Beat the haze with Kechara...in Bentong!

Early this morning (because it is Bentong and everyone is up at the crack of dawn!), we went to distribute masks and eye drops in Bentong. This time, we distributed 2000 masks and 1000 eye drops. We were MOBBED as soon as we got out of our cars! In fact, we didn’t even have to advertise – as we were preparing our stock out of the back of my truck, one person stopped by to see what we were doing. That one person told another person, who told another person, who told another person and soon we were handing them out faster than we could’ve possibly imagined.

Again, it was loads of fun doing this. Young, old, rich, poor – everyone who asked for a mask received one. It was concerning however, how many people did not know how to use a face mask. We spent a fair amount of time explaining that it was the blue side out, and that you had to squeeze the metal strip against your nose to make sure your respiratory system was totally protected. We also had to spend a fair amount of time explaining how to use the eye drops, that if your eyes are irritated, you just twist the top off and squeeze a few drops into your eyes.

After we distributed at the junction by the market, we walked through the market itself to distribute to the vendors who could not leave their stalls. These are the same people who, day in and day out, sit outdoors next to their wares, breathing in the haze-y air as they wait for customers to walk by. As usual, everyone received their sets gratefully, some even asking for extras for their families and children (we happily obliged).

Loads of people asked us who we were and where we came from, and there were a couple of reporters from the Chinese media who took pictures. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of that! Here are some pictures of today’s distribution. I’ve uploaded loads more onto Facebook which you can find here 🙂

Kechara Soup Kitchen