dropped by after work today to see this "Women For Peace" Charity Carnival & Concert thingey at Fort Canning Park organised by UNIFEM Singapore in conjunction with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. They had a couple of stores selling exotic jewellery and decorative items, Nepali food and snacks, beer and other random stuff, as well as a stall representing AWARE and another by UNIFEM Singapore themselves.

Spoke to this volunteer at the booth and thought UNIFEM does really good work: helping women to learn to provide for themselves and their families, educating them on their rights, eliminating violence against women etc. They are currently involved in projects in Bintan to help women and families affected by the recent economic crisis. Though she sounded a tad bit feminist ("women are likely to use the money donated to them on their families while men tend to squander it away"), she was truly passionate about the cause she was supporting, in both words and action.

i'm still trying to figure out where to place my time and efforts in terms of contributions to charity... i know i love animals and am against cruelty to all of God's creations.. especially to cats (i love cats!!)... i also want to help children in neighbouring developing countries to have more opportunities in life.. at the same time, i have to acknowledge that there may perhaps already be areas on the home-front that i can readily contribute in... umm.... it used to be easier when i was in the Interact Club in school and we had scheduled days and times to visit special schools and service centres to help out.. now, it takes a lot more commitment and responsibility to make sure i can keep it up once i start.. very complicated..

will surely be something to work on for the new year..