Swimming Lesson in KL, MalaysiaOur visit to Anak Kesayanganku, Rawang.
We all have brothers and sisters, growing up with us through the joys and travails of our childhood days, we may have a few siblings and do have some memories of great days and also squabbles at times. Imagine having over 150 siblings; would there be a lot of great memories or a lot of chaotic quarrels? Thoughts over that filled our minds on our visit to Anak Kesayanganku, Rawang in the suburbs of KL, which is home to over 150 children of all ages.
DSA as part of its Hari Raya celebrations, had a fund-raising drive for the orphanage and over a period of a month raised a good amount from its collection boxes kept at all its locations. Besides this, DSA also sponsored awards and pencil box sets for all the children, and on Thursday, August 14, 2014, all of us at DSA made a visit to the home to distribute the gifts and also spend time with the children over lunch.
There were children of all ages, teenagers to cute little tiny tots, and even an infant.
We arranged a bus to take us all together and reached the location after a bit of driving around. The orphanage is located a quiet suburb and was actually a large house. We reached late morning, and all the children were away at school, so that gave us some time to spend in the living room. Once school was over, the children started coming in, and suddenly there were so many of them, and you were left wondering how they managed to all stay together. There were children of all ages, teenagers to cute little, tiny tots, and even an infant. The premises also served as a large dining area. The orphanage is doing a lot of activities, having its own home-made products including a clothing line and bakery products, besides providing education, tuition facilities and being the family home for the children.
We assembled for a short program and DSA presented the caretaker, Pn Nurul, a cheque for the collections made. A dance performance by the children followed that. Lunch preparations were already made by DSA and the children were thrilled to have the Ice Kacang, a lot of the little ones eating that before lunch itself. During lunch, DSA staff went around distributing the awards and pencil box sets to the children. There was a lot of interaction, as the children asked us questions, played and laughed with us.
The visit gave us time and opportunity to reflect on many things we take for granted, and how fortunate we are to grow up with the comforts that we enjoy, because someone had provided them for us. Though we cannot do much to change or touch the lives of a lot of unfortunate children, we can try to do the best we can or contribute towards that purpose.
From the bottom of our hearts, a big THANK YOU to DSA staff, teachers, coaches, students, parents and everyone who contributed towards the fund raising.
Those who wish to make any contributions or for more details about the home, its activities and its monthly requirements, please visit their blogsite which gives information and news updates of the home.
