October Charity Climb

[Hock Siew]

Dear Nicholas,

1... THE OCTOBER CHARITY CLIMB - A TRIP WITH A DIFFERENCE
The October climb (13-17 October 2011) is for OKUs (Orang Kurang Upaya
or People with Disabilities) and it will be great for you to come for
this climb with your people. If you have a heart for Charity, this
will be a great time to help and to have real fun and enjoyment. We
will reach the summit easier but it will be under circumstances that
will be celebratory with a great sense of camaraderie. The climb will
be very slow and there will be time to smell the flowers and really
make friends. It will be a great motley bunch of people who have a
heart to help whom you will meet on this trip. There will be 3 blind
climbers and they will be led by Godfrey Ho, Malaysia's no 1 blind
singer. I can assure you when he starts singing that we will all sing
along (he is that good) and he loves to sing. There will also be 15
other OKUs (mainly with Down Syndromme, Cerebral Palsy and other
similar disabilities). If you are prepared to be very slow (because
our mission is to walk with them) and become the encouragement that we
should be, then this trip is for you. I can assure you that we will
all come away absolutely encouraged by what we will see from them. We
think we are there to bless the OKUs. From my past experience, it is
far more likely that we will come away with the greater blessing.

2...A STORY OF HOPE AND COMPASSION
When I did the selection of OKU candidates, there was this girl aged
20+ who has Down Syndromme but who looked like a small girl, was a bit
plump and who stood around 4 feet 2 inches tall. I asked her to do a
series of tests and then concluded that it may be difficult for her to
succeed in the climb because of her awkward gait. I then gently told
her that she may not qualify for the climb. Responding to my
rejection, she immediately ran to one side and started sobbing with
great anguish. It really tore my heart to see someone who is already
badly disadvantaged but who so much wanted that 'one moment in time'
when she could stand tall in making the climb. I had to turn away from
the others because I cried along with her. I knew that she will never
have the chance to amount to very much in her existence and that this
may be the only opportunity for her to be someone who did the
extraordinary in her life. I changed my mind there and then and asked
her if she will really train for the climb. When she nodded in the
affirmative, I told her we will still give her a chance. i am praying
that she will come up to the mark over the next few months.

3...WE CAN MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE!
It was then that I purposed and reaffirmed my commitment to spend a
large of my remaining years to reach out to these unfortunate ones who
are disadvantaged and to touch their hearts by giving them this belief
that they too can be a people who can fulfill their own aspirations in
life. I am confident that if you and I were to reach back into the
goodness of our own hearts and then sincerely and genuinely reach out
to their 'hurting' hearts, we will come away understanding that in
more ways than one, we are all the same - that you and I and the OKUs
hurt just the same when there is disappointment and we enthuse just
the same when there is endeavor and we rejoice just the same when
there is success! Carried out correctly, we can give the OKUs more
than hope on this trip. We can give them a sense of dignity and a
sense of achievement so that they will know that they too can fulfill
their dreams and their aspirations. This is the essence of what we are
trying to achieve and we must not fail in this great call.

4...THE NEED FOR EARLY COMMITMENT
We have actually very few places remaining and the Committee has
decided that it will be on a Payment-received basis for the places.
Some may also need to rough it out by staying at Gunting Lagadan (it
is not so bad as the water heaters work better there). The charge for
this climb of 5 days 4 nights is RM1,700 but each climber is required
to raise RM500 through a climbathon card or through the sales of the
Entertainment reward book to raise that stated amount. If you are
interested, I will give you further details of the scheme. We
currently have 104 places out of which 18 have been reserved for the
18 OKU climbers and 12 for the OKU Trainers, TV3 crew and the media.
That leaves us only 74 places out of which we have already about 50
commitments. If you think this is the climb for you and your friends,
kindly let me know quickly. The other Penang group has told told me
they too are coming for this climb. I will also be contacting to make
the definite commitments so that we will finalize the list.

5...A PRIVILEGE TO HAEV WALKED WITH YOU.....
It is a clear encouragement to me that so many of you who have
experienced such adverse conditions in our climb this week are
prepared to come back again. It is a clear reflection of the
indomitable spirit of man and it reinforces my belief that man will
always be able to overcome the most severe difficulties in life when
unity and purpose is woven into great effort.

6...THE OPTION
The option to the above would be the February climb which should also
be a great one (as it is over 3 days 2 nights where you don't have to
worry about the rain as much). Kindly let me know which decision you
and your group will take. Thank you for your friendship that we
nurtured in Mt Kinabalu.

Sincerely,

Ong Hock Siew

"Winners are people who are willing to do what they hate to create
what they love!"