“The monthly FoodAid worth $250 from the Singapore Red Cross benefit me and my family a lot because it enables us to have fresh food products, and my children can grow up healthily,” - Safri Bin Salleh

Dear Friend,

When life deals you a bad hand, it is easy to plunge into the depths of despair. But not for Safri Bin Salleh, 43.

He used to be an avid weightlifter who was also actively involved in contact sports like soccer, rock-climbing, skydiving and touch rugby.

His active life came crashing down after two falls, and a diagnosis of bone marrow cancer.

The Turning Point

In April 2013, Safri dozed off after returning from his night shift. When his wife woke him up, he couldn’t move and was paralysed from below his neck.

He was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma Cancer Stage 3 (Bone marrow cancer).

“All my organs gave way. I had liver cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), heart ameroid, diabetes, high blood pressure, acute kidney injury, and chronic gout where my joints were inflamed and swollen, and the pain was excruciating. I had to go for dialysis and was bedridden. My doctor said if I did not go for any treatment, I only had six months to live,” he explained.

Yet, he did not let thoughts of fear or worry seep through his mind.

“My wife was worried. But I told her not to worry as I will seek treatment. I was determined to get better,” said Safri.

Since then, his wife has been his full-time caregiver. His family relies on various financial assistance schemes from various organisations.

Focusing on His Diet

Safri’s cancer was a jolt out of the blue. It reminded him that he has to take care of himself before he can take care of his family. He decided to put in more effort in ensuring that he and his family have a balanced and healthy diet.

“While I did not care for my body previously and instead abused it through the supplements I took, I decided to take better care of my health. While I did not care about what I ate before, now I take better care of my diet.

The monthly FoodAid worth $250 from the Singapore Red Cross benefit me and my family a lot because it enables us to have fresh food products, and my children can grow up healthily,” he explained.

Safri hopes his life story will inspire others facing challenging times.

“Everyone has problems. It is important to have a positive attitude. I see problems as challenges. Whenever there is a problem, there is always a solution. No matter how big your problem is, face the problem.

I faced my problems one at a time; be it for my debt, or my medical condition. You can’t solve all the problems yourself. Ask for help.

The world is not a bad place, good people come to help. Just as Red Cross did,” affirmed Safri.

Many of our FoodAid recipients are like Safri.

How You Can Help, and What Your Gift Will Do

With your gift, you can help people like Safri and his children get rid of food worries, and they’ll be able to buy and enjoy healthier food as a beneficiary of FoodAid.

If you divided the $250 worth of food vouchers that feeds a family of four each month, it means less than $9/day for their meals… Probably lower than the cost of a large-sized cup of premium coffee that many of us enjoy regularly.

While you don’t have to give up the little treats in life, you’ll likely find it more enjoyable and satisfying to gift a mere $3/day to families like Safri’s.

If you can encourage 2 or 3 of your friends to join you in monthly gifting together, then it means a family of four will not have food worries for each month that they receive your support.

I’d like to ask you for your help with giving the gift of FoodAid to such families. Your gift of $3/day will help them with a meal for a month.

Together with 2 or 3 of your friends gifting $3 (or more, if you can, please) each per day, you can help a family with all their meals each month.

You can help support 40 families

We’re looking to support 40 families for the next 1 month, and have set a modest goal of $10,000 for this.

With your generous help and support, Singapore Red Cross and I hope to benefit 40 families, bring food to their tables, and get rid of their food worries for this month at least.

On behalf of Safri and our beneficiaries, I thank you in advance for your generous gifts.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Benjamin William

Secretary General/CEO, Singapore Red Cross

How Your Contribution Helps

For the sake of transparency, as well as to help you realise the impact of your contribution, we’d like to share how your donation will help.

S$25 will gift a family of four FoodAid vouchers to buy food for about 3 days
S$50 will gift a family of four FoodAid vouchers to buy food for about 6 days
S$100 will gift a family of four FoodAid vouchers to buy food for about 12 days
S$250 will gift a family of four FoodAid vouchers to buy food for a full month

Your generous donation will help provide a family with sustenance and security. In a first world country like Singapore, nobody should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

P.S. Please do leave us your best email address so that my colleagues and I can at least show our appreciation and thank you for your kind donation.