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Showing posts with the label homeless

Homeless heroes: Wake up and focus on the right people, right issues

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As published in Malay Mail today   Reports by Purwaiz Alam alam@mmail.com.my IT is only when we are in someone’s shoes will we know what they are going through.  With that in mind, I hatched the idea of going homeless for 36 hours.     I had become weary of all the negativity on Facebook. Nothing seemed right. Everyone would come out with guns blazing about every issue. It was not a nice scene. There were toxic remarks and  people hammering each other over every little matter.    I had to do something meaningful before I got dragged into the quicksand. So the idea of going homeless went on my bucket list and I wanted to do it as soon as possible.    I approached the seniors in charity group We Love We Care We Share and they were receptive to the idea.  It would be a two-pronged approach to raise funds for the less fortunate and to create awareness on the plight of the homeless. It was then dec...

Speaking to the homeless: How Danial and his ghosts changed my days

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Reporter's Diary by Ushar Daniele, as published in Malay Mail today. I HAD the opportunity to meet a gentleman by the name of Danial Sum Ping Kan.    My conversation in Bahasa Malaysia with the Kedah-born 55-year-old was brief, but it was enough time to get to know the man who has been living on the streets for the past 15 years.   Lugging around two bags and a piece of cardboard, he sat on a bench opposite the Kechara Soup Kitchen in Bukit Bintang and enjoyed a meal that was distributed by volunteers.    My conversation with Danial was eye-opening.   I sat myself on the grass while he sat above me, looking at me with confusion.   The way he looked and dressed in a windbreaker, t-shirt and slacks, I would not have guessed that he was homeless if I had seen him on the streets.   I started asking him questions about his background. He was initially guarded with his answers, but was eventually comfortable enou...