Last night, I was searching for information when a grainy video from 1997 suddenly caught my eye.  The video described a government offensive that drove thousands of ethnic villagers from their homes. Within a single week, 15,000 fled. By that time, over 80,000 were already in refugee camps across the Thai border.  According to the UNHCR , decades of conflict in Myanmar have displaced hundreds of thousands internally and across borders, with Thailand hosting one of the large

Social Mission Mass at Church of St Michael. At the Social Mission Mass organised by Caritas Si ngapor e and CHARIS on 17 January, celebrated by Cardinal William Goh, one message rang out with clarity and conviction: mission is not about appearances, titles, efficiency, or visible success — but about the condition of our hearts.   Many people quietly disqualify themselves from mission. I’m too old. Too young. Too busy. Not skilled enough. Too comfortable.   Cardinal Goh addr

GEBIRAH's Women's Health Workshop in Thai Nguyen We just returned from our mission to Thai Nguyen , and as I read Pope Leo XIV’s recent address to the Neocatechumenal Way, it felt almost as if he were describing what we had just lived. The Holy Father reminds us that authentic evangelisation is never separated from the Church, never detached from love, and never imposed. It is lived quietly, patiently, and faithfully—through charity, communion, and presence. That truth came

Sacks of rice for about 1,000 people in ethnic minority village in Thai Nguyen. Last evening, the message finally came in: “ The rice has arrived in Thai Nguyen.”   To my own surprise, I felt something I hadn’t experienced in a long time —a sudden rush of excitement and relief—almost a childlike joy.   The kind I used to feel when my favourite toy arrived as a kid. The kind that makes your heart leap.  I found myself smiling. Deeply, quietly happy.  Because this joy wasn’t ab

The new year rarely begins with fireworks in the soul.  More often, it arrives quietly—carrying the fatigue of the year just ended. We step into January still holding unanswered prayers, lingering worries, and the uneasy sense that life somehow keeps moving faster than our hearts can keep up.  And so, we make resolutions. Not just to be more productive or disciplined, but to be calmer . Happier. Less anxious. More present—to our families, our work, and ourselves.   We long fo

I still remember the first time I met Maria* when bringing supplies to a barangay in a coastal community devastated by a typhoon a few weeks earlier.   It was mid-morning; the sun was just beginning to warm up the sandy beach. I approached with a camera in hand — ready to “capture impact” — and immediately she laughed at me.   Not unkindly, but with the sort of frankness children have when they meet adults who don’t quite know how to speak their language.   “Why you take phot