A Recent trip to a Refugee Camp
June 2006

 - Charissa Ng and Livia Chng, CJC

A Chinese proverb goes as such: A frog in the well sees only a portion of the sky. This means that one has a very sheltered life and that is how limited our perception was before we made this trip to India.

The true and raw meaning of poverty never actually hit us, until the very day we physically step foot into the refugee camps and experienced first hand for ourselves how such suffering and toil could, not only affect the mental and physical wellbeing of a family, their livelihood but also one's faith in God.

Before embarking on our trip, we only knew poverty portrayed through various forms of the media. Poverty to us was merely a pictorial presentation of African pot-bellied children starved to the bones, stripped of the vibrancy which any child should rightly possess. For that moment, the image served its purpose of invoking a sense of pity in us at their fate. Unfortunately for the most of us, being caught in a vicious cycle of unending activities forced that moment to be shortlived. Occasionally our guilty conscience pricks us to keep them in our prayers.  However, if we reflect deeply upon it, how many of us are actually emotionally detached from our words and are simply going through the motion of praying?
 

Surely we are aware of how blessed we are in the comfort bubble of Singapore. The experiences to follow were beyond us. We not only saw but we were finally able to grasp the meaning of poverty. That however did not mean we understood their hardship but we were able to gain insightful experience.

IN our materialistic mindset, we often state that a HDB three room flat is far too small for our liking. Upon entering the campsite, we were first taken aback that our fellow human beings could live in such deplorable conditions. What was to come shocked us even more. We literally had to rub shoulders with each other just to move through the 10 by 10 feet shelters allocated to an entire family of five.

It was at this point in time when we were compelled by gratitude and gave truly heartfelt thanks to God for all that He has showered so ever generously upon us, but more importantly for that chance and opportunity to be His instruments in alleviating their sufferings even in our short visit. Their outpouring of delight to our simple gestures, see through their smiles, their eagerness to shake our hands and even through their well-prepared songs and dances, was overwhelming and left us feeling the power in the echo of their kind words.
 

God is beyond wonderful. This trip asserts that fact beyond any doubt. Though poor and no land to really call their own, these refugees were far more contented as compared to many of us here in Singapore. We believe that it must certainly be their strong faith in God, a God who is loving and merciful even in their hardships and trials, that kept these refugees strong and determined that God would see them through this trying and difficult period. Their faith in God is unwavering. You could feel their conviction in their belief in God. In seeing this, our faith in God has indeed been enriched and strengthened.

Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. This is certainly apt as despite their tribulations and persecutions, never once did they doubt or blame God. Instead they trusted that everything happens for a purpose and will continue to live with the hope of returning to their homeland.

We stand here today to take this opportunity to thank JRS Singapore, for coming together to allow us experience a heart-rending yet enriching chapter of our lives that we will forever keep close to our hearts. We hope that many more youths will step forward to join us in our efforts in helping them pull through their tribulations. For those of you who have commitments, we strongly urge you to join hands in daily prayers, sincerely asking our Lord to watch over our brothers and sisters in Christ, keeping them strong and unwavering in their faith and trust in God.

Thank you.