[Sraits Times]Kit Chan's mercy mission
Kit Chan's mercy mission
Humanitarian Aid
Singer Kit Chan went on a tour with a non-profit Christian relief body
to Ethiopia recently to help people in the drought-stricken country
By KENNETH KWEK
HOMEGROWN singer-songwriter Kit Chan has just completed a humanitarian
tour of Ethiopia together with a Singaporean team from World Vision.
The world's largest privately-funded Christian non-profit relief
organisation has embarked on a US$22.3 million (S$37.9 million) programme
to alleviate the suffering brought about by the East African nation's
frequent droughts.
The 28-year-old National Youth Council (NYC) Youth Ambassador visited
two main relief sites, Damota and Tiya, during the tour which kicked
off on National Day. She toured food distribution centres, nurseries
and hospitals set up by World Vision. In all, she spent five days with
the inhabitants of these impoverished villages.
In a trunk call interview with Life! from Hongkong, where she is
currently shooting a TVB drama series titled Healing Hands, Chan
expressed an ardent desire to use her celebrity status to lead by
example and provide aid to those in need. She has already taken the
first step by sponsoring an Ethiopian boy, 13-year-old Garbo Shanko,
to promote World Vision's Child Sponsorship Programme. She has pledged
S$45 a month to the teenager over a period of one year.
""I hope to sponsor another child,'' she revealed. ""My intention is
to show Singaporeans that a small contribution back home goes a long
way in aiding the lives of the poor in Ethiopia.''
As part of World Vision's special relief programme, a large part of
the money in the child sponsorship plan goes to a minor chosen
specifically by the donor. But the organisation also allocates a fair
proportion of the donation for programmes that will benefit whole
communities, like setting up schools and hospitals.
Whilst in Ethiopia, Chan was also involved in the filming of an
NYC-sponsored documentary recording the week-long enterprise, which,
according to World Vision's communications manager Christopher Tan,
is believed to be the first by a Singapore team in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Chan has also written a song to commemorate the tour and raise public
awareness of the Ethiopians' plight.
She said that the problem in Ethiopia was not a lack of resources but
a lack of technology to harness those resources. For example the Nile
River would provide an abundant supply of water, if only it were tapped
effitapped.
""We mustn't think that our small contributions as individuals are
inconsequential in the grand scale of things. I'd like to appeal to
all Singaporeans to lend a helping hand as well,'' she said. 2 .5 3
ncsi,8.5,9
For more information on the Child Sponsorship Program, please call the
World Vision Hotline: 221-1040.
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