This entry is dedicated to the Great Dreamers, the rare Kindreds, who, once with the intervention of Fate, had their Paths crossed - to realise a Common Dream, but not without a diverse Philosophy...
If there were to be anything significant that I've done in my life up to now, that I am really proud of and would not be tired to tell of the story again and again, it would be the time when I belonged to a group of dreamers who just got our eyes opened to the real world, a world we would not read about in the glossy magazines boasting of the pride of Malaysia. Yet beneath the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers, which we are all extremely proud of, we walked the slums and learned that even the slightest gesture of friendship, like an open ear, and the willingness to get down and sit on the floor, speaks volume about the respect for humanity and life.
JR began modest with a few buns to give away to the homeless people around PJ, but soon found its way to KL's most notorious areas for drug addicts, drunkeds and the likes - Chow Kit. What started as a simple enlightenment on a Friday afternoon, took form with time to become a complex philosophy after sessions and sessions of late night debriefings, fueled by cigarettes, our own recipe for the perfect nasi lemak, most often up-sized (for the price of a normal sized), super-enriched spaghettis and over-fortified omelettes at our favourite 24-hours bakery.
At the time when I left it, JR means differently to different people, and that was the way it was supposed to be at that time. I am sure some may not explain it the same way, but to me, JR has always been a blank banner project. You decide on what you want to take home from the streets.
The streets definitely offers more than we bargain for when we start joining the rounds. The streets showed me first and foremost, that with the Right Time, the Right Kindreds, and the Right Dreams, anything is possible... and dreaming big is a natural thing to do.
The street also showed me the value of friendship, internally among the rounders, and also the ones we made with the street folks. Some of them became our usual contacts, and that they'd wait for us every Friday nights, not so much for the box of nasi lemak and the bottle of water that we bring them, but for that few minutes we'd spend siting down on their quarters (mattress of damp card-board on which they'll be sleeping on) and chat. On the street I learned the importance of listening, and the appreciation of life experience that these people have to offer.
This is the inner street of Chow Kit. at night, this road will be closed to make way for a Night Market.
The Seven Eleven diagonally opposite to KFC.
This is just next to Cititel Express Chow Kit. I remembered coming here at night to a bunch of commercial sex workers who became our friends. Further up is the UO Supermarket, just opposite the pedestrian bridge we called Puteri's Bridge - because of a friend called Puteri who sleeps on the bridge. There is another bridge, the Maxis Bridge, or more fondly known as the Cib*i Bridge, as christened some of the rounders for reasons I don't really know. BNot pictured here, though.
These walkway would be lined with homeless folks at night.
The other obvious difference to the picture is the monorail track. This wasn't here 8 years ago.
Cycle and Carriage used to be a landmark for our route in Chow Kit. Now it's a restaurant selling Malay food.
Chow Kit 24-hours KFC was our mark of beginning and end of our nightly rounds. This KFC has seen us through our ups and downs, nights after nights come rain or... no rain, the yoyo of our morale and group size. It has seen all the starting of our nightly mission by delegating members into 2 groups to take different routes, and was there when we end the night as we gathered back here to do our ritual hand wash.
The altar of the ritual hand wash - where we practice our clinical hand washing technique.
I was told, that once a rounder, always a rounder. We all take home with us, different philosophies from the streets and in doing the Rounds, but one thing I share in common with the Kindreds, is that the streets have made us better persons today.
And I know for a fact that we are not quite done with the streets yet, and that the Works are in continuous progress, waiting for the Right Time, the Right Kindreds and the Right Dreams to cross their paths once again.
The view, early morning from my room at Cititel.
This trip, I went on the monorail for the first time.
And a funny sticker of warning.
If there were to be anything significant that I've done in my life up to now, that I am really proud of and would not be tired to tell of the story again and again, it would be the time when I belonged to a group of dreamers who just got our eyes opened to the real world, a world we would not read about in the glossy magazines boasting of the pride of Malaysia. Yet beneath the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers, which we are all extremely proud of, we walked the slums and learned that even the slightest gesture of friendship, like an open ear, and the willingness to get down and sit on the floor, speaks volume about the respect for humanity and life.
JR began modest with a few buns to give away to the homeless people around PJ, but soon found its way to KL's most notorious areas for drug addicts, drunkeds and the likes - Chow Kit. What started as a simple enlightenment on a Friday afternoon, took form with time to become a complex philosophy after sessions and sessions of late night debriefings, fueled by cigarettes, our own recipe for the perfect nasi lemak, most often up-sized (for the price of a normal sized), super-enriched spaghettis and over-fortified omelettes at our favourite 24-hours bakery.
At the time when I left it, JR means differently to different people, and that was the way it was supposed to be at that time. I am sure some may not explain it the same way, but to me, JR has always been a blank banner project. You decide on what you want to take home from the streets.
The streets definitely offers more than we bargain for when we start joining the rounds. The streets showed me first and foremost, that with the Right Time, the Right Kindreds, and the Right Dreams, anything is possible... and dreaming big is a natural thing to do.
The street also showed me the value of friendship, internally among the rounders, and also the ones we made with the street folks. Some of them became our usual contacts, and that they'd wait for us every Friday nights, not so much for the box of nasi lemak and the bottle of water that we bring them, but for that few minutes we'd spend siting down on their quarters (mattress of damp card-board on which they'll be sleeping on) and chat. On the street I learned the importance of listening, and the appreciation of life experience that these people have to offer.
This is the inner street of Chow Kit. at night, this road will be closed to make way for a Night Market.
The Seven Eleven diagonally opposite to KFC.
This is just next to Cititel Express Chow Kit. I remembered coming here at night to a bunch of commercial sex workers who became our friends. Further up is the UO Supermarket, just opposite the pedestrian bridge we called Puteri's Bridge - because of a friend called Puteri who sleeps on the bridge. There is another bridge, the Maxis Bridge, or more fondly known as the Cib*i Bridge, as christened some of the rounders for reasons I don't really know. BNot pictured here, though.
These walkway would be lined with homeless folks at night.
The other obvious difference to the picture is the monorail track. This wasn't here 8 years ago.
Cycle and Carriage used to be a landmark for our route in Chow Kit. Now it's a restaurant selling Malay food.
Chow Kit 24-hours KFC was our mark of beginning and end of our nightly rounds. This KFC has seen us through our ups and downs, nights after nights come rain or... no rain, the yoyo of our morale and group size. It has seen all the starting of our nightly mission by delegating members into 2 groups to take different routes, and was there when we end the night as we gathered back here to do our ritual hand wash.
The altar of the ritual hand wash - where we practice our clinical hand washing technique.
I was told, that once a rounder, always a rounder. We all take home with us, different philosophies from the streets and in doing the Rounds, but one thing I share in common with the Kindreds, is that the streets have made us better persons today.And I know for a fact that we are not quite done with the streets yet, and that the Works are in continuous progress, waiting for the Right Time, the Right Kindreds and the Right Dreams to cross their paths once again.
The view, early morning from my room at Cititel.
This trip, I went on the monorail for the first time.
And a funny sticker of warning.
5 comments:
Great photos.....your blog is great!
I've not dropped in for a while :)
thanks Jules... do drop by whenever you're free :)
dude-thanks for the reminder. keep at those dreams my friend ! I'll come join u one of these days .
KeeTs
Keets, probably without you knowing, you've fueled a great deal of my Dreams. Thanks!
that's sooo true....we learnt about humility and humanity on the street....and till now, while I'm working with people on their journey to recovery, i found that these is the most important things that will help me be with them and show them the respect and dignity that they deserve
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