The seventh day of Chinese New Year, ‘Yan Yat’, represents everyone’s ‘birthday’. The Chinese usually have ‘Yee Sang’ on this day to symbolise longevity. But the Kecharians in Ipoh decided to celebrate the day by visiting an orphanage instead.
Among us were Kecharian Pastor Susan Lim, our Malaysian Fashion Designer Eric Choong, Winner of the Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2005 Annabelle Kong, various Kecharians from KL and Ipoh, and many volunteers joining the event.
On that auspicious day, we visited Joyful Home in First Garden, Ipoh. Madam Irene runs the home, with 18 kids, age range from 5-16 years old. Kids at the home are very well mannered, happy and friendly. The home survives on the funding from Irene’s daughter who works in Saudi and also through generous donations from the public.
Arriving at the home around 11am, we kicked off with an icebreaker game that got the kids really excited, which was then followed by lunch. The icebreaker was designed to give the kids and volunteers a chance to know one another. One of the kids, John, remarked that he liked the icebreaker a lot! That left him smiling for the rest of the day.
Special lunch boxes were prepared for the kids. Each kid had a box of fried rice with vegetables and fried chicken, the other box with sausages and fries. They were so happy and excited with the lunch box, some even wrote their name on the lunch box and kept it for dinner or later. Such is how well mannered and grateful these kids were.
After lunch, we had some group photos and presentations of donation items from Kecharians and the generous public. Items donated to the orphanage home were: canned mackerel, baked beans, packet drinks, dish-washing liquid, Bio-zip (clothes washing powder) and school bags.
We then paired the children up with the volunteers to play more games. As Eric Choong emceed, the most hilarious moment came when it was time for charades! We ended the games session with gifts exchanging among the children.
Around 2.30pm, we bid farewell to the kids. This is most certainly a blessed and meaningful ‘Yan Yat’. We rejoice.
Would you like to join Kechara Ipoh Study Group for other meaningful activities? Please call either Wan Wai Meng – 012 215 0968, Wan Yee Mun – 012 522 3200 or So Kin Hoe – 016 532 8309.
Check out more pictures of the event at the Kechara Ipoh Study Group Facebook fanpage.
