Monday, April 11, 2011

We have moved!

To be able to share more stories and experiences, and talk about the different cases we are working on, we have moved to:


Please update your links! :D

Saturday, April 9, 2011

See you tomorrow! :D

Last night, the Save Atiqah campaign announced that they had reached their objective of raising S$50,000 to help cover Iqah's legal fees. They have achieved this goal a lot quicker than everyone had expected, and so big huge thanks go out to everyone who has support them and donated to help Iqah!

All this support for Iqah is cause for celebration, and the Second Chances Flea Market will go forward as planned. It's tomorrow, 2pm - 8pm at The Pigeonhole (52/53 Duxton Road), and we hope to see you all there!

We will continue to sell Second Chances wristbands, badges, photo prints and those who have pre-ordered their cupcakes can meet us to pick them up. We will also be providing postcards (on a donation basis) for people to write messages for Vui Kong and Atiqah.

With this flea market, we hope to raise awareness on Iqah's case, and to gather even more support from Singaporeans for her. We also hope to get more people thinking about and discussing the mandatory death penalty in both Singapore and Malaysia.

As promised, the proceeds of the flea market tomorrow are still going towards the Save Atiqah campaign. The Save Atiqah campaign committee will be meeting tomorrow morning to decide on how best to use the new funds that are being raised.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Write a postcard and send some love!

Find more information at the Facebook event page here.

As Sunday approaches, it's time for us to close pre-orders for cupcakes and photo prints.

For those who still want to purchase photo prints, though, you can pay for them through PayPal and get them posted to you! Click here to do so.

On Sunday, the Second Chances stall will also have some picture postcards available on a donation basis for you to write messages to Atiqah and Vui Kong. These messages will be passed to Atiqah and Vui Kong's family members who will be able to deliver them.

Atiqah has told her friends and family that she would love to receive letters and messages from us, and Vui Kong always looks forward to hearing from those who have been following his case and supporting him.

As we are out here campaigning and fighting for a second chance for both of them, they have to stay within the prison boundaries. And so we hope that these postcards, together with the messages we write, will be able to brighten up their day.

See you on Sunday!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Photo prints for Second Chances.

Since we all decided to go ahead with the Second Chances flea market to support Atiqah, I have been wondering what I could contribute to sell. I can't really cook or bake or sew and the last time I did handicrafts I superglued my finger to an ice cream stick.

I have thus decided that I will contribute some of the photos I have taken to sell as prints, with all profits going towards the Save Atiqah campaign.

These photos can be printed either 8R or 4R size. 8R prints are going for S$10 each, and 4R S$5 each. They can be picked up at the flea market on the 10th of April at The Pigeonhole.

#1 - Buddhas in Pak Ou Caves, Laos

#2 - A Sleepy Cat

#3 - The Fun Guy

#4 - Cosy by the Fire

#5 - Girl, Bangladesh

#6 - The Old Man

#7 - Boy, Bangladesh

#8 - My Cat and His Pillow

#9 - Peeking Through

The numbers and titles of the photographs are listed under the previews. To pre-order, please email to webelieveinsecondchances[at]gmail[dot]com with the photo numbers, the size (8R or 4R) and the quantity wanted. Thank you!

- kirsten

Not even close to giving up.

For those of you who haven't already heard, the Court of Appeal dismissed Yong Vui Kong's appeal yesterday. Vui Kong was appealing for a judicial review of the President's powers in the clemency process, as well as Law Minister K Shanmugam's comments made in May 2010.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the President does not have the power in granting clemency petitions, and must act on the advice of the Cabinet. They also ruled that the Law Minister's statements did not constitute apparent bias.

You can read more about the verdict here.

We're all very disappointed in the verdict, but it doesn't mean that we're giving up. In fact, we're not even close to giving up. The campaign to save Vui Kong's life will continue, and Second Chances will continue to support him and his loved ones.

We want to continue to raise awareness about Vui Kong's case. A huge number of Singaporeans (and Malaysians) still have no idea about his case, or understand how the mandatory death penalty works. We want to find ways to reach out to them, because we believe that there are many more people out there who would want to support Vui Kong, if only they knew more about his case. So please, start talking about Vui Kong with your family and friends, and spread the word! Take the discussion from the online sphere to the offline one as well.

To Vui Kong's family and friends: It's not over yet. We will be behind you all the way.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Help Liyana help Atiqah.

The following was first posted on the Lianain Films blog. Second Chances would like to thank both Liyana (MommaMiia Creations) and Lianain Films for all their support. :)

This is Liyana. When we met her last year, she was living in a tent in Sembawang Park with her husband Fazli, mother, and two young sons. She was also seven months pregnant. Life, as you can imagine, was pretty damn awful.

We could tell you so much more about Liyana’s ordeal, but for now, it’s enough to say that things are a little better. Yes, it's still a struggle getting through each day. But at least Liyana's family are no longer sleeping in a tent. They’re sharing a three-room HDB flat with another couple and their four kids. It’s a little crowded and a little stressful, but as Liyana puts it, “I'm glad we have a proper roof over our heads.”

A few months ago, Liyana decided to start a 
small online business selling handmade jewelry. The pieces are quirky and very pretty. Liyana makes about $200 a month from her business - money she uses to buy daily necessities for her two boys and baby girl.

This is Noor Atiqah, a single mum sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking. She’s just 27 and her little girl is seven. They’ve not seen each other in two years. Noor Atiqah’s family and friends believe she is innocent and are desperately trying to raise $50,000 to appeal the verdict.

Liyana has never met Noor Atiqah before. But when we told her about the case, she started to cry.

“My life is hard, but when I hear this story, my heart…”

She never completed the sentence but we knew exactly what she meant.

Liyana has decided that she wants to do something for Atiqah. Next week, she’ll be setting up shop at “Sunday Eclectica”, a fleamarket at Pigeonhole. On sale will be a range of handcrafted earrings, necklaces and other pretty trinkets, as well as some yummy baked goods. Our friends at "We Believe In Second Chances" will also be selling badges, wristbands and cupcakes. Liyana has generously offered to contribute a portion of the day’s takings to the Save Atiqah fund. “Second Chances” will donate 100 percent of their profit to the cause.

When we asked Liyana why she wanted to help, her answer was simple, “I’m a mother. How would any child feel about losing her mother?”

Please help Liyana help Atiqah. Come visit us at the fleamarket on Sunday.

Second Chances Flea Market - Who wants cupcakes?


Cupcakes! Sweet, cute, yummy – what's not to like?

We're now taking pre-orders for cupcakes, to be picked up at our flea market on 10 April at The Pigeonhole (52/53 Duxton Road), 2pm - 8pm.

We have a super kickass baker who has volunteered to bake cupcakes/muffins for us, and so we're taking pre-orders for them starting NOW. Each cupcake is going for $5. ALL proceeds are going to the Save Atiqah campaign.

They are coming in two awesome flavours: banana + chocolate chip and chocolate.

To make pre-orders, email webelieveinsecondchances[at]gmail[dot]com or message me on FB.

Thank you for your support!

- love, kirsten.