Voluntary Work

My secondary school friend Gerald, made some remark about charity work in his blog...
He mentioned his experience when only as little as 1 out of 10 people support his effort for collecting funds for some AIDS donation drive... And he was on saying that how 'the more fortunate' people should be more caring and observant towards those who are less fortunate...

His post about the charity drive is kinda inspiring...which makes me want to talk about voluntary work...

I'm glad to say that i've done some voluntary work myself. Most of it were affliated withPBSM (Malaysia Red Crescent Society).
And i'm proud to have join the ranks of VAD (Voluntary Aid Disaster Unit). Even though the term VAD sounds nice and impressive, but i've never been called to those major events like those really big accidents, chaotic events , demostration and events like these....
At most, I was called to service in those company family day, sport events, and those one-day event.. And it was all pure voluntary work, and sometimes i have to fork my own money to pay for transport fee and medical items...And sometimes the workload can be pretty hectic.
As a medic, we have to be prepared, calm and steady all the time. We are not suppose to display a panicy face, not even a tired face... Doing so would freak out the patient and the patiend would lose confidence in our ability, which is not a good thing...

So, question is...why would i do something with little or no benefits in return???
I probaby wouldn't be able to express it clearly in words, but its the sight of those expression....the grateful look on those patients, that thankful gesture on those organisers, that sincere face saying 'Thank you'....was all well worth it...

It's not everyday that people are really grateful for what you have done....
and in events such as this....I get to experience this almost every time....

Of course there are other unwritten bonus that comes with the job such as meeting new people, old and young, rich and poor... And i was 1 fortunate guy to get to listen to their experience. I found out that people in general are very interesting and they have rich experiences of their own....

Throughout my days as a medic:
I've driven an ambulance. Everyone can test-drive a ferrari, but not an ambulance. :)
I get to play with an resuscitator (an equipment capable of performing CPR).
The best was when i dyed my hair golden colour while on one particular PBSM duty....How cool is that?? Its not everyday u get to see an 'ah-beng' medic on duty... Golden monkey boy
:)