MediaCorp stars to do more for Sichuan quake victims
Posted: 27 May 2008 1410 hrs

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SINGAPORE: There may be some S$9.5 million already in the kitty for welfare programmes and the building of orphanages and hospitals for Sichuan earthquake victims as a result of a TV charity concert last Sunday, but MediaCorp stars involved in the show want to do more.

In fact, some have sidelined their own projects to further help quake casualties.

Singapore's Lin Jun Jie (JJ Lin) who composed 'Love and Hope', a song specially written for the victims of the quake, is heading off to Chengdu on Friday to meet kids who survived the Sichuan quake.

There, the 27-year-old will be involved in a concert for the survivors, which will also act as a fund raiser to rebuild areas devastated by the disaster.

Having donated some S$120,000 from his own pocket, the singer said apart from much-needed funds, victims also draw comfort from knowing that people around the world are doing as much as they can to help.

"We're all a big family in this world," he said. "It really doesn't matter how much one donates, S$1 is not too little and S$1 million is not too much, as long as you do what you can to help the victims."

Kelly Poon, female champion of singing competition Project Superstar is set to visit 15 cities in China on a promotion tour, and plans to make stops along the way to offer monetary contributions or other forms of relief if her schedule permits.

Apart from fund raising activities, several MediaCorp stars have expressed interest in flying to Sichuan with relief groups to help out on the ground.

Said veteran host Kym Ng, "I have quite a number of days of leave coming up soon and I hope that an opportunity can arise for me to go down to Sichuan personally to help. If not, when the victims are rebuilding their hometown, I will donate necessities or money to them."

Actor Nick Shen, who travelled to Aceh to help with the 2004 tsunami relief efforts, also hopes to lend some muscle in the work on the ground.

"I'm filming right now, so I can't make my own plans to go to Sichuan. But if there's a group heading that way and I happen to have a few days off, I'd definitely go along to help."

Putting in much of his time and energy into the China relief effort is screen star Qi Yuwu. The China-born star of 'Home Song Story' and '881' said he was devastated by the plight of his countrymen.

"I see my own comrades suffering, and I'm not there to share their pain or help them," he said grimly. "I feel very sad and down. Then I thought, I could continue to sit around and grief, or I could start doing something."

He decided to work with the Red Cross Society of Singapore, and has since raised S$200,000 through personal donations and by auctioning personal belongings.

Qi said he plans to continue with the charity work for some time. "I will continue to work on more projects to garner more donations," he said.

"But I believe that if it's just me alone, there really isn't much that I can do, but if everybody chips in with small donations, it will become a large sum of money."

The Sichuan Earthquake Charity Show will be repeated this Sunday (June 1) on Channel 8 at 3.30pm.

The public can still make their donations through the following hotlines:
1900-112-5121 - for donations of S$6
1900-112-5122 - for donations of S$18
1900-112-5123 - for donations of S$50

The donation hotlines will remain open till June 1.

Those who wish to make a donation above S$50 can issue a cheque made payable to "Sichuan Earthquake Relief Fund - Chinese Embassy" and mail it to Choa Chu Kang Branch PO Box 86, Singapore 916833.

– CNA/yb