Do Something Wonderful

"Do something wonderful, people may imitate it." - Albert Schweitzer

After a long and tiring day out with the kids, my wife finally got the chance to settle down on the sofa. We switched on the television and began what has became second nature, that is, channel surfing. Watching dinosaurs come alive in a museum was not really our type of movie, so we moved on. By chance, we stumbled upon a charity show called TrueHearts organised by Community Chest of Singapore. It was a fundraiser event for needy Singaporeans.

It has been a while since we last watched any charity events on tv. The negative news of the old NKF scandal a few years ago and the more recent news linked to a venerable monk who headed the Ren Ci charity fund and hospital had dampened our confidence. As a result, we tend to be more cautious towards any fund raising activities. How do I know if the organisation or the people running it are trustworthy? How do I know that the money I donate are used properly for the people who deserve it? These are basic questions that come to mind when such negative news happen in a supposedly "clean" country like Singapore. There are always bad apples around. We just need to weed them out.

There will always be people around who believe that it is worth doing what is right, especially for others who deserve help. And I believe this is what drives organisations and people to keep on serving the community. And when you believe that someone is doing the right thing, there is a tendency for you to follow their steps. Watching the fund raising show on television must have triggered something in my wife's mind. She just popped out her phone and dialled the 1900 number shown on the screen. That was a small deed but it was started but someone who did something wonderful.

Have you done something wonderful?