About a week ago, we finished the fasting month and celebrated Eid (or Hari Raya in Malay). The whole celebration is still ongoing to this day. It’s a month of celebration after the month of fasting… it’s a good way for me to re-gain the weight I lost over the past two months.
Since it’s a month of celebration, I should write something cheerful… I plan to, but not today… instead, I’m going to tell you guys about an experience I had during the fasting month… it’s one of those moments that change your perception on life…
During the fasting month, my client organized a trip to an orphanage. They do this kind of things all the time during the year, but this is the first time that I found the time to join.
The truth is this was the first time I’ve ever been to an orphanage… I didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking we would go there, bring some stuff for the kids, give the money they collected from the staff, have dinner with them and go home…
When we got there, the kids looked extremely happy that they had visitors. They didn’t really notice the supplies that we brought them… they were more interested in us!! They were shy, but wanted to get as close as possible to the ‘visitors’…
We all sat on the floor while there were some short speeches from the people in charge of the orphanage as well as the organizing committee… I know for a fact that when I sat down, the kids were no where near me… a few minutes into the speeches, I looked down and saw two kids cozying up to me! One sat to my side and one in front of me… the one in front kept on turning around and smiling every time I looked at him… you can’t help but smile back…
The whole time we were there, the kids wanted to be as close to us as possible… at first I couldn’t figure out why… then it hit me…
I shower my son with hugs and kisses whenever we are together… it’s not limited to just when we are at home… even when we are out shopping, at the movies, etc… and it’s reciprocated by my son… he hugs and kisses me all the time (well, almost all the time… he doesn’t acknowledge me when he’s in front of his friends at school!).
We take this simple act for granted… everyday we get love, affection and attention from our family… both physically and emotionally. These kids grow up without it.
Sure they have their caregivers… but there’s one old couple who’s taking care of 20+ orphans of all ages. I’m pretty sure they can’t get around and give everybody a hug every day…
You go through life putting money into a donation box, never really giving the orphans a second thought… sure they need your financial support to survive physically, but they also need you love and attention to survive emotionally…
These kids don’t have parents, so we should start thinking of them as our kids… it’s not something that’s hard to achieve… make your way to an orphanage, and you’ll understand what I mean.
Very emotionally enlightening. This one i feel should be published in the newspaper on a sunday. It's that kind of reading that people should have the privilege to on weekends, it's a feel good entry. Plus hopefully it will inspire some people to go to the orphanages. Sometimes people need a slight nudge, and this kind of post will definitely do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of u hisy-hummm