Boys' Brigade Sharity Gift Box 2007

We woke up early and our day started after we had breakfast with Uncle Ben at Tiong Bahru Market.

Uncle Chris and many others had gathered at a void deck near the BB headquarters and we arrived soon after to have our attendance taken. Cheryl was thrilled to see Charlotte because she was asking us if Charlotte would be there. Of course the girls were pleased to see each other.

Next, we adjourned to one of the many rooms in the HQ for a quick briefing. The turn-out was pretty good and everyone was excited about the drive out later. There were many first-timers like us and there were many seasoned ones like Uncle Chris, who has been doing this for 3 years.

While the briefing was going on, Cheryl got bored so I brought her out to the holding area where the donated food stuff had been kept. She was amazed at the amount of food items donated and she kept asking who they were meant for.

These are just some of the food. They were very systematically categorised and labelled.

Then in another area, the food stuff had been packed and all ready to be loaded into the cars.

Immediately after the briefing, things moved really fast and our cars were loaded in a matter of seconds. The Boys' were very enthusiastic, helpful and many of them knew exactly what was to be done.

We had to make delivery to 12 households at the estate in Taman Jurong. Uncle Ben and Daddy paired up and decided to make deliveries together.

These are some of the other volunteers making deliveries today. There were about 25 cars making delivery but none of us caused any traffic jams because we were very organised. The Boys' who were road marshalls that day were clear and gave good instructions to the drivers.

It was 11.30 am when we made our first delivery. Daddy and Uncle Ben were pretty smart to decide to go up to the designated flats to check if the recipients of these food hampers were at home before unloading the packages. Each recipient was entitled to 2 packages and they were basically daily necessities.

Cheryl was making herself useful and trying to keep the trolley in place for Daddy to load it. She tried pushing it after and found it a little difficult to maneuver it so Daddy took over. Prior to this, she also took a break as she was hungry and Uncle Ben offered her a pancake he had brought along. (Thank you, Uncle Ben)

Daddy and Uncle Ben continued with their deliveries and we completed 10 out of the 12 deliveries. By 12.30pm, we were done!

It was a great experience to do this. I would stay with Cheryl at the door while Daddy and Uncle Ben went down to bring up the packages and some of these recipients were very grateful for the food items they received. One man even told us that he had ran out of food and the packages arrived timely.

Many of them thanked us profusely and even offered us a drink or two. They were generous even though they could very well save the drinks for themselves. I took the time to explain to Cheryl what we were doing and she nodded as if she understood what was going on.

The folks we visited live simply and it is a humbling experience and makes us thankful of what we have and what we do not have to go through. Most of their homes had only the bare necessities; like a table and 2 chairs. There weren't even a sofa or any of those frills in their living room.

Daddy and Uncle Ben were very serious when they were doing the deliveries and they won't even stop for a drink. But they were very efficient and by 12.30pm, all except the 2 households had received their food packages for the holiday season.

Then, we drove to the meeting place for the volunteer drivers and waited for the rest.

Any idea where this place it? This is one of my favourites as I love the surroundings.

Let me give you a hint, it's Cheryl's favourite too! She had ice cream, fries and ketchap there!

Of course, a dose of play time didn't hurt. These were some of the friends she got to know in the minutes that she was at the play area.

Not long after we headed for our rides and drove back home. It was then the skies started pouring. We were extremely appreciative that the weather was kind and it was not too hot in the morning. It had been raining cats and dogs for 2 days prior and we were worried that our delivery would be affected. But thankfully, all turned out well.

If you are keen to be part of the BB Sharity Gift Box, you can still do it as there will be another session this weekend. Give it a shot, it is really an eye-opening experience as Daddy put it. Bring the kids, this is one of the best lessons Life has to offer.