Building homes at 14

A partnership with Project Zero To Hero

In this era, lending a helping hand to others is seen as a rare gesture. There are plenty of reasons why most of us do not volunteer. Some of the reasons include,

• Not getting anything in return
• Don’t benefit easily  
• Lack of free time
• Feel that our efforts are not being appreciated
• Shy/awkward/out of place because they’re the only one who wants to do it and it feels as if they’re the only ones trying to make a difference
• Find it uncool

And many more..

However, Iffah Yasmin Bte Abdullah, 19, a year two student from Diploma in Mass Communication began volunteering journey as young as 10 years old. Her parents who instilled such values in her has made want to continue to do good. It started out with helping out at the orphanage and old folks home, followed by joining 4PM, a Malay Youth Literary Association, in an event called Ramadan on Wheels which she takes part annually. And she finally made a move to join UNICEF when she was 14. According to her, UNICEF focuses on the less fortunate kids, ranging from orphans to those have been abused by their family.

Photo Credit: Iffah Yasmin

Iffah shares her experience when she was with UNICEF, " I participated in 2 of UNICEF’s project to help out the children in Tanzania. We helped them by building a school and put together a little show for them just for entertainment. We also went to Cambodia to build a school, a community hall and teach them basic English. UNICEF has a vision to support child rights and I believe that their efforts to raise this awareness around the world is recommendable."

Her volunteering spirit has inspired her friends to join her in this volunteering journey and "it was a very satisfying feeling to know that just by doing so little, i can inspire others around me to join me to do good".

Photo Credit: Iffah Yasmin

Iffah is one of those inspiring people with a kind heart. We hope with this story, you would be inspired to do good. Maybe not in helping kids but maybe animals or your community.

Just by building a roof above their head, you can make someone happy. There are many organizations that you can sign up with. You can either sign up with Sg Cares, Red Cross, Volunteer Singapore or 4PM. For animal lovers, sign up at SPCA.

Go make someone smile this weekend!

Fashion & Beauty Products Using Animal Testing

Photo Credit: Becky Birds Blog

In the recent years, the number of beauty cosmetic companies using animal testing has been rising. This has become a norm for well-known brands, in order to be in the competition with their rivals and competing in the market. Not only are the cosmetic products used on animals, but some are even made from them. This includes products such as lipsticks and lip stains which are mostly made using fish scales - know why it gives you those lip shimmers now, ladies?

Is It Justified To Do Animal Testing If It Is To Produce Medicine?

Animal testing has been used for medicine dating back to the 12th century and has only been become an issue that is debatable in recent years. So, the big question: Is it justified to do animal testing if it is to produce medicine? My answer is YES.

Sinful Scoop

Shark finned. A gargantuan amount of sharks that were killed for their fins and thrown back to sea. Photo Credit: Tree hugger

 A must-have dish in Chinese weddings and an all-time favorite dish among Singaporeans, it is the shark fin soup. Not only in Singapore but in china and Hong Kong, shark-fin soup is regarded as a delicacy and status symbol.

It is very sad that while enjoying every spoon of this soup, sharks are finned and thrown back in the sea where they die miserably and even worst extinct from their own kind. It is such a pity to let them suffer alive. Fishermen catch them to get their fins and leave those sharks to die in pain in the ocean. It is not fair to let them suffer as they are animals and they do feel pain just like us, human beings.

The Under (LIE)s of fashion

Usage of animal testing over the years have caused too many innocent animals to be killed

Fashion- an essential part of everyone’s life: from clothes, accessories to shoes, you name it, everyone’s interested in them. But have you thought about the origin of the piece of cloth you’re donned in? Not all fashion pieces are made from a good piece. Every year, millions of animals are killed for the clothing industry- all in the name of fashion.

Whether it came from an animal on a fur farm or one who was from the wild, every fur coat caused an animal a tremendous suffering, and even took away a life. It does not matter to the fur farms of the animals' wellbeing.

Think that the animals are at least well taken care of? Think again.

Animals such as minks and foxes are commonly farmed as fur-bearing animals. Not only do the animals spend their lives confined to a filthy cage, waiting for their turn to be turn to a piece of clothing, they are killed with the cheapest method available. Some include suffocation, electrocution- anything to give them their last breath.

Minks trapped in unkempt cages in fur farms in china. Photo Credit: PETA

How would you like it if you were skinned for a piece of clothing?
Just this year, The Guardian stated that "Home Office figures proved that nearly 3.7 million experiments were performed on animals." A rise of 14% on the previous year- This is the sharpest escalation in animal use in medical research since 1986.

More than half of the fur in US came from China- where dogs and cats are often skinned alive. For those who are unaware, Chinese furs are often mislabeled. In this case, there is no way of knowing of what skin you are wearing. Scary, isn’t it?

So what can you do? Have the knowledge that fur coats are the result of animal suffering. Know that this cruelty will continue until the public refuses to buy or wear fur.

Don’t. Wear. Fur. 

Don’t support stores that sell fur and let the owners know why you refuse to buy them. Do what you can- even if it means writing letters to several organizations.

Make a stand.

In the words of Ashley Bell, “I make the right choice, the humane choice, and only use cosmetics that are not tested on animals."

For how long will animals be treated this way? Make the right choice.

The Voice For The Animals

Stripped Down. Shirley Manson campaigning for PETA and supporting the ‘Fur is DEAD’ campaign, posing with a dead fox which was skinned alive. Photo credits: PETA

They say New York is the city that never sleeps and so is the fashion industry. Everyone is getting the latest scoops on what's "in" and what's "out" for the season. Twice a year, fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections on runway shows for fashion editors, buyers and media to take a look at the season's latest trends. Fashion week are the most important week, and that also means that more innocent animals are harm in the process for fashion.  

Shocking truth about ‘no animals were harmed’ certificates in movies

LIFE OF PI. The tiger star, in blockbuster movie, Life of Pi almost drowned to death during the filming. Photo Credits: Rope Of Silicon

Animal violence, an often neglected topic. Overlooked by many. Is it because animals are voiceless creates? Does that give us a right to treat them any less of a being or pretend ignorance to their abuse?

When ‘animal abuse’ topic rises, most, if not all of us tend to think of domestic or pet violence. If not, animals abused or harmed when they are skinned alive for their fur in the fashion industry or the medical tests they are put through.