Book Review: Fire!

This book is written David Orme, titled Fire! in a series of books call Sharp Shades.

This book is about a The Great Fire of London. In this book there are two sisters who were abandoned by their parents when they were babies. They were adopted by the church parish. When the two sisters were old enough, they were sent to work elsewhere. The two sisters are named Martha and Martin. Martin was sent to be an apprenticed to Mr Brown, a shoemaker, while Martha was sent to be a lady's maid.

Martin had a very bad master. Her master was very cruel and gave Martin very little sleep and made sure she worked alot. However, Martha master was a very kind lady just that she was paralysed.

When the great fire broke out, everyone at that time was running for their lives. Martin's master ran away from the fire but left Martin behind.

Martha master was paralysed and hence she could not escape. However, she asked Martha to escape on her own and don't bother about her. Being a loyal person, Martha just could not bring herself to do that.

Similarly, both sisters could not escape. But in the end, The sisters were reunited at Martha's master's house. The old lady tried to escape but fell to her death when she was trying to climb down the stairs and thus Martha was very sad. However, the old lady left behind a will. The will reads" All my possession will go to Martha." So the sisters finally have their own house and they would not have to work for masters again.

Differenciated Assigment

Dear diary,

Over the few days, a lot of things had happened to me and all these problems were caused because I wanted to get back at my English teacher, Ms Narwin. I wanted to get into the track team, but was refused because I did not pass all the subjects. The only subject that I failed was English. Thus, I hated Ms Narwin for not giving me the passing mark. I did not even think that the cause of me failing English wa my own laziness and I blamed Ms Narwin for that.

I therefore decided to get back at Ms Narwin in class by humming the national anthem when it is played in the morning. I knew that was against the school rules but I did this purposely to fustrate Ms Narwin. Little did I know that what I did had became a big issue and caused great misery to myself and Ms Narwin. When Ms Narwin asked me to stop humming, I felt very frustrated and I told this to my parents. I told them that I am doing this out of patriotism for my country. My parents then told me to do what I think is right.

The next day I did the same thing and was a again scolded by Ms Narwin. I did not stop and continued singing. Ms Narwin was very angry and send me to see the vice-principal. I told the vice-princpal that I was just being patriotic and not a troublemaker as what Ms Narwin had said. I also told him that Ms Narwin was against me and I requested that I have a change of teacher. However, the vice-principal did not agree to my request.

On following day, I did the same thing and was brought to see the vice-principal again. This time, the vice-principal gave me two choices which are either to apologize to Ms Narwin or get suspended from school. I choose to get suspended from school. When my parents knew what had hapened,they were very angry with the school and told this to the reporters. The reporters wrote on this matter with the headline, “Patriotic boy gets suspended from school”. Not long after, a lot of people came to know about this matter.

The public thinks that what Ms Narwin did was wrong and some even asked the school to sack Ms Narwin. This issue causes a lot of troubles for Ms Narwin and the school. Some of my friends said that what I did was on purpose because I don’t like Ms Narwin. Most of my friends started to dislike and avoid me. Life has become very miserable and I decided to change to a new school. However, I was even unhappier in my new school as my new school has no track team and I am exposed for not knowing the national anthem. I truly regretted what I had done but I have only myself to blame for my present predicament.

HOTA

The Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) provides an opt-out organ donation system that allows for the removal of kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas from Singapore citizens and permanent residents who have died, for the sole purpose of transplantation. Administered by the Ministry of Health (MOH), it also regulates organ donation by living persons. Enacted in 1987, it has since undergone three rounds of major amendments to extend its coverage so that more people can benefit from organ transplants.

History
Before HOTA was implemented, organ donation in Singapore was done only on a voluntary basis under the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act, or MTERA in short. The current MTERA was enacted in 1972. It repealed a similar law that was passed by parliament in 1965, as this earlier legislation had been found to be flawed because of its ambiguities and stringent rules.

However, MTERA proved inadequate to meet the transplant needs of patients suffering kidney failure due to the lack of voluntary donations. Only 22 kidney transplants were performed between 1970 and 1978, and there were none between 1979 and 1981. This prompted then Health Minister Goh Chok Tong to suggest setting up an opt-out system of obtaining cadaveric kidneys. After extensive studies and public consultation, the government introduced HOTA in 1987 to allow for the removal of kidneys from non-Muslims who die from accidental causes.

The impact was significant. Between 1987 and mid-2004, 222 patients received kidney transplants under HOTA, an average of 13 per year. Since mid-2004, HOTA has been amended to widen the pool of cadaveric organ donors and thus benefit more people in need of transplants. In 2007 alone, cadaveric organs were used to perform 46 kidney transplants, 12 liver transplants, 4 heart transplants and 106 cornea transplants.

Key Changes Under the Human Organ Transplant (Amendment) Act 2004
(1) Inclusion of deaths resulting from non-accidental causes.
(2) Inclusion of livers, hearts and corneas in cadaveric organ donations.
(3) Regulation of living donor organ transplants.

Key Changes Under the Human Organ Transplant (Amendment) Act 2008
(1) Inclusion of Muslims.
(2) Provision of enforcement powers to give MOH the authority to investigate offences under HOTA.

Key Changes Under the Human Organ Transplant (Amendment) Bill 2009
(1) Removal of the 60-year upper age limit on cadaveric organ donors.
(2) Allowing donor-recipient paired matching. Put simply, this is a system whereby recipients who have medically incompatible donors exchange their donors so that each recipient receives a suitable organ. The exchange can be carried out across two or more donor-recipient pairs.
(3) Reimbursement of living donors in accordance with international and local ethical practices.
(4) Increased penalties for organ trading syndicates and middlemen.

Description
All Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are at least 21 years old and of sound mind are automatically included under HOTA, unless they opt out. Upon their death, their organs will be removed if the following conditions are met:
- they died in a hospital;
- their organs are suitable for transplant; and
- there are suitable recipients for the organs to be removed.

People who have not opted out of HOTA will have a higher priority on the waiting list should they need an organ transplant.

HOTA covers only kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas, but people may pledge to donate any of their other organs and tissues (e.g., lungs, bones and skin) upon their death, for the purpose of transplantation, education or research under MTERA. The minimum age requirement is 18 years old. Foreigners can also sign up as donors under MTERA.

Besides cadaveric organ donation, HOTA regulates living donor organ transplants. In such cases, HOTA allows for the removal of a kidney or any part of the liver of a living donor for the purpose of transplantation, provided there is written authorisation from the hospital's transplant ethics committee. Following the 2009 amendments, payments may now be made to living donors to reimburse them for the loss of earnings and other costs or expenses, including medical care and insurance protection, incurred as a result of the organ donation. Although the proposed amendments were eventually passed, this issue of reimbursement was the subject of a heated debate in parliament as some Members of Parliament were concerned that it could be a backdoor to organ trading.

The Village By The Sea Book Review

The Village By The Sea is a novel written by writer Anita Desai.

Plot

The Village by the Sea is set in a small village called Thul. Lila, the eldest child among the four siblings, is thirteen years old. Her twelve year old brother Hari is the only person with whom she can share her troubles. Their mother is ill and needs constant care and nursing. She is anaemic and is growing weaker and weaker by the day. Their father who has been out of work for months is a Drunkard, and always shouts at his family when he is drunk.

With two younger sisters to take care of as well as their mother, life for Lila and Hari is not easy at all. Their father is a good for nothing guy who idle every day and drinks toddy. There is a constant need for money as the family is almost always in debt. Hari decides that he has had just about enough and leaves for Bombay.

Lila is left alone to manage her sisters Bela and Kamal, as well as her mother, and somehow keep the family strings together. Help comes from an unexpected source, the rich De Silva's.

Meanwhile, Hari is new in the great city of Bombay, and all alone. A kind watchman at a apartment where the De Silvas live, brings him to a generous restaurant proprietor, Jagu, who takes pity on him and welcomes him to work in his restaurant, Sri Krishna Eating House. There, Hari builds a strong friendship with Mr. Panwallah, the lovable watch repairer whose shop is just beside the eatery. Through his experience with Mr. Panwallah and Jagu and the chain of events that take place in Bombay, Hari realises that he should return to his village with savings and help his family overcome their hardships.

Meanwhile, Lila, Bela and Kamal are forced to admit their sick mother in town hospital through the help of the De Silvas. Their father turns over a new leaf, and accompanies their mother throughout her treatment without drinking and without having any debts. While Hari returns, he returns as a child who is adapted to the changing environment.

Themes

The themes in 'The Village by the Sea are:

• Poverty & Wealth
• Change & Adaptation
• Urban & Rural India
• Benefactors
• Family

The book that influenced my parents

The book that influenced my my mum was a Chinese book that she read when she was around 10 years old. The book is titled "三国演义", in English, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The book is mainly about how the three kingdoms fight using their wits and military over lands. In the story, there are many characters who are very bold and clever. However, there are also characters who are betrayers and bad people.
The character that influenced my mum most is a character called"诸葛亮". This character is very wise. During difficult situations, he could always find a solution to it. Because of this, he was favoured by the emperor. Hence, many people were jealous of him and wanted to remove him from the court forever. However, he was always able to use his wisdom to get himself out of trouble.
How did this character influenced my mum? Because of this character, my mother began to study hard during her schooling days. It is because my mother was shocked to see what wisdom of a person can do. So she decided to be like that character, full of wisdom.
Because of this character, my mum went all the way in her studies until finishing university. And till today, she is still very glad that she had read that book when she was young!!!

Student Robbed At Knifepoint

An 18 year old student was threatened with a blade and robbed in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He was walking near Block 647 of Yishun Central when he was stopped by a man, who whipped out a six-inch long blade. The man demanded that he hand over his mobile phone and wallet.

The student did so, and was not injured. The thief, who was described to be sporting a tattoo between his eyebrows and dressed in a T-shirt, Bermudas and slippers, then fled.

Regarding this case, I would like to express my point of views. Firstly, I think that this case happened because nowadays, the economy has worsen. So a lot of people will lose their jobs. When people lose their jobs, they will have no money and will resort to stealing, robbing,etc.

Also, people now are more daring and they do not think of the consequences of their actions. This may be because that when they are young, their parents did not teach them anything about moral values and did not care about them. For example, the parents do not care about who are their children's friends, or their children's academic results,etc. There is a lack of communication here and hence, lead to their child having the wrong thinking.

Last but not least, I think it is because that now, most teenagers are carrying very expensive items like mobile phones, laptops, etc. This has become so normal and this also make teenagers easy targets for robbers.

So, I really think that we should be more careful when we are alone next time and try not to carry any expensive items with you. Also try not to walk alone in the dark and at an desolated place.

My First Camping Reflections

During the one week school holidays, my school organised a secondary 1 camp for all of us. When I knew that I will soon be going for a camp, I am feeling both excited and a little fearful of the camp. This mainly because this is my first camp and also, I fear that I will have to bear with very unhygienic conditions and bad living conditions and most importantly, no usage of electronic devices.

Before the camp, we were all given a camping list which is to tell you what to bring for the camp. When I saw the list I was simply shocked!!! There was so many things to bring, and they do not even allow us to bring hand phones! When I finally finished packing, I need to use a very huge back and had to carry a very large plastic on one hand. Also, both this items are very heavy things!

Finally, the day of the camp arrived. I felt very excited and woke up extremely early for a new day. At the beginning, they introduced us to our camp trainers and our group for the camp. Then we proceeded to the camp site- Sarimbun Campsite.

It was in the afternoon when we reached there, and so it was very hot. However, the camp trainers forced us to sit under the hot sun. At the beginning of this camp, I am already not enjoying it...

Later into the afternoon, it is finally our lunchtime!!! We grab our utensils, and dashed to to the "canteen". However, the food vendors were late and our lunch time was delayed by at least an hour. When we finally got to eat lunch, we were all very frustrated although the camp trainers apologised to us profusely. In my mind I think that if the camp is going to continue on like this, I am definitely not going to enjoy this camp.

However, the activity in the afternoon were very fun and interesting. We had the Sarimbun Challenge, in which we will have to go through many challenges before we complete the mission.

Personally, I felt that this activity was very enriching and it helps us to build up our team spirit. So, by the end of the day, we all knew each other better and made a lot of new friends!:)

After this activity, we all went for a shower before we proceed for our dinner. That evening, we had a very scrumptious dinner and after that we began to learn some camp fire songs that we will sing the next day. Then we went to bed immediately.

On the next day, the activity everyone is looking forward is the camp fire at night. Finally, the moment that everyone looked forward to has come! It was really an interesting time!! Our camp chief, Mr Tan kick start the camp fire with a speech. Then we had a really fun time singing and laughing. It was truly an enjoyable night that I will never forget for life.

After two days, we were finally going to be back to our "home sweet home". Everyone felt a little sad as all of truly did have a whale of a time there. From this camp, I learnt that we must learn to get out of our comfort zones and experience outdoor, independence and living in a group. Only then will we be able to live life to the fullest!!!

Check out the camp website for more details on the campsite!!!

http://www.innotrek.com.sg/node/10

http://www.scout.org.sg/company_profile/history.htm