FINISHED WITH MY A-LEVELS!! 

*excuse the shameless celebratory gif*

I was actually done with my exams a week ago but I had to go straight into packing which surprisingly took me 5 days and gave me sleepless nights. When I did finish with my packing, it was time for me to start my travels. 

Currently, I am in a lovely hotel in Brunei for my 24hr layover waiting for my 45mins flight back to Kota Kinabalu aka home. The heat so far has failed to melt me, probably because I'm cocooned in the room with the air-conditioning on the *snowflake* setting. 

The next few days will be a bit very hectic as I'm heading off to Kuching on the 2nd (Wednesday), meaning I have only one day to pack for the 6-week programme. The days of frantic antics continues. 

Very very excited about this project!! Read the updated itinerary and I cannot wait to share this adventure on this blog. I'll be blogging for the team as well and the link will be up as soon as the posts goes up!

FUNDRAISER

With the sales from the dreamcatchers, I managed to raise about GBP1202! Although I didn't get to reach my goal, but it is still better than nothing! Of course, the rest of the fee my loving daddy so generously contributed. I don't think I can ever say thank you enough to him, and to all of you who have contributed.

So if I haven't already, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart: 

Ayie Ontot

Uncle Pat & Ayie Iba

Florence

Cam

Ming Wei

Christine

Ah Chin

Benjamin

Laura

Jordan & Alisson

Heids

Shaf

Cass

Yen San

Aunty Nil

Daria

Aunty Mimi

Uncle Melvin & Aunty Jessie Yong

Aunty Jessie Chin

Aunty Felice

Qi Wei

Galih

Asuk VKen & Asim

Miraen

Nicole Kembey

Ana

Mr Tan

Jordie

Faisal

Uncle Mark

Sue, Stephen and CATS Biology Dept

Teachers & Staff from CATS & CSVPA

The Aunties and Uncles at CLOW (SHC)

&

my parents

Your support means a lot and I am eternally grateful. 

Hope you guys keep up to date through my blog! 

Next time I'll be blogging from the middle of the 140millinon years old rainforest!!

Till then,

Liza x 

Sayang Kinabalu

If you have not heard about it, my home state, Sabah (where I'll be spending half of my time volunteering at as well) experienced a 5.0 magnitude earthquake on Friday, 5th of June. 

The epicentre, or the source of the quake if you like, was just 54km away from my home city and 10km deep. 

There is a lot speculation about why it happened. The most popular one it seemed is blaming the nude tourists who angered the mountain spirits by stripping down on the summit, despite being warned by the local guides. Now, someone who is very into rationalism and science would immediately cut me off by saying, "Well, you know it can't exactly be the reason, right?" 

I KNOW IT SOUNDS RIDICULOUS, but hear me out. 

Sabah is known to be the "Land Below the Wind" which basically means a place where natural disasters don't happen. So, to have such a strong earthquake happen to our peaceful land, people will inevitably cry out to the sky and ask "WHY?" (minus the drama). It just so happens that the nudists did their thing prior and it made sense to the people. If you ask anyone who grew up in Sabah about Mt. K, they will always have a legendary tale behind it. (read about them here)

What they did is in fact disrespectful and what could have angered the spirits is a sound reason. It's not backwards thinking, it goes to show how close Sabahans hold their values and beliefs, and it doesn't mean that what we believe is inferior to anyone else's, it is just different. 

However, if you can't allow a little bit of wonder into your life and/or crave for scientific explanation, our geologist explains it all here. 

That aside, my facebook feed is also filled with pictures and articles about the unsung heroes, the Malim Gunung, or as CNN puts it "Mountain Guides". They truly are brave, selfless men. I believe that it has been a legacy of them to always care for the climbers as I've heard stories about their selflessness ever since I was a little kid. Up until now, I've always looked up to them as superheroes because they basically climb up and down a 4095m mountain every day carrying gas tanks and sometimes even people and finally, the world knows about them. Sadly, we lost 2 guides on Friday. Great men they were and I'm sure stories about them have circulated, even $29,000 was raised (and still is!) for Robbi's family in honour of his courageous, selfless actions to save the climbers. 

Unfortunately, more lives were lost and most of them are school children on a field trip from Singapore. I try not to think about it but my heart aches for them and their family. It is never good news to lose a child, for they are the most innocent. They have so much in store and scaling one of SEA's highest peak was supposed to be a first of many accomplishments. 

Death by natural disasters is never the fault of anyone, perhaps, not even the nudists. It is so unpredictable that instead of wasting energy trying to point fingers, why don't we put our hands together and offer our prayers. (Note: The nudists will have to pay sogit (ritual fine) of 10 buffaloes though)

Initially, I wanted to write about my dissatisfaction with how things are handled by the federal government and mean comments about my lovely Sabah, but I figured by spreading the anger, I will push aside what truly needs to be acknowledged. I decided that I should use my words to immortalise bravery rather than incompetence. 

Less than a month to go till the volunteering project and this time, I bring with me the thoughts of the victims of the earthquake and also the Sabahan spirit. 

Mural painted by +crackoartgroup in KK who also organised a virgil for the victims. 

DONATION PAGE FOR ROBBI click here

26 Burleigh Street: My weekends at the BRC.

So this happened today. I've always known that my name would end up in the 'goodbye' section but still it caught me by surprise and I got a bit emotional *teary eyed emoji* 

For the past year or so, I have spent most of my weekends volunteering at the local British Red Cross retail shop. I didn't do it because I had to, I did it because I wanted to. Now I'm not fishing for compliments, I just want to talk about my experience in hopes of inspiring anyone reading this to spend a couple of hours per week giving back to the community and seriously, you'll get so much out of it than you expected. 

I started off learning to tag and steam clothes and I spent my first couple of months in the production room above the shop. It might sound like a tedious job but to me, I felt like a curator. A curator of clothes. Obviously, our stocks are primarily donations and most of them are second-hand but before you cringe at the thought of buying worn clothes, we do double/triple/quadruple check them before we put them up for sale and most of the donations we get are in really good condition, some of them are even new!

Other than clothes, people donate all kinds of stuff from books to accessories to paintbrushes and the basically you can find these little trinkets lying around the shop floor. We do have strict regulations about other things that we could sell, like have these bottles of lotions been used before or do these toys have the CE label attached etc. There's a lot of filtration that goes through before we put them up for sale. I'm telling you guys this because I know some people are very cynical about the things that charity shops sell, it's not like we get clothes and immediately hang them up, we make sure they're in saleable condition first. 

Enough about the regulating bit, time to more exciting stuff: the customers. By the end of the 3rd month, I was already allowed to be on the till (counter) and I loved it. I get to meet the customers and sooner or later, I started to notice t the regulars and the eccentric buyers. It's always nice to have a chat with them and they often have nice things to say. However, I have encountered a few rather unpleasant people: the thieves. On more than one occasion, I've seen empty hangers or price tags on the floor. I remember the one single time I caught someone red handed. Normally, I have my managers (Claire and Claudia) do the confrontation but production room needed help and I was on my own in the shop. I liked to believe that I handled it pretty well as they paid for the item and never came back. I just don't get people who steal, especially from charity shops. I just don't. 

Speaking of my managers, they're really the sweetest and most understanding people I have had the honour to call them 'Boss' (never really used that term though, we go by first names here). They are so dedicated to what they do and ensuring that the volunteers are comfortable with their tasks and always making sure we get breaks during our shifts. It made my first work experience in the UK a very memorable one as I learnt so much from them about retail and dealing with customers. 

Hoping that my future employers are as understanding as them or at least have free cookies and tea in the kitchen! 

I'm really going to miss working there, but I know I need the weekends now to revise (ugh) for the exams. Oh boy, I could go on and on and on about volunteering at the BRC but let's save it for another time.

About a month to go till the adventure! 

Till then,

Liza x 

Fears and failures

For the past few weeks, I have been submerging myself in a pool of neglect and denial. I have been neglecting my health and denying the fact that I have been. As a result, I have fallen terribly sick.
Not just physically, mentally as well.

I want to be as honest as possible with you, the one reading this, as I know how amazing the support for my project has been. I am still very grateful. That is why, I owe it to you guys to tell you this.

I am afraid. Terribly afraid that my fundraising will not go as planned and I won't be able to raise enough money by the time it comes to pay up the remaining amount(£1560). I have tried and tried to be optimistic about it but as the day ticks down, so did my optimism.
Initially, getting 400 people to donate £5 seemed like an easy job, now I am only realising how tough it is to get people on your side.

Saying that, those who have donated with so much kindness and generosity, I am truly blessed and grateful. I cannot say that enough. Seriously, thank you so much.

I did try to do two fundraising events, which I planned to make a grand announcement. The first one was the selling of dreamcatchers in my school. I was a bit on the fence about it but I eventually saw through it and managed to raise £240 which is beyond my expectations.

My poster for the sale 

This was taken the day before I got ill --but managed to raise £240!!

My last and final event was to run a 10K. I signed up for it, even trained for it but eventually couldn't attend. Why? Because I fell sick. 

Yes the run was supposed to be today (17/05/2015) and I was supposed to announce it a week earlier so people can pledge for me to run. I was so upset that I left it till the last minute to announce it and ending up not doing it.
In retrospect, it was good that I didn't announce it, as I didn't expect myself to be this sick (phlegm, sore throat, dry coughs etc). I'll save you from picturing my condition the past few days.. let's just say I was in no state to be seen by others. No worries though, I am getting better. Slowly.

So there's me in my low point in life.

Again, thank you so much for supporting me, you guys are the sole driving force right now.
Promise, next post will be more cheerful! Just need to have a positive mind and a clearer nose.

Till then,
Liza xx

YAY!

 

This actually came in a few weeks ago but I just had so much revision to catch up on during the holidays that I just had to withhold my announcement. 

But finally, I can say it with a big smile on my face. 

I'm quite certain that it might not seem like a huge deal to some of you, but to me, it means that my fundraising cause is validated by one of the prime fundraising websites there is. GoFundMe has helped hundreds if not thousands of people out of their economic downfall by allowing people from all over to donate to their specific cause. 

Of course, compared to the taxi-driving 70 year old man who, albeit stage 4 cancer, still works to save his house for his daughter and granddaughter, my fundraising is considered not that of a big deal. 

However, I know that it will be a big deal for those families that I will be helping with in Borneo. The conservation works that I'm doing will help to maintain the beauty of the Borneon Rainforest and the education work which is kind of important for me as I strongly believe that given the right type of education, people can be accommodating and tolerant and the world can be a greater place. If not the world, then at least a small country like Malaysia. 

With that being said, I'll end with a saying that summarises my view on education. 

"

The purpose of education is to fill an empty mind with an open one

"

-Malcolm Forbes

More exciting news to come! Thank you all again for supporting this :)

Till then,
Liza x

Why this?

So lately, I have been thinking.. Why exactly do I want to do this?

Why spend 6 weeks volunteering when you can enjoy the summer?

Well, last time I did that, not only did I gain 10kg but I came back feeling like I didn't accomplish anything.
This year, I knew I needed to do something productive. Initially, I wanted to travel and yes, I did make plans to travel with my best friends during the summer. Then, I didn't really have the money to actually make the plans happen.

I'll be honest, I was saving the option of volunteering as my final alternative, but I felt like I made the right choice.

The whole preparation and fundraising for this programme has taught me a lot already like how to ask people to donate without sounding too desperate but convincing enough to get them to donate. I also got to experience the full support I got from my family and friends and that is what keeps me driving.

Back home, I used to dedicate my time outside school helping out the Children's Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) Ministry in my church on the weekends and also during the retreats. I basically grew up in CLOW, the things that I've learned not only when I was 9 but also when I was 17 are invaluable.

Here are some pictures! (I have no idea how long these pictures were but as you can see from the baggy clothes, it was a looong time ago)

Me (Left) and my group members during our presentation

 A few years later, I became part of the helpers team! 

 Look! We're leading the morning "workout" session (That's me on the far right)

And this is me, leading a group discussion with the kids about certain verses from the Bible. 

As I was going into my teen years, I also got involved with the church's youth ministry, Lifeteen. Their youth camps were the shaped my teenage years. I remember very well in 2010 when we, in groups, got to go to certain villages in the rural areas and spend a weekend with them. In my group, we got to help out with planting a few trees and also learn their ways of living and was truly humbled after this experience. I realised that there are many things that I took granted for which these people appreciate so much even when they have so little. 

After coming over to the UK, I realised how much I miss being part of these groups and how fulfilling the activities made me feel. I chose this Borneo 6-week programme because not only did it involve helping people out, but I get to do this in my hometown.

I know that there are people suffering too in other countries, some even worse than others. But let's not look too far first, 30 mins drive out from my hometown and you'll come across villages that lack proper roads and schools. Further into the isolated areas, you'll find places where there aren't even proper supply of electricity. You'll say that they are living the simple life but how about the education of the younger generation?

When my mum started being part of the building of a girls' dormitory in a small town area back in Sabah, I remember being so shocked to hear that some of the school kids need to walk about 2 hours to go to school. 2 HOURS! Although this might discourage some to attend classes, these kids are willing to do this day after day as they realise how important education is, even if it means waking up at 4am every school day.

I'll be working with the Borneo Child Aid in Tawau where they built classrooms for the kids in the plantations as the nearest school was too far away from their homes. Knowing that I will be spending a few weeks there helping the kids with their after school activites makes me feel like I will and can change lives, though not many but at least I'm making a difference in some of their lives.

So really looking forward to all the teaching projects!

More of my thoughts to come soon :)

Till then,
Liza x

The Leap

HELLO! Sorry for the temporary halt in fundraising as I had a lot of catching up to do with my studies as mock week was drawing near. Fortunately, that is all over now and I can focus back to my fundraising!

Okay, sadly, I wasn't able to reach my £500 goal by the 15th of March but thankfully the organiser of the whole project is understanding enough to give me some time to pay the installments.
I don't think I have mentioned who the organiser is so basically, I'm going to give you guys the low-down about them.

They're apparently the "people to go to" for Gap Year/Volunteering work. I have been exchanging emails and even having skype sessions with their staff and they are super helpful and friendly! They are so experienced in what they do that they make you feel safe in their guidance.
I did raise my concern (actually fear) of being in the jungle for 5 days and they somehow managed to get me thrilled to be one with nature in the end!

No, I do not get any commission or discount by doing this post. I'm just simply sharing my experience with them and if there is anyone out there wanting to volunteer overseas but is scared to join one, try checking TheLeap out. You might not find it to your liking but hey, at least you know someone is going for it and wait till July and you'll get my feedback.

Another thing that is good about them is that they are transparent with their projects. This is particualrly very convenient and helpful when asking big businesses or your school to help (speaking of experience here). They were so willing to give me the breakdown of the costs that I am happy to let you all see so to those who have donated or who will *fingers crossed*, you will know where your money is actually going into.

I went to the length of making a pie chart for you all, makes it easier for those who are lazy to read. Power to the Visual Aids!!

(click to enlarge)

So yeah, most of the money goes to accommodation, which not only includes the places that we stay but also the bus rides, boat rides, car rides to and from the project areas, and FOOD. After some complex calculations, that's an average of about £28 (RM150) per day.

There you go! These are all the updates that I can share with you now and thank you all so much again for supporting me in your own special ways :)

Special shoutout to those who donated recently;

Jordan & Alisson, Heidi, Shaf, Aunty Judy, Cass, Yen San, Aunty Nil and Aunty Emmy, you guys make my heart all warm inside. 

You guys make me so happy. 

Till the next time,

Liza x

MORE DETAILS!!

Great news! Thanks to all who donated (Aunt Beatrice, Uncle Pat, Florence, Cammie, Bruce, Christine, Joe, Benjamin and Laura), I have raised enough to pay off the deposit!! It's not much but at least that's one payment out of the way *celebration dance*

My next goal is to raise another £500 by the 15th of March to pay off the first installment. So I'm doing a lot of convincing and talking!

Another exciting news to share, I just got the detailed itinerary for the whole programme.
Here is the summary:

Days 1-11: 

 Kuching

• Renovation works
• Teaching English
• Surveying for future ecotourism activities 

Days 12-13:

 Gunung Mulu National Park

• Learning about BATS!

Days 14-22:

 Plantation Village School, Tawau 

(will be working with Borneo Child Aid)

• Creating infrastructure in a school
• Help with cooking & after school activities

Days 23-24:

 Sepilok Orang Utan Centre

• Reuniting with my distant relatives 

Days 25-31:

 Lupa Masa Camp, ie the Rainforest

• Learning to survive on basic necessities

Days 32-40:

 Mantanani Island 

(will be working with Blue Life Eco Services)

• Setting up sustainable fishing methods
• Cleaning up the beach
• Building greenhouses

The only thing that scares me would be the 5 day trekking as I wiill be sleeping in hammocks in the jungle! Daunting but thrilling at the same time. 

All in all, the whole plan sounds so exciting and I cannot wait to share this journey with you!

p.s. to all my family and family friends:
All my angpao is still going to this fundraiser! 

Why donate?

 I guess everyone is skeptical when it comes to donating money to a lesser-known cause. I know people want to see their money going into good use and some aren't willing to part with their cents if it's not going to go to a good and legitimate cause.
I hope this post will help justify my case and I hope you will consider pitching in by the time you finish this. I've come up with a few questions that I expect people to ask and thus, created my own Q&A.

Q: Why raise funds for this project?
A: Well, £2000+ is a lot to ask my parents to pay, considering that they are already paying for my UK tuition fees, not forgetting my 3 other siblings and also managing their respective careers. I would like to lessen their burden for awhile, it's all what a teenage girl wants and CAN to do for her hardworking parents.

Q: Why should I donate my money to you??
A: This is a tough question to answer, cause I know people subconsciously ask this in their heads but you are not making a mistake by donating for my project. I am true to my words and will not use this money for anything outside the uses of this programme. As explained earlier, I want to lessen the burden of my parents and also I do believe this whole journey will be more worthwhile if I know that I have the support of not only my family, but also the wider community of the world. Knowing that people have pledge into my cause will definitely make this experience precious and so much more worth it. I have said this before but I will repeat it, I WILL put in my 110% in this project. You have my word.

Q: Why go online?
A: Honestly, I think it is one of the best ways to connect to people, especially having friends and family at different corners of the earth. Plus, the interface is user-friendly and it's so easy to use.

Q: Will you be using other methods of raising money?
A: Yes, I do have plans to have sales and also asking donations from my community here in the UK but that is still in the process of making it happen. So, only online donations for the moment! :)
 
Q: When is your deadline for the fundraiser?
A: Well, depending on how it goes, but ultimately, I would like to reach my goal by the end of April.

Q: What are your monthly targets? 
A: I try to keep a realistic target by aiming at about £500 in the first month and we'll see how it pans out from then. If I can get about 400 people to donate about £5 each, then it would definitely reach my target. However, I am grateful for any amount!

Q: Anything that we can look forward to when you reach a target?
A: Yes, of course! I'm still thinking of things that I could do that would encourage people to donate, probably dying my hair pink or run a half-marathon or maybe go on a phone-less strike for a month  week! Also, I am going to give out rewards for certain amount donated and I do hope that that will encourage people to donate!

So, that's it guys, hope some of the questions are answered but if any, do feel free to email me or drop me a comment below!

Stay tuned for updates and thank you!

Liza x

The Inspiration

For a few years now, I have always wanted to join a volunteering project. After seeing my cousin, Dina, volunteer with the Malaysian Medical Association in Kuching, and knowing that she had a invaluable experience and also tons of fun, I wanted to be part of that as well.

Sadly, due to schoolwork and just unfortunate timing, I was unable to proceed with this plan.

Until last Christmas break when I was discussing my 2015 post Sixth-form, pre-university summer plans with my dad. He made it clear that I were to do something meaningful this summer like get a job or do something productive as he was quite annoyed and frustrated at me last summer where I spent 3 months at home, just lounging about. It wasn't only him that got annoyed, I was too.
The consequences of my actions last summer, ended up with me gaining 10kg and having nothing much to talk about when I went back to college the following Autumn.

So this year, I want to make a change. The initial plan was to stay here in the UK and find work. However, with my visa expiring and the cost of living is just too high, I decided to do some overseas volunteering. After weeks of researching and contemplating, I finally decided that it was most meaningful that I do something back home.

The volunteering options in Sabah were open wide. Ranging from conservation to education, I was spoilt for choice. In the end, I opted with the programme that allowed me to experience my home state in the best way possible.

After heavy discussion through Whatsapp with the parents, I finally got the green light.

However, I wouldn't want to burden my parents by asking them to fund my whole "excursion", instead, I started with my own fundraising page.
It's not much, but I hope people would support it as fully as my parents are.

This volunteering experience will not only cover the 6 weeks I'm about to spend in my "backyard" but also the process that led up to it and also the aftermath. Looking forward to the journey ahead and I do hope you'll join me.

Till then,
Liza x