It is sad to know that this thing on parents going to war with each other and having their children in the middle and in a limbo, still persist. Some kids are lucky where one parent fights for their custody and determine to keep them. Some just keep on fighting and without reaching any conclusion decides to have the child be placed in a home. Some may be abused because when they lack of attention, they tend to fuss, and they become an easy target to the already enraged parent.
This is what is happening to 9 year old, A (name with held to protect privacy). He is such an intelligent and charming young chap. When he is enticed by gifts and winning, he would definitely give more than requested. Although his drawings need polishing and also to minimise the word 'Then' in his writing, other than that, he is quite okay in his studies. He does tend to rely a lot on luck though. In objective questions, he said that he would get correct all the time even though he just simply pick his answers. It was true for the first 3, but then his luck drained off. I told him that if he does succeed and becomes a doctor, and he based his surgeries on luck, the patient could die on his table. He paused for a while, then told me he wanted to become a pilot. Huhh? Anyway he won the point system for the month of January though. He told me that he wanted a battery-operated toy car, which reminds me I have to go and get one after this.
He did tell me that he would be going back home end of this year. I was happy when I heard that but was short-lived as the supervisor said that she did not hear anything from the parents yet. All it needs is a simple yes from the dad, and the mum will be able to bring the boy back. Oh not to mention money issue. Alimony and such. Who is paying the school fees etc etc. Sometimes all this things further dampen the efforts to bring back the boy home, where he belongs.
Of course I will be sad to lose a student. I not only teach them a subject in school, but I also would like to impart some life values and to see where they will end up later in life. This is how a teacher feels huh. It is truly a great sense of satisfaction. Kudos to all teachers out there.
As for little A, yes I will be going out to shop for his toy car later. Hope I will get the others to win as well.
11.2.11
8.2.11
Free tuition classes for the Kids
I have been giving tuition classes for about 7 (and counting) Kids at the Rumah Juara home for the past 2 weeks. The first week was a bit difficult as all were recovering from flu and coughs, and they were half drowsy when I was conducting the class. Gosh, what did I get myself into, i told myself. But having had experience in tutoring before in Uni and also to my own son, patience played a VERY important part in it.
As time progresses by and I got to know the Kids, I got to know their weaknesses and difficulties. For example, a girl is 12 years old and goes to a Tamil school but she could not write and read proper English and Bahasa. Instead of teaching her the level that she is, I went down 4 levels down, just to see where is her standing. Not that great, because even at Primary 2 level she could not perform well. So what I did was to give her books to read instead, and gave her a dictionary to help her improve her vocabulary.
I have also started a journal for each of them. Well the original idea is for them to treat it like a diary and to record their personal and daily activities every day. But now since they themselves are bogged down by homework and such, I do still encourage the 'Dear Diary' method but also I am giving them certain topics to write on. First one was about themselves.
I made them do 10 lines each on their journal. They were some who was a bit apprehensive to do it. Whining and giving excuses, just like a normal kid would do.
THEN, I started the point system. A report card book. Little little marks for the little little things they do. 2 marks for being quiet. 5 marks for finishing on time. 10 marks for giving me more than 1 page and 10 lines. Alas, I did minus some points here and there, for making excuses and distracting the class. Although the Report Card book was only for my viewing, but to encourage 'WAR' between all, I made it public. "Teacher, can I check my marks please." Teacher, why I get 5, he got 10?" Stuff like that. I am pleased that they are attentive in my class, even though it was because of the point system. ; ))
As time progresses by and I got to know the Kids, I got to know their weaknesses and difficulties. For example, a girl is 12 years old and goes to a Tamil school but she could not write and read proper English and Bahasa. Instead of teaching her the level that she is, I went down 4 levels down, just to see where is her standing. Not that great, because even at Primary 2 level she could not perform well. So what I did was to give her books to read instead, and gave her a dictionary to help her improve her vocabulary.
I have also started a journal for each of them. Well the original idea is for them to treat it like a diary and to record their personal and daily activities every day. But now since they themselves are bogged down by homework and such, I do still encourage the 'Dear Diary' method but also I am giving them certain topics to write on. First one was about themselves.
I made them do 10 lines each on their journal. They were some who was a bit apprehensive to do it. Whining and giving excuses, just like a normal kid would do.
THEN, I started the point system. A report card book. Little little marks for the little little things they do. 2 marks for being quiet. 5 marks for finishing on time. 10 marks for giving me more than 1 page and 10 lines. Alas, I did minus some points here and there, for making excuses and distracting the class. Although the Report Card book was only for my viewing, but to encourage 'WAR' between all, I made it public. "Teacher, can I check my marks please." Teacher, why I get 5, he got 10?" Stuff like that. I am pleased that they are attentive in my class, even though it was because of the point system. ; ))
 |
| Minus marks for not concentrating AND lying about not getting a gum, when I have already given it to her.. sigh..... |
 | |||||
| An unexpected winner, as he was quite uncooperative the first day of tuition... yayyyy!!! |
7.2.11
February Birthday Bash Rumah Juara - proposed outing: Desa Water Park, Taman Desa, 26th February, lunch time
February Birthday Bash Rumah Juara - proposed outing: Desa Water Park, Taman Desa, 26th February, lunch time
... need sponsors (food, tickets for the Kids etc) and volunteers to play with the kids....
Phillip ~ 8 year old boy
... need sponsors (food, tickets for the Kids etc) and volunteers to play with the kids....
Our February birthday babies are .....
Kong An Nee ~ 5 year old girl
Kasturi @ Jennifer ~ 13 year old girl
6.2.11
February Birthday Bash at Rumah Juara.... coming soon
Hiya all... As you know a group of friends and myself have pledged to celebrate the birthdays of 50 orphaned/abandoned/neglected/abused children in Rumah Juara, PJ Old Town every month for the year 2011. We have successfully done it for 2 young January girls with the help (volunteers and donation in kind) from among ourselves. We have managed to find sponsors for some of the other months, thus it would be a great pleasure to get some from your kind self. It can be anything, your time, gifts, money to buy cakes or outing to the water park etc. Be creative. We hope to hear some good news from you!!!
Project Manager
Edna
for Rumah Juara
(to donate directly, Please call Pastor Elizabeth at 03-7783 1568)
Project Manager
Edna
for Rumah Juara
(to donate directly, Please call Pastor Elizabeth at 03-7783 1568)
Cheeky little girls - Esther and Rinisha
January babies and celebration at Rumah Juara
It was a spur of the moment kind of idea, where suddenly the bulb just pops out of the head kind of thing. We wanted to do a bit more for the kids so I called up Pastor Elizabeth and told her that for a year we would celebrate together the birthdays of each of the children. She was ecstatic.
Born on 13th January 2003, Sally Rani is an epitome of kindness and joy. She is never stingy with her smiles and has eyes as big as the moon. She is half Indian and half Indonesian. As with the elder sister (Shalini) and her younger brother (Yoel), they are unable to go to school as they do not have any birth certificate. And because of that 8 year old Sally and her siblings have a long way to catch up in terms of education. Despite of that, judging from their jovial characters and friendliness, their family background would have been an okay one - minus the fact that their mother was deported to Indonesia a few months back, after having staying here under the radar for 10 years.
The second January baby, Rishona (pronounced as Rish-wa-na) is 6 years old this year and together with her 3 siblings at the home, is a cutie herself. She would sit down properly as a lady and wait for her food to be served. At her birthday party she wore an off-shoulder red dress and she looked ravishing. These girls really took the extra effort to look nice on their birthday, don't they?
We had cakes, praise and worship and prayers after that. We bought 2 cakes for the both of them. Chocolate cake for the lady in white and mango cake for the lady in red.
Born on 13th January 2003, Sally Rani is an epitome of kindness and joy. She is never stingy with her smiles and has eyes as big as the moon. She is half Indian and half Indonesian. As with the elder sister (Shalini) and her younger brother (Yoel), they are unable to go to school as they do not have any birth certificate. And because of that 8 year old Sally and her siblings have a long way to catch up in terms of education. Despite of that, judging from their jovial characters and friendliness, their family background would have been an okay one - minus the fact that their mother was deported to Indonesia a few months back, after having staying here under the radar for 10 years.
The second January baby, Rishona (pronounced as Rish-wa-na) is 6 years old this year and together with her 3 siblings at the home, is a cutie herself. She would sit down properly as a lady and wait for her food to be served. At her birthday party she wore an off-shoulder red dress and she looked ravishing. These girls really took the extra effort to look nice on their birthday, don't they?
We had cakes, praise and worship and prayers after that. We bought 2 cakes for the both of them. Chocolate cake for the lady in white and mango cake for the lady in red.
Here are some of the children singing
We ended the day slightly after 9pm. But I would bet the celebration has not ended even though we left for the 2 little ladies.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY AND RISHONA!!
13.1.11
A New Year, A New Journey, A New Beginning
Yes this is 2011 and it has been around 3 years since my last post. Goodness me. I have been pretty busy now, have I.
But as the title says, it will be a whole new circle and a whole new adventure, as this blog continues to feature those who are in need, troubled and less fortunate.
Here's hoping that someone's life will be in touched - be it the reader or the home/child/person featured in my article.
But as the title says, it will be a whole new circle and a whole new adventure, as this blog continues to feature those who are in need, troubled and less fortunate.
Here's hoping that someone's life will be in touched - be it the reader or the home/child/person featured in my article.
1.8.08
A Blessed Day - for everyone..
It all started on Friday evening, where I just got the car from hubby of which I used it to the max. Went to so many places to get so many things and I was tired, but I think the adrenaline of getting everything done to perfection got me going.
I just got the idea of celebrating the July babies a few days ago, so here I am trying to figure out what to buy for them. I got the most basic toys, some nice socks (inspiration from Cindy) and a beautiful simple bracelet for a 34 year old lady. I bought two 1 kg cakes, one was a fruit cake and the other was a cheese cake from King's Confectionary. I went to Giant and got 2 bottles of Pantene shampoo and 2 tins of Gain Kid milk powder. After that rushed back home to eat (that was already 10pm) and continued doing the remaining 60 over party packs for the children. I had to hide the cakes from hubby as I planned for him and 2 other July babies to celebrate together with the residents. Thank goodness for the 2nd fridge upstairs. My Friday ended at 4am Saturday morning.
Saturday morning - 1pm. Family and had lunch first before going to Dominoes Sunway to pick up our 20 large pizzas. I have this Express Card of which if you order 10 large pizzas, you get 10 large ones for free. Waited for 2 more cars full of friends to come and at around 2.40pm, we reached the gate's home.
We were greeted by curious on-lookers and then when they realised we were the people whom their caretakers had briefed on earlier, they opened the gate and 4 or 5 boys and grown men came to help us to carry the things we bought for them. My goodness. That was fast. The boys were so thoughtful as they dilligently carried the pizzas, gifts, supplies, drinks and plastic bags all at once.
The next thing we did was to find the person whom had patiently answered and catered to our every needs. Mr Baskin, the home's Operations Manager. True enough as obliging as he is in the phone, he is also very warm and friendly in person. Truly the home is indeed lucky to have him as their guardian, as there is a certain aura around him which attracts people to come and help. During his briefing he talked about almost all of the residents so passionately, and I have to give him two thumbs up for his ability to remember their names and histories.
In my recent post I highlighted a boy who is blind and has celebral palsy, and was also abandoned by his parents. Today we managed to meet with little Patrick in person. He was so attached to one of the caretakers so much so he wanted her to carry him all the time. He is 2 years old this year and he just underwent a minor surgery on his neck and head. That is why his head has to be supported all the time. More like a 1 month old baby. As I sat with him and talked to him, his skin was fair and smooth. He had a very pleasant face and I could not help but to caress his cheek all the time. If he is a normal baby he would have been a very handsome one. I was just a little bit dissapointed because he could not see me. Mr Baskin mentioned to us that his father comes by often to see him, whereas the mother would call once in a while to check up on him. I pray for the family to have strength and courage to bring up little Patrick well.
I thank God for the staff and caretakers of the home for their help. They assisted in organising the distribution of the pizzas and drinks almost flawlessly. The residents were very obedient and they were as if in perfect motion whenever the main caretaker (Ms Raj) rang the bell. Almost in unison, the knew that it was time for tea, separated into groups, arranged the tables and chairs, and took their places accordingly. I was impressed, and so were my friends. Hubby managed to squeeze himself through some children, sat and talked with them. Glad to know he is having fun. Kenny, Kit and a few of the boys helped in blowing up the balloons and shaping them into animals. CK and her gang were busy mingling with the kids, and there was this one lady who wanted her picture to be taken so many times. Nita, Vicky Ate and Janet Ate were making their rounds around the home, while stopping once in a while to talk to a small kid, chit chatting with the caretakers and Mr Baskin. The boys, Adam and son were running around from one the girls and almost at once they made friends with a boy name Kah Hoe, who was intrigued with Transformers and Tokyo Drift. One of the boys, who is actually a Malay was speaking fluent Tamil to Selva. I was flabbergasted and now determined more than ever to have son master Tamil.
Another boy told a very very cheeky joke to Yoges. It went like this:
There was this man driving a lorry which was full of things to be delivered to Mr. A. Once he arrived at Mr A's house, Mr A opened the back of the lorry and found out that all the things were missing. So what do you think happened to the things in the lorry?
Yoges and hubby were confused. So they admit defeat.
The boy cheekily said, " the things were missing because the man was carrying ICE!!"
Yoges and hubby laughed. Good one.
Half an hour later they finished eating and I signalled for the cutting of the cake. Ms Raj gathered the 9 July babies (1 was not here as he had went home for the weekend), and I gathered the 3 confused July babies in our group - hubby, Selva and Yoges. When everyone was ready, Ms Raj counted 1-2-3 and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Such a sweet moment for all of them. After taking several pictures of that, I ran to the car and got the birthday gifts that I bought for them. I had hubby, my two aunties, Nita, Selva, Yoges, Marianne and CK to give out the gifts respectively. I know that some of them could not enjoy the gifts, but I am happy enough to know that the gifts would be shared among all the residents.
After that Ms Raj got them all in a queue to receive the party packs. I got CK's friends - Mages, Latha, Yoges and the others to help out in this. I want to sincerely thank them for coming and making this visit a more merrier and meaningful one. Actually they were not in my confirmed list as CK did not inform me earlier. But I was moved nevertheless for their effort and time sacrificed to help me in this event. Thank you to all of you.
Then came the reps from my home fellowship - Kenny, Marianne and Kit. They helped in ensuring that the balloons were ready, even though the balloons kept on popping. Lol! Marianne was as usual superb with the children. And children are children, because when they saw the balloons, Kenny and Kit were swamped, surrounded, stalked and wrestled to the ground (hee hee, I exaggerated that) for it. Ha ha ha. Thanks again you guys!
That was the end of our agenda. It was now their turn to entertain us. Ms Raj and her troops of dancing princesses and princes put on their dancing shoes and began dancing to various Indian songs. Wow! Very well done. They even danced to the macarena song and (unlike me), they were all syncronised. Double wow! Mages, CK and I wanted to join in the macarena, but nobody dared to jump in first. Aiyo. Wasted la guys. Hey! Next time ok.
Hubby had made a little buddy as well. His name is David and apparently the common passion that bonded them was football. The home does send a couple of the normal boys for football sessions in Brickfields. Hubby saw that the boys looked up to this David chap so hubby was pretty impressed. David is a good looking Indian boy, pretty confident, friendly and smart. Later on hubby confided that he would like to spend more time with David and requested me to find out how can this be done and what was David's background. Sigh.. Never judge a book by its cover. No matter how normal a person looks like or happy he/she is, everybody has an ugly history. David had one. This is what I found out. He is a normal 12 year old boy and will be sitting for his UPSR soon in September. He plays football and is quite active in school. So I was still expecting a sickness or something that might have trigerred the family to place him at the home. Mr Baskin told me otherwise. Apparently the mother did not want him. I asked him again. Yes, the mother DID NOT WANT him. My heart slumped. Period.
In between, I managed to sit down with little Patrick again. He looked a little bit drowsy and was slowly falling asleep. I was not sure why I was drawn to him. Maybe because I knew of his plight earlier on which made me think of him even before coming here. I did tell hubby of his story as well. I cannot imagine how his future will be. In 5 years time, he will be 7. The same age my own son will be next year. Different from my son (who is going to Primary One), Patrick would still be struggling to eat on his own, or walk, or to talk even. Would he even know what is going on with his body. Maybe being blind provides a little bit of solitude because he would not be able to see how his normal friends are - walking, laughing, talking and playing. Maybe it is better for him to not know all this so that he can grow at his own pace and not live up to other people's expectation. Sometimes being trapped in a difficult situation like this is much more easier because he does not have to answer to other people, but only to himself and God.
It was almost 6pm. I saw in the home's agenda, they have another group coming in for dinner. One thing I am glad is that they are well taken care of in terms of human interaction and love. However they still do need the supplies as one big tin of Gain Kid milk powder will be used up in just under two days. The diapers that they use are in huge amount as most of the smaller babies are not toilet trained or completely unable to go to the toilet at all. I will not even mention on the medical treatment that some of them have to go through. Due to their conditions, some of them will be prone to sickness. Or maybe some would need extensive surgery such as little Patrick. Who is going to fund them? What about physio theraphy? Currently they only have one physiotherapist to ensure that 10 special children have their daily massage and exercise. Then there is the construction of their 4 storey facility in Taman SEA. So far they have only secured the land. They have not started constructing the structure yet. Would they have enough money to realise this simple dream of theirs. From what I know, there are a few children and adults in waiting list, waiting to be accepted in the home. The reason of the waiting list could be anything. Lack of fund, not enough space, not enough man power. So what would become of them? Another undetermined future awaits.
I write this on a Friday evening, half expecting to see the solar eclipse (I guess not), watching my son play with his new found friend, and glancing at my hubby at the footbal field. Normal. All is normal. No defects. No deformities. Not one single child without their parent watching over them. Not one of them has abandonement issues. Not one is short of love and care. I felt a little bit guilty sitting here with my laptop, typing away instead of doing something more for the home. What can I do for Patrick? For David? For Kah Hoe? I am no saviour and I cannot save the world. But I can make a difference in the lives of this 3 boys. All with different backgounds, different histories, different expectations. What is my hope for them? Nothing much actually. But I know they deserved more than what life has cruelly given them. All of us went through to some dark moments of our lives, and we lived to have a better ending or for me, a new beginning in the end. I believe that Patrick, David and Kah Hoe deserve this second chance, this new beginning. I will not only pray for it, but I will try my very best to make sure they have it. Till then, let's pray for those who are not accounted for and still lost out there. Let's pray that one day they too will be found and thus be cared for by selfless people like those in this home.
I just got the idea of celebrating the July babies a few days ago, so here I am trying to figure out what to buy for them. I got the most basic toys, some nice socks (inspiration from Cindy) and a beautiful simple bracelet for a 34 year old lady. I bought two 1 kg cakes, one was a fruit cake and the other was a cheese cake from King's Confectionary. I went to Giant and got 2 bottles of Pantene shampoo and 2 tins of Gain Kid milk powder. After that rushed back home to eat (that was already 10pm) and continued doing the remaining 60 over party packs for the children. I had to hide the cakes from hubby as I planned for him and 2 other July babies to celebrate together with the residents. Thank goodness for the 2nd fridge upstairs. My Friday ended at 4am Saturday morning.
Saturday morning - 1pm. Family and had lunch first before going to Dominoes Sunway to pick up our 20 large pizzas. I have this Express Card of which if you order 10 large pizzas, you get 10 large ones for free. Waited for 2 more cars full of friends to come and at around 2.40pm, we reached the gate's home.
We were greeted by curious on-lookers and then when they realised we were the people whom their caretakers had briefed on earlier, they opened the gate and 4 or 5 boys and grown men came to help us to carry the things we bought for them. My goodness. That was fast. The boys were so thoughtful as they dilligently carried the pizzas, gifts, supplies, drinks and plastic bags all at once.
The next thing we did was to find the person whom had patiently answered and catered to our every needs. Mr Baskin, the home's Operations Manager. True enough as obliging as he is in the phone, he is also very warm and friendly in person. Truly the home is indeed lucky to have him as their guardian, as there is a certain aura around him which attracts people to come and help. During his briefing he talked about almost all of the residents so passionately, and I have to give him two thumbs up for his ability to remember their names and histories.
In my recent post I highlighted a boy who is blind and has celebral palsy, and was also abandoned by his parents. Today we managed to meet with little Patrick in person. He was so attached to one of the caretakers so much so he wanted her to carry him all the time. He is 2 years old this year and he just underwent a minor surgery on his neck and head. That is why his head has to be supported all the time. More like a 1 month old baby. As I sat with him and talked to him, his skin was fair and smooth. He had a very pleasant face and I could not help but to caress his cheek all the time. If he is a normal baby he would have been a very handsome one. I was just a little bit dissapointed because he could not see me. Mr Baskin mentioned to us that his father comes by often to see him, whereas the mother would call once in a while to check up on him. I pray for the family to have strength and courage to bring up little Patrick well.
I thank God for the staff and caretakers of the home for their help. They assisted in organising the distribution of the pizzas and drinks almost flawlessly. The residents were very obedient and they were as if in perfect motion whenever the main caretaker (Ms Raj) rang the bell. Almost in unison, the knew that it was time for tea, separated into groups, arranged the tables and chairs, and took their places accordingly. I was impressed, and so were my friends. Hubby managed to squeeze himself through some children, sat and talked with them. Glad to know he is having fun. Kenny, Kit and a few of the boys helped in blowing up the balloons and shaping them into animals. CK and her gang were busy mingling with the kids, and there was this one lady who wanted her picture to be taken so many times. Nita, Vicky Ate and Janet Ate were making their rounds around the home, while stopping once in a while to talk to a small kid, chit chatting with the caretakers and Mr Baskin. The boys, Adam and son were running around from one the girls and almost at once they made friends with a boy name Kah Hoe, who was intrigued with Transformers and Tokyo Drift. One of the boys, who is actually a Malay was speaking fluent Tamil to Selva. I was flabbergasted and now determined more than ever to have son master Tamil.
Another boy told a very very cheeky joke to Yoges. It went like this:
There was this man driving a lorry which was full of things to be delivered to Mr. A. Once he arrived at Mr A's house, Mr A opened the back of the lorry and found out that all the things were missing. So what do you think happened to the things in the lorry?
Yoges and hubby were confused. So they admit defeat.
The boy cheekily said, " the things were missing because the man was carrying ICE!!"
Yoges and hubby laughed. Good one.
Half an hour later they finished eating and I signalled for the cutting of the cake. Ms Raj gathered the 9 July babies (1 was not here as he had went home for the weekend), and I gathered the 3 confused July babies in our group - hubby, Selva and Yoges. When everyone was ready, Ms Raj counted 1-2-3 and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Such a sweet moment for all of them. After taking several pictures of that, I ran to the car and got the birthday gifts that I bought for them. I had hubby, my two aunties, Nita, Selva, Yoges, Marianne and CK to give out the gifts respectively. I know that some of them could not enjoy the gifts, but I am happy enough to know that the gifts would be shared among all the residents.
After that Ms Raj got them all in a queue to receive the party packs. I got CK's friends - Mages, Latha, Yoges and the others to help out in this. I want to sincerely thank them for coming and making this visit a more merrier and meaningful one. Actually they were not in my confirmed list as CK did not inform me earlier. But I was moved nevertheless for their effort and time sacrificed to help me in this event. Thank you to all of you.
Then came the reps from my home fellowship - Kenny, Marianne and Kit. They helped in ensuring that the balloons were ready, even though the balloons kept on popping. Lol! Marianne was as usual superb with the children. And children are children, because when they saw the balloons, Kenny and Kit were swamped, surrounded, stalked and wrestled to the ground (hee hee, I exaggerated that) for it. Ha ha ha. Thanks again you guys!
That was the end of our agenda. It was now their turn to entertain us. Ms Raj and her troops of dancing princesses and princes put on their dancing shoes and began dancing to various Indian songs. Wow! Very well done. They even danced to the macarena song and (unlike me), they were all syncronised. Double wow! Mages, CK and I wanted to join in the macarena, but nobody dared to jump in first. Aiyo. Wasted la guys. Hey! Next time ok.
Hubby had made a little buddy as well. His name is David and apparently the common passion that bonded them was football. The home does send a couple of the normal boys for football sessions in Brickfields. Hubby saw that the boys looked up to this David chap so hubby was pretty impressed. David is a good looking Indian boy, pretty confident, friendly and smart. Later on hubby confided that he would like to spend more time with David and requested me to find out how can this be done and what was David's background. Sigh.. Never judge a book by its cover. No matter how normal a person looks like or happy he/she is, everybody has an ugly history. David had one. This is what I found out. He is a normal 12 year old boy and will be sitting for his UPSR soon in September. He plays football and is quite active in school. So I was still expecting a sickness or something that might have trigerred the family to place him at the home. Mr Baskin told me otherwise. Apparently the mother did not want him. I asked him again. Yes, the mother DID NOT WANT him. My heart slumped. Period.
In between, I managed to sit down with little Patrick again. He looked a little bit drowsy and was slowly falling asleep. I was not sure why I was drawn to him. Maybe because I knew of his plight earlier on which made me think of him even before coming here. I did tell hubby of his story as well. I cannot imagine how his future will be. In 5 years time, he will be 7. The same age my own son will be next year. Different from my son (who is going to Primary One), Patrick would still be struggling to eat on his own, or walk, or to talk even. Would he even know what is going on with his body. Maybe being blind provides a little bit of solitude because he would not be able to see how his normal friends are - walking, laughing, talking and playing. Maybe it is better for him to not know all this so that he can grow at his own pace and not live up to other people's expectation. Sometimes being trapped in a difficult situation like this is much more easier because he does not have to answer to other people, but only to himself and God.
It was almost 6pm. I saw in the home's agenda, they have another group coming in for dinner. One thing I am glad is that they are well taken care of in terms of human interaction and love. However they still do need the supplies as one big tin of Gain Kid milk powder will be used up in just under two days. The diapers that they use are in huge amount as most of the smaller babies are not toilet trained or completely unable to go to the toilet at all. I will not even mention on the medical treatment that some of them have to go through. Due to their conditions, some of them will be prone to sickness. Or maybe some would need extensive surgery such as little Patrick. Who is going to fund them? What about physio theraphy? Currently they only have one physiotherapist to ensure that 10 special children have their daily massage and exercise. Then there is the construction of their 4 storey facility in Taman SEA. So far they have only secured the land. They have not started constructing the structure yet. Would they have enough money to realise this simple dream of theirs. From what I know, there are a few children and adults in waiting list, waiting to be accepted in the home. The reason of the waiting list could be anything. Lack of fund, not enough space, not enough man power. So what would become of them? Another undetermined future awaits.
I write this on a Friday evening, half expecting to see the solar eclipse (I guess not), watching my son play with his new found friend, and glancing at my hubby at the footbal field. Normal. All is normal. No defects. No deformities. Not one single child without their parent watching over them. Not one of them has abandonement issues. Not one is short of love and care. I felt a little bit guilty sitting here with my laptop, typing away instead of doing something more for the home. What can I do for Patrick? For David? For Kah Hoe? I am no saviour and I cannot save the world. But I can make a difference in the lives of this 3 boys. All with different backgounds, different histories, different expectations. What is my hope for them? Nothing much actually. But I know they deserved more than what life has cruelly given them. All of us went through to some dark moments of our lives, and we lived to have a better ending or for me, a new beginning in the end. I believe that Patrick, David and Kah Hoe deserve this second chance, this new beginning. I will not only pray for it, but I will try my very best to make sure they have it. Till then, let's pray for those who are not accounted for and still lost out there. Let's pray that one day they too will be found and thus be cared for by selfless people like those in this home.
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