MOW MOBILE LIBRARY - "Feeding" the minds of children in Pulau Indah

What a heart-warming sight to behold ... children pouring over books in the community hall of the Orang Asli in Pulau Indah.

On the morning of 18th May 2013, Meals on Wheels Ti-Ratana fulfilled the wishes of the Orang Asli in Pulau Indah to have a library for their children. With volunteers from Poiema Church and university students from Canada, we brought the sleepy and quiet community hall to life ... piles of books placed on floor mats for the children to choose and browse, with guidance from our helpful and enthusiastic volunteers.

The various expressions on the children's faces depict their joy, curiosity, interest and delight in spending their Saturday morning reading, learning and interacting with our volunteers.

Apart from the books, the children were given simple art pieces to paint. They were so engrossed in the activity and some were earnestly creating their "masterpiece".

Some of the curious mothers came along to see for themselves the commotion in the community hall. And a few of them encouraged and helped their younger children with the painting.

No Meals on Wheels event will be complete without FOOD ... the children were treated to KFC, muffins and chocolate milk drinks. But first, they had to wash their hands.

Our experience with these children tells us that they are hungry for knowledge; they want to read, learn, draw, paint, make things with their hands and much more. All they need is access to the materials and a little helping hand to guide them.

18th May was a good start ... the children in this community finally has a library to call their own ... small, it may be, but we hope this will sow the seed for a healthy reading and learning culture.

We would like to thank the generous people below for their contribution in making the library a reality for the children in Pulau Indah and the set-up session a most fun and memorable one:

1. JN for the library cupboard, mats and books
2. Scholastics for books
3. Lilian Kuan for books
4. Sharon Yong Abdullah for color pencils, art materials, pre-loved toys & clothings and drinks
5. Andrea and university students from Canada for books on the mountains and indigenous people in Canada
6. Poiema Church for books, posters and art materials
7. Catherine for the KFC

And most importantly, to all the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning with the children,  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ... it meant a lot to them to know that YOU CARE.

Last but not least, to some of the volunteers from Poiema Church who will be making regular visits to conduct similar sessions with the children in Pulau Indah ... your passion and dedication in helping the under-privileged is PRICELESS.


Posted by Kim
Pictures by Kim

MOW MOBILE LIBRARY - Request for books and volunteers for library in Orang Asli Pulau Indah community

Since our post on the "MOW Celebrate - Christmas event with Orang Asli Pulau Indah", where we requested for support to set up a mini library in their community hall, we have received donations in the form of cupboards and floor mats, from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, new books from Scholastic and pre-loved books from various donors. Thank you to all who have contributed!

We are almost ready to realize the wish of the Orang Asli Pulau Indah to have a library for the children to cultivate the good habits of reading. However, before we do that, we are seeking support for the following:

1. Library Volunteers
This is the first library in the community, and the Orang Asli do no have experience in the set-up, maintenance and running of a library. We would like the mini library to truly serve the community for many years. Thus we are calling for volunteers with an affinity for books and children to help manage this mini library and conduct quarterly/monthly (or more frequently if time permits) activities for the children in the community. The Tok Batin expects between 40-50 children to use the library regularly.

Please note that Pulau Indah is in Port Klang. This is a peaceful scene of the community, and the community hall where the library will be housed. Activities for the children can take place in or outside the hall.

2. Books
We still need more books for the library - both English and Malay books. The books should be suitable for pre-schoolers, primary school and lower secondary school children. They can be picture books, poster books, story books, workbooks, etc. We welcome pre-loved books.

These children truly need your support. The library will be an avenue for them to learn more about the world outside their little community, encourage reading and learning, do better in schools, go to college and eventually make a better living for themselves.

If you are interested to contribute to this good cause, either as a volunteer or donating books, please contact June at trccpenchala@gmail.com or call Kim at 012-3036019.

MOW CELEBRATE - Sharing Festive Cheer with the Orang Asli Community in Pulau Indah

These happy faces are testament to the joyful feelings of the volunteers and recipients, both young and old, at the Orang Asli Village in Pulau Indah.

 These pictures were taken last Sunday, 9th Dec 2012, when Ti-Ratana MoW celebrated Christmas with this community.

The children had a whale of a time with a line-up of exciting activities served up to them. Catherine played MC and host, and entertained the children with fun and simple Q&A and rewarding them with candies and lollies.

 The mothers were also given the chance to express their feelings and wishes.

 Derrick and friends played some fun games with prizes and taught them to do the infamous Gangnam dance, which further jazzed up the jovial mood.

Everyone was then treated to a delicious chicken curry lunch, complete with pudding cups and gingerbread cookies for dessert.

 And no MoW party will be complete without presentation of goodie bags to the families. In addition to the basic stuff like sugar, mee hoon, cooking oil and salt, the families also received Danish butter cookies, Horlicks 3 in 1 packs, Ribena, instant noodles, sweetened creamer, a bar of soap and a tee-shirt.

But the thing that got them most excited was the pre-loved clothes, shoes, soft toys, etc. It was such a sight seeing the children and their parents sorting out and choosing the items that they like ... kinda like MoW "pasar malam" (night market)!

The Star Online crew joined us at the event and interviewed our Chairman as well as the mothers and children. Click below to view their coverage of the event.

http://thestaronline.tv/View.aspx?vid=9510&cid=1

http://youtu.be/43AEmvqez2Q


It was indeed a Sunday well-spent for the volunteers ... serving lunch, playing games, mingling and chatting with the mothers and children, but most of all, the satisfaction and gratification from seeing the smiling and delighted faces of these folks is priceless.

All these would not have been possible without the contribution from our volunteers and donors:

Julia Choong
Stella Chai
Angeline Kwan
Cody Cheah
Mary Chia
Lynn Yap
Frank Low
Wileen Ng
Magdeling Chin
Caroline Chan
Carmen Choo
Tommy Teh
Leong Leng Kuan
Pauline Yong
Dennis Pet
Balasubramanian Thevarayan
Christine Low
Michelle Ku
Stone Empire Marketing Sdn. Bhd
Jennifer Kuah of Asianage Holdings
Paul Onn and Jenny Chan
Tan Lay Hwa
Yong Ah Hing
Madam Kim and Mr See
Dr. TC
Sharyn wong
Brother Billy's workshop and his participants.
Malaysian Steel
Wendy Chiam
Tan Hooi Suan
Choong Mong Phng
Felicia Ng


OUR UTMOST GRATITUDE TO ALL DONORS, VOLUNTEERS AND WORKING COMMITTEE OF MEALS ON WHEELS.

MAY ALL THE GOOD MERITS FROM YOUR KINDNESS BRINGS HAPPINESS AND JOY TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

Do join us as we embark on our next project for this community, i.e. to set-up a children’s library …

Before we departed, the Head of External Affairs, En Sunyi requested our help to set up a library for the children. We will definitely do our best to fulfill the community’s wish to have a library. We will be grateful for contribution of used and new books that we hope will cultivate good reading habits amongst the children.

Posted by
Kim Yeap