenya and many will be able to close their eyes in a comfortable bed, forget their troubles for awhile whilst they sleep. I know it would be almost heaven for them to have these necessities that we take for granted in our lives. Many of us jump into our thousands of dollar mattresses quite unhappy every night don’t we? I know I have had my share of those nights.

I want to do more for people who live amongst trash. It is impossible for me to understand how that feels like. Just being in our HDB rubbish shack the other day for a few minutes, I was going to puke needless to say I would surely die if I had to live in one with no hope of escaping from it.. I have to do more for them and I know, we as a whole can do more.

I was thinking of all this now at 4.30am and it dawned upon me what a great gift God has given me…He has made way for his Holy Spirit to constantly work beside me –He gently inspires me to help the poor, He inspires my pen to write and His gift of a group of like-minded friends like you whom I can write to share my passion in helping those who have very little.

I have not done an overseas project for at least a year now, largely concentrating on the poor in Singapore.

So now friends, for this Christmas I bring before you the poor in Kenya, Africa.

For many years, I have seen and heard of the extreme poverty in Africa but it seems so far away and it was not within my reach to help the sick, the hungry, the child and the homeless.

I now know of a trusted catholic priest on the ground that I can work our projects with, to help these poverty stricken brothers and sisters of ours.

So friends would you like to join me to make this Christmas really count for something in the lives of another?

To give a homeless person perhaps a shelter over his head, a hot meal to a child or simple soap to be clean and smelling fresh this Christmas?

If funds allow we can also work towards education of children in poverty and creating lifeline opportunities for work for women with HIV, rejected by their families.

Many of us through the year have made great mental and physical sacrifices to be at the jobs we dislike and even if we love our jobs we have had to sacrifice precious time we would have had with our kids, our wives, our husbands, our parents, our friends to make money so our love ones can have a better life.

Would you like to make all these Sacrifices count for something?

We can make a real difference if together we can build a school or even repair one.

I am envisioning a fund of $10,000 to $20,000 to help the African homeless, destitute, street kids, HIV adults and children build better lives through us in year 2010.

If you feel called to join me in this project, do email me or text me. We are working with Father Conor Donnelly, an Opus Dei priest on the ground in Kenya.

I can as usual consolidate and send our funds to him. If your contribution is large and you would like to send it directly to him that is also ok. I will undertake to ensure that we do the extra mile with these funds sent over. Acknowledgement receipts from Fr. Conor Donnelly for your contributions can arranged if required.

Here's wishing everyone, Merry Christmas and may blessings of the holiday season be upon you.
May the Lord always bless you bountifully for what you are to others in ways big or small.

God Bless,
mill

A blessed year of love and sharing

Dear Frens,

The year 2009 is almost coming to an end. As I look back and review the year that has so quickly gone by, I am filled with awe that we have managed to do quite abit over the year through our Lord's Providence.

We have much to be proud about as friends of Project Kyrie have chosen to do good for the less fortunate brothers and sisters, bit by bit, person by person, project after project throughout the year.


Standing together in our belief that we can make a good difference by doing what we can, when we can, we have dear friends, fed many people through the year and have also given yet others hope and support by being there with our resources, our contacts, our recycled furniture, appliances and most of all our precious time.





I have stopped working for over a year now, anticipating that I would be bored to wits end and return to the workforce to occupy my time but I find myself as busy as ever.

Although, co-ordinating distribution of food, goods and assistance for the poor doesn't pay in money but I find my life now blessed and filled with the riches of knowing so many wonderful people with pure hearts of gold.

For the year gone by, we wish to thank businesses like Woh Hup, Angliss, Nanric, The Garden Slugs, Delhi Restaurant, CreativeEateries, Hup Lee Fried Bee Hoon, Ivisual, Salvation Army, Melwani, Gap International, Bike Haus, One Singapore an many others who have partnered us and given their generous support to help the poor.










Kyrie Kitchen has also been a success with no little effort to many big hearted donors and individuals who cook, drive and distribute the food to the poor.
Here we wish to thank Grace Seah, Jenny, Mable Yong,Margaret Goh, Celine, Radia, Valerie Yeo, Lucy Teo, Susan Lee, June Chan, Sumi Bharvani, Vandy Kapoor, Shenaz, Stella, Julie, Clifford Tan, Mark Foo & friends, James, Raja, Walter & Manya from UK, Dom, Nick Aw, Shaun Chan, Joseph Tan, Sally Tan, Tara Melwani, Alina Sim, Benson Leaow, William Ngang, Julianna Foo, Debbie See, Joanne Goh, Jacinta Kong, Sammy Lee, Felicia Cheng, Pey Woan, Anthony Wong, Sweet Woon & Kok Hiang, Susanna Kang, Corinne Cheok, Mok Sauk Soo, Iris Lim, Philip Wee, Emily Tan, Stephanie Salay, Dr Priscilla Lee and last but not least Rosalind Tan for heading the cooking team and Paul Raj for his limitless love for the poor in distributing food rations and extending support to individual families who need our help in Singapore.
There are many many others who have done so much for the poor and is not mentioned here. We wish them and their families abundant blessings for Christmas and the year ahead.
Here's Wishing Everyone a Truely Blessed Christmas and a Fantastic New Year!

God Bless,
Mill

Project Kyrie Partners Standard Chartered to Recycle Office Furniture for the Poor

We wish to thank Standard Chartered Bank for partnering us to support education for the poor in their donation of 3o training chairs and a sofa set.


Project Kyrie has allocated this donation for use at FMM House, where Philipino maids are trained in a variety of new skills to build up life giving opportunities when they return home after working in Singapore.


When furniture is recycled for the poor, the time and labour of man also lives on to serve and profit in the goodness of human kind.


God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet uponthis short time eternity depends.
-- Jeremy Taylor

Dear Frens,

Yes, we made it past the 1st month! We have fed 700 people twice in August 09! \o/\o/\o/

Kyrie Kitchen aims to serve delicious hot home-cook meals that money cannot buy.

This project is wonderful, not only because the poor had food but it has allowed me to witness the solidarity of love & humanity that so many people have in their hearts for the poor.

The amount of individual effort it has taken to feed these 1400 people in this August '09 is truely inspiring to me.

We have cooks waking up as early as 5.30am, volunteers coming in just to pack the food in between running their own personal errands.

So many individuals took the effort to take time off their busy schedules to personally buy rice, fruits, pepper, oil and lug it to my house. Many also supported with their business connections and friends to supply food items and ingredients.

Even market uncles and aunties whom my mother patronised for years jumped in the bandwagon to contribute their share to the poor where they can.

Others shared their business kitchens to donate their own share of food to bless the poor. Charity groups like blessing in a bag, willing hearts, kitchen agape, St Ignatius's St. Vincent de Paul & Salvation Army sent in their resources to give clothes to the migrant workers and offered help and equipment in setting up the kitchen.

Still others, rush from work in their office outfits and leather shoes with their cars, MPVs and vans that they kindly begged, borrowed or stole from their friends to transport the food and fruits.

Many, many friends who have not been able to join us operationally have made generous personal contributions to fund the effort. Last but the least, the prayer support we have received from friends all over the world which we cannot do without.

It's so heartening to know that so many people will give so selflessly to people whom they do not know.

Let's pray, that these acts of kindness will have the effect of having others pass it forward, making this world a better place to live in.

God Bless,
Mill
Charity can be recognized as an authentic expression of humanity and as an element of fundamental importance in human relations, including those of a public nature. Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. - Pope Benedict XVI

Kyrie Kitchen will be launched on 6 August 2009!

Dear frens,

God has blessed Kyrie Kitchen with abundance and mercy!
We wish to thank all friends of Project Kyrie for responding with boundless generosity!

Everything we needed for the launch, we have received to the finest detail.

Because of you, we are able to launch Kyrie Kitchen to serve the poor and the hungry today.

This is indeed a concerted effort of Project Kyrie’s community of friends. A solidarity of love, care and concern for the poor who live amongst us.

On behalf of the poor...

1) Thank you so much for providing the resources and equipment to set up the kitchen in just a few days.

2) Thank you for your monthly pledges of rice, chicken, vegetable, pepper, salt, sauces, peas, fruits and other food items. Every bag of rice, every plate of food served will go a long way in helping the poor.

3) Thank you for contributing to other ingredients for which we had to buy.

4) Thank you for volunteering to prepare, cook, pack, drive and distribute the food.

5) Thank you to restaurants and individuals for adding more meals to our effort so that we will not need to turn away the hungry.

6) Thank you to all, for taking time and effort to contact your network of friends to join in this mission.This is the vision of Project Kyrie coming alive.

7) Thank you also to friends for collaborating with us to distribute used clothes and brand new Croc s sandals.

And.... How does 200 hot meals become 1700 meals within a week?

My 73 year old mother stepped up and said ‘yes’ to feeding the poor and the hungry.

Her desire and courage was only for 200 packs of hot meals twice a month.

A tidal wave of kindness for the poor have swept through this project. Before my mother cooks her 1st hot meal today, we have received monthly pledges from restaurants and individuals to provide vegetable curries and nasi lemak.
A total of 500 extra meals. 200 + 500 = 700 hot meals

One of the locations, we will be serving tomorrow is the blue star dormitory, where 5000 low-waged and under privileged foreign immigrants are living.

Usually many will be turned away hungry when the hot meals run out. A kind and wonderful donor has stepped up to provide 1000 packets of Maggie
noodles meal, every time we distribute food for the poor for a year. These would be given to sustain the hungry who would otherwise be turned away without food. So that’s a total of 700 + 1000 = 1700 meals!

\o/\o/\o/ Praise God! He has multiplied our 5 loaves and 2 fishes! He is indeed a God of love, mercy and faithfulness!

Last but not least, we need your continuous support to allow this mission to grow and continue in the years to come.

Today's Schedule

9am to 3.30pm - Food Preparation

3.30pm to 5.30pm - Packing and Washing Up

5.30pm - Cars Arrive

6.00pm - Convoy leaves for the different

Locations

Locations for food distribution to the poor:

• Jobless foreign migrant workers @Desker Road
• Dustbin and trash collectors atWoodlands
• Blue Star Dormitory @ Jurong, 3 Kian Teck Rd