This Precious Life

I first got to know baby Munei about a year ago. My first thought when I saw her baby photograph – she’s a wee babe! How little hair she has, perhaps her curls are so tight that her hair looks less than they are in real life.

After staring at her photograph for some time, I thought more. I began to worry – she looks angry I thought, perhaps because life is stressful? Because her Mum is a single Mum? Thank God she is the only child. Or does she look angry because of the sun? Is it the sunlight that’s making her squint an eye? Hmm… 

In the introductory letter, I was told that I could send her anything that I like as long as…

1. It fits within an envelope
2. It isn’t so valuable that her neighbors would get jealous
3. It isn’t an illegal product

In the end, I decided to send her shiny pink hair clips because every girl deserves to look good and some day, her hair would grow long.

The story of Munei and I

Last year, I read numerous reports of a worldwide food shortage and that World Vision had to withdraw from some communities they were serving because they couldn’t afford to be there anymore.

One of my good friend in Singapore works in World Vision so I am very aware of how seriously World Vision staff take their work and how challenging it is. My friend, for example, is a young girl who had to yell at big burly men in third-world countries to make them tear down and rebuild the wells they had just built because these men had been too lazy to meet the specified standards. The wells that they had built could leak eventually and become utterly useless.

I had also read extensively on the work that was done by various NGOs upon the Sichuan earthquake and Myanmar cyclone and discovered that apart from providing aid, World Vision was able to set-up ”Child-Friendly Spaces” where shocked and traumatized children could come in and feel safe. Natural disasters can make people feel dazed, vulnerable and insecure so these protective spaces are very valuable, especially to children who had lost their Mums and Dads. At these Child-Friendly Spaces, children could have their physical and psychosocial needs met while enjoying fun drama and art.

So, when I discovered World Vision had to withdraw from some project sites, it didn’t take me long to decide. It costs very little to provide a lot.

I visited the World Vision website and found out I could either pick to sponsor a child from a country of my choice or allow World Vision to pick from the location that’s most urgent. If you pick a country closer to you, you could easier visit the project site as long as you notify World Vision in advance. I didn’t pick (which I sometimes regret) and got baby Munei Pascal Raswiswi who lives all the way at Thusalushaka, South Africa with her Mum. Precious, precious girl!

Baby Munei was born on 9th April 2008 which means she is about 1 year and 3 months now. Last month, her Mummy sent me an updated photograph and I was flabbergasted, I was so thrilled to receive this one.
Look! Look at baby Munei, look how independent she is. She is toddling at slightly more than 1 year old without holding onto any adult’s hands. Is she adventuresome or what?

Still not a lot of hair on her head but hey, have you seen my gal? She’s wearing shoes! And not just any shoes, but proper red canvas shoes with pretty pink skirt and white blouse. Nothing desperate or tattered about her clothes at all. Does she look like a happy, healthy girl or what? I feel sooooo proud!

And look, isn’t that a proper house in the background? I love her shiny gold ear studs, it looks like the same pair she was wearing one year ago.

Related posts:

1. The boyf’s little niece I love it when the boyf’s sister’s two year-old...
2. Pregnancy-Related Decisions To the excitement of everyone in the family, my...
3. Baby Hui Wen’s no longer a baby Remember this sweet li’l girl? I mean the one...
4. A Peek at the Largest Statue of Guan Yin in the World at Foshan, Guangdong Barely two hours away from Guangzhou, there is a...
5. Who is Yasmin Ahmad I believe there are many Malaysians and non-Malaysians who...