My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

scholarshipentry2012 — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:04:46 GMT

I'm a passionate traveler. The best way to learn about the world and it's colorful cultures is trough visual experiences. Therefore I love photographing and drawing which are both, not only great passions to me but also something that enjoy doing. Since I am not a professional this scholarship would give me a great chance to learn and get feedback from the top professionals of the field. I love adventures, and this one clearly calling my name!

My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life

scholarshipentry2012 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:34:31 GMT

The stairs on a hallway were full of worn shoes. Inside the first storey a group of people have gathered together. They are all sitting on the floor, against the wall. Their hands are on their laps, palms up. Soon the whole room is filled with Islamic prayer. When the praying ends, they wash their faces with their hands. I wish I could understand at least a little bit.

This is my second time at the Drug users’ Drop-in centre in Kuala Lumpur’s Chow Kit district, one of the oldest areas in the city. There's on average 50 000 drug users in Kuala Lumpur and only one shelter offers them food while working for preventing HIV and other viruses by handing out clean needles. Most of the visitors to the drop-in center are homeless.

The first time I visited the centre, the programme manager was retiring and giving his last speech to the community. This time the group had gathered together to honour the memory of him.

I couldn't really follow what the prayers were about them being in Arabic. Instead of taking part in the praying, I tried to remember the things he said on his retirement speech. I met him only once, but his words affected me strongly. He had gotten a second chance in life, after going through an era of being homeless and suffering from drug addiction. He seemed to be happy to his life now as it was. He had a job, loving family and home. It takes a lot of courage to fall so heavily and rise again.

From him and the whole centre, I learned to see how much help and support one can get from the community. His speech and the commemoration helped me to put my own worries aside and gave me perspective.

In the end I couldn’t help but wonder, why do we always need more? Why do we have the urge for achieving so much? Why do we ask so much from ourselves? And finally, while trying to over achieve, we get lost in somewhere where humanity can be forgotten.

Stories of People

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life