A random act of kindness may spare you all sorts of trouble down the road

Writer: Muhammad Amirul Bin Khaerabadi (KIL170096)

Figure 1 : Group 4 members

Preparation phase

We spent a week or two trying to find the best place we can visit and offer help and services to our best abilities and we found one! It was Rumah Hope in Petaling Jaya. A sanctuary for abused, neglected and under-privileged children. Personally, I did some volunteering work before like providing tuition for school children but this time it was a different ball game altogether. To be brutally honest, I was scared and excited at the same time. Fortunately, our supervisor(shout-out to Dr. Mahar Diana) helped me and the team to concentrate more on what the children need rather than what we can  offer. We visited Rumah Hope 4 times and we gained invaluable experience that will change our life forever.

Ongoing phase

The first day of our visit  was a bit challenging due to language barrier as some children do not speak English or Malay. But to our surprise, the children and the caretakers welcomed us with great smile and we did not take long to warm up to them. We started with a simple ice-breaking session and proceeded to play some games with them. We helped them with their homework during the study time.

The subsequent visits we continued with our routine assistance(playing games and helping with their studies and homework) and helped the caretakers with assembling the bed frames for the new coming children. Other activities include playing badminton, word search games and colouring activities. 

 Figure 2: Coloring session with the children

Figure 3: Helping with the management

Reflection

I've had always thought that when dealing with orphanage, I have to be extra careful with my words and actions which might have an impact on the children but the more I spent time with the children, I realized that they are just like every other kids out there. We just need to give them our attention and space for them to be able to comfortably share their thoughts and creativity. I have great admiration towards the caretakers for their undivided attention and efforts to help the children. It is truly heartwarming to see that at the very least the less fortunate children in Rumah Hope are in great care.

There is no way to truly know for sure if our presence impacted the children's life in any way,shape or form but it is a great exposure for me. 

Had I known the feeling of self-satisfaction you gain when helping the orphanage earlier, I'd surely do this volunteering more often. I would like to express my gratitude to CITRA for giving us the opportunity to work on this project.

I would like to encourage everyone to volunteer helping the less fortunate people once in a while. It does not necessarily have to be helping an organization or a specific type of group in a society. Just a random act of kindness everyday towards anyone in need is more than enough to make the world a better place for all. 

 Figure 4: A group photo with these precious children