Gigglytown

I am setting up a little library at Taman Pinggiran USJ. I hope it will be a site where kids, whatever age, can hang out. There will be wireless internet there, and a computer. Above all else, there will be books and books and books. I hope to be able to conduct book reviews there and creative writing workshop, once a while, maybe story telling/writing contests, stage a play etc. I hope through the little library, I can help inculcate in the kids, a love for books and a habit of reading. We will have a projector and I plan to play only movies that are adapted from books.

Starting April, the place will also conduct mengaji lessons for free. Kids at nights and adults over the weekend. A certified tahfiz will do it for me at RM500 per month. For this purpose, I have been asking around among friends if they would like to contribute. In any way at all. Money, rehal, marker pens, iqra’, sejadah, telekung, books, pisang, time, advise – whatever. It is not that I am running it on charity basis alone. I will have a side business to help sustain the maintenance cost of the place. But I figured, I myself would jump for the opportunity to do good within my means. It would be unfair of me to deprive friends of that opportunity. If they want to contribute, great, it will help ease my financial commitment tremendously. If they cant, the financial commitment is something that I have prepared myself for anyway. So I tell friends about it.

I have three contributors now for the monthly salary of the tahfiz. One of them is someone that I have never met. Dzul. We went to the same school together but not at the same time. He heard of what I am doing and immediately texted me that he would be contributing a bit on a monthly basis. No questions asked. He doesn’t need to know my CV, or see the place or talk to the tahfiz to know it is real. I am humbled by his faith in me and the fact that in giving sedekah, he expects nothing in return – not even receipt for tax claims. It doesn’t seem to matter to Dzul if I am a cheat, because that will be between me and God. Dzul only gives because he can and he wants to. So easy.

I am not like that. I don’t give sedekah to beggars because I regard them as lazy, and cheats. I wont give sedekah to anyone who imposes certain amount as minimum contribution. I don’t just give, I do due-diligence first. I call it, berhati-hati. But it can also be called, buruk sangka.

First lesson I get from this new venture and Dzul is to have faith. In doing good, just do.