Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Save the One You Love!

In life, there are momentous times when you have epiphanies, when you realise it's time to give back to society....and then the moment passes and you continue in your wild goose chase (?) for money, status and power.

Remember this name - MVFRA.

Visit this website - www.mvfra.org - the Fire and Rescue Volunteers, Malaysia.

Help someone!

Captain K. Balasupramaniam or Captain Bala for short is a young Malaysian who's been tireless in his efforts to save and educate people from around the world. He's been in countless rescue missions within Malaysia and he's been sent as an angel of mercy to other countries like China and Indonesia where massive natural disasters create an even greater need for a show of human kindness.

When you start a search for the website above, you will find that it is not something new and others have written about it. I'm writing about it tonight because I just attended a Road Survival Talk (2 hours and all too brief!) conducted by Capt. Bala. He's a funny man, very young - I was surprised to see someone so young....but the message that he is trying to deliver is neither comical nor new.

He teaches numerous courses on how to survive on the road, in the city (especially for women), in fires and even has specialised courses for kids! No one has walked away from his seminars bored or ambivalent. I am sure many of those who attended tonight are as of now, making hectic plans to visit their nearby hardware store to get the much acclaimed Life Hammer that could indeed, save your life if your car happens to turn turtle or turn renegade and you have to get outta there fast .......

When he shares his stories, his sentiments and his experiences (all 18 years worth), I couldn't help but shed a few shy tears - yes, I love my husband, yes, I love my family - so why don't I take better care of them AND of myself?

A couple of hours and a few ringgit could award you many more years with your family! The MVFRA is a non-profit privately-sponsored initiative that tries to educate, promote and instil values of safety and I must say, humanity, in all Malaysians.

Our talk tonight was sponsored by the company and it was, as in the famous words of Visa, priceless!

So please - if you can, if you want to, make a contribution to help them achieve one of their aims this year - to gift 18 full-fledged ambulances that will provide FREE service for accident victims. And if you want to provide corporate sponsorship, all the better cos every RM counts!

After his talk, driving home tonight I had a better understanding and empathy, not to mention tolerance, for the motorcycle riders out there. I don't swerve around them or honk at them, not because I am afraid they are Mat Rempit, but just because it doesn't cost me anything to not take a life, not jeopardise a family cos everyone has someone who cares for them. 15 minutes, or even 30 minutes extra is going to buy me a whole lot more time with my family and everyone else's theirs - if only we showed a little kindness along this journey called life!

Captain Bala's underlying message was one of love and hope as he teaches us about survival and emergency rescue tips as well as knowing how to stay calm and know what to do so you can help yourself and someone else! For example, if you/someone need/s a neck brace in the event of a car accident, you need to know that it needs to be put on tight with the head and neck held rigid - if only for the simple reason that no further injury to the spine is caused and to stop the neck from lolling around and the tongue to jam up the airway. Also, knowing about the ring cutter to stop your rings from stripping the flesh from your fingers, besides learning how to use oxygen tanks so that CPR is not worthless - heck, learn how to perform CPR!

There were so many hints and tips I can't list them all here - but needless to say, every little bit of correct information we learn could be useful in helping us save a life one day.

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