Hi Loves!
A group of bloggers, including myself are part of this blogger program which will include interesting activities each month and we were also given a tour of IKEA store at Tampines. If you haven’t read about the in depth and intimate tour, read it here.
As part of the blogger program, every month we’ll be given a gift card to make purchases from IKEA to fulfil our task for the month. For the month of January, we were given the task to experience what life is like for one night without lights, which inspired by IKEA’s current Brighter Light for Refugees campaign. As part of the campaign, for every LED light bulb sold during February 1 to March 28 2015, the IKEA Foundation will donate 1 euro to UNHCR. The funds generated will help improve access to lighting, renewable energy solutions and primary education in refugee camps across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Read more about it here.
Watch the video to find out more about this meaningful IKEA Brighter Light for Refugees campaign:
In line with the campaign about lights, from 6-8 February 2015, bring your used halogen or incandescent lightbulbs to the IKEA store for a 1 to 1 light bulb exchange. Up to 3 lightbulbs per person and exchange is limited to the first 1000 bulbs per day.
So what is a night without light for me? As part of the #1NightWithoutLight project, IKEA gave each blogger a torch. A very special torch that’s movement operated, turn it 30 times and it will power light for 90seconds. So we’re cheating a little bit here, since I do have a torch light with me in the night. I’m not going to lie, I can’t survive my night without light. But I am going to bring you through what my night will be like, without light:
Well, when I reach home after work I usually have dinner that mum prepared or something I bought back home. Imagine me eating in the dark. Chewing on dishes without knowing it’s the meat, fish or vegetable dish I picked up until I taste it. And then I head to shower and it’s just scary and also inconvenient having to shower in the dark without being able to tell which bottle is for my facial cleanser, body soap, hair shampoo and conditioner. It’s not easy getting dressed in the dark either. When I’m back in my room, I am fumbling over which beauty product I am going to slather on my face. There’s so many products I have, skin prep lotion, moisturizer, pimple / blemish control gel. Let’s not even talk about hair maintenance, towel drying my hair isn’t a big issue, but I am too lazy to find my hair oil and apply it on my hair before I blow dry it – this is such a luxury / tedious process that without light, I would be disinclinced to do it. I know, this is absolutely #FirstWorldProblems to the max, I am not proud to admit about it here. And then there’s my nightly green tea routine. Again I am careful to walking to the kitchen, get a cup and find the green tea sachet, open it up and dispense hot water into my cup. Finally, assuming that my electricity power is still available, I run through updates on my social media before I say a quick prayer and go to sleep.
As I think through my night without lights, I am reminded of the times when I was away in Chiang Mai and Philippines, the former during a CIP trip when I was in secondary school and the latter when I visited with my church youth group. Up in the mountainous areas in Chiang Mai, water and light is precious because water is scarce and light is powered by generator(s) which requires fuel, which is not commonly available when it’s far from the city. In the Philippines, power shortages are common and therefore when I visited Laoag, which is the northern tip of Philippines, every household has torch and candles for when the power shortages happen. And when it does, everyone tends to be more careful because burglary and theft cases are more common on those nights. And I am reminded of how grateful I am whenever I return from these trips abroad; back to Singapore, back home where we take our daily water and light usage for granted. These necessities are denied from the refugees in the world, and we with our privilege, can surely do something to help them when we can.
The IKEA Ljusa LED hand driven torch, $9.90. See here.
Lights up for 90 seconds. Not remarkably bright, but sufficient in the dark.Just a glimpse of what it’s like for me to fumble in the dark trying to find which product I am going to use on my face/body… >-<#
Thanks IKEA Singapore for the torch!
x
Ena