The Greatest Love of All

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody's searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me

I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

And if by chance, that special place
That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

-performed by Whitney Houston

Lasallian Day of Prayers for Peace 2009

The Lasallian Day of Prayers for Peace, or LDOPP, was initiated in Rome a couple of years ago by a group of Lasallian Youth.

The purpose of LDOPP is to be in solidarity through prayer with those who live in conflict, this being in line with our Lasallian spirituality of being one with the last, lost and the least.

This year marks the 3rd installment of LDOPP in Malaysia, and our theme for 2009 is 'The War on Children'. This brings our focus to all children who suffer each day, in war zones, in poverty, in abuse, in neglect etc. In every situation of conflict, it is always the children who are most affected. The same children who are fated to inherit the future. What kind of legacy are we passing on? What are we doing to our future?

This year, the task of executing the LDOPP programme was given to the delegates of the regional conventions. The general outline and material was provided by the MLYC and La Salle Centre, with the help of several capable Lasallian volunteers.

We are now proud to announce that LDOPP will be happening in 4 schools, with others following up.

St Francis Institution, Melaka will hold a weeklong programme from 28 Sept to 4 Oct, which includes essay writing competitions, exhibitions and prayers for peace

La Salle Klang will hold their version of LDOPP on 14 Oct, with an exhibition on the 'War on Children' from 8am to 5.30pm in the school hall.

La Salle Kota Kinabalu will also be holding LDOPP on the week beginning 28 Sept. Their itinerary includes speeches, exhibitions, graffiti walls for messages of peace etc.

More updates to follow soon. Stay tuned!

Freedom Film Fest 2009 (2009)

A public service announce brought to you by lasallianfriends.blogspot.com. For more info, please visit http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org/

Catch the

FreedomFilmFest2009

Presenting 23 heart-moving, eye-opening, award-winning human rights documentaries from Malaysia and around the world, over 3 days in 4 states.

2-4 OCTOBER 2009, The Annexe, Central Market KL
9-11 OCTOBER 2009, Han Chiang College, Penang
23-25 OCTOBER, Sek. Men. Chung Hua No.1, Kuching
30 OCTOBER-1 NOVEMBER, Tropical Inn, Johor Bharu

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR?

COMMUNITY VIDEO FORUM & SCREENINGS (Friday, 3.30-6.30pm) KL only

Community Video Forum & Showcase will be bringing to you a sharing session of experience and video showcase between community filmmakers and activists from Malaysia and around the SEA region who use video for community organising.

*Pre-registration required as seats are limited. Priority to NGO and community activists.


LAUNCH CEREMONY & OPENING FILM (Friday, 8 pm)

The 6th FreedomFilmFest2009 will be launched with the screening of AT STAKE, a brave and eye-opening documentary tackling taboo issues faced by Indonesian women. This anthology covers issues of female genital mutilation, unmarried women's experiences at the gynecologist, prostitution, and the sexuality of a migrant worker.

*Producer NIA DINATA, who is the director of the movie “Berbagi Suami” and also a renowned Indonesian feminist will be present in KL for Q&A after the screening.

PREMIERE OF FFF2009 WINNING FILMS! (Saturday, 7pm)

Al-Fatehah Memali by Rahmat Haron
This film portrays the journey of singer-songwriters, Black and Meor, trying to comprehend a massacre that happened in 1985 in Kg. Memali, Kedah. Their journey brings them to the village where they meet survivors and witnesses of the tragedy to uncover a forgotten story of injustice for most of Malaysia, but one forever etched in the hearts of those in Memali.

Kayuh by Soh Sook Hwa
This film is a first-hand account of a 100-strong contingent of cyclists in the JERIT cycling campaign who rode from Alor Setar and Johor Baharu to Kuala Lumpur for 16 days in order to address 6 major concerns of marginalized groups in Malaysia.

No Silver Lining: The Perak Crisis by The S-ploited.
What happens when “frogs” jump over to the other side? In Perak, when 3 elected representatives of the Pakatan Rakyat 'hopped” over to become BN friendly, it started a political wrestling match for power between the two opposing political alliance.

* Entry is FREE but strictly by invitation only as it is a closed-door private event.

For inquiries and reservations of passes - Please email freedomfilmfest@komas.org or call 017-3749887, with the following information:

Name | Contact tel. no and email | Title of film/time of session that you would like to watch | Number of passes needed | In which state (KL, PG, JB, or KUCHING)

Post 'Awakening the Dreamer'...

...obviously there needs to be a facebook page for all of you who attended the programme at the FT weekend in Ipoh.

So go search 'Awakening the Dreamer Malaysia' and become a fan. Natasha and gang will be putting up announcements and other initiatives there for your viewing and participation.

thanks!

Post FT2

Young master Harvey Gooi shares his experience on last week's FT Weekend 2.

Arriving in Ipoh on 21st August 2009 at 11.00 p.m., Harvey took a 20 minutes walk all alone, from the Sri Maju bus station all the way to La Salle centre. Tired and sweaty, with his feet almost blistering because of his poorly fitted slippers, he walked down the slope leading into the centre, thinking in his heart, “Heck, why did I come all the way back here to Ipoh again?” However, the moment he stepped into La Salle centre, greeted by those familiar faces, voices and smiles, he knew why he had come. He came to be home with his other family again – his La Sallian family.

FT2 started the next day at 9.a.m. The theme for the meet this time around was and environmental one. This time around, facilitators from the The Awakening Team were invited to give a symposium entitled “Awakening the Dreamer; Changing the Dream”. The goal: to promote an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet as the guiding principle of our times. Yes, even Harvey went “What?” In a nutshell, the three components which are environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice work hand in hand in order to promote change to the current state of our world. The idea of plainly going green would not work unless one feels a sense of satisfaction and the support of the society.

The symposium lasted for 4 hours, short as it may be, FT members were definitely glad to have learnt not only about how to work towards a sustainable world, but also that they are not alone in their strife. But that wasn’t then end of the weekend. FT members were given an assignment – to look up on issues of energy conservation, air pollution, water conservation and waste management.

Well, FT meet 2 was not all serious. There were of course, the all important late-night mamak outings, pillow talk, “dai dee” and pictionary! As simple as it may sound, those little unplanned activities are what made FT2 such a fun and rejuvenating weekend.

Well, after the weekend, Harvey was feeling refreshed, and the prese of the new semester suddenly seemed to have faded away. In his heart, he has also pledged to promote an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet as the guiding principle of his times. And he is still wondering… How is he to draw “squirt” and “period” in Pictionary should he ever get the card…

Some pictures from the weekend:

Our Identity

This is the proposed logo for the FT. The original design comes from Mr Koi Lik Wai, former Michaelian.

Brief description and rationale of elements in design

- the main element visible is the star, formed by the pieces of irregular shape and sizes; this represents all the members of the formation team, striving and continuing the work of La Salle, represented by the star image that forms amidst the pieces.

- the pieces appear to be moving towards the star image, suggesting that our lives are focused towards our Lasallian spirituality.

Since this is going to be our logo, we are open to comments and ideas for modification. Hurry up, have your say!

FT weekend poster

[click to enlarge]
[click here for more details]