Tuesday, August 17, 2010

To Malaysia with love

A new friend and 2 happy faces


Nobody welcomes visitors with broad smiles and curiosity more than the residents of Selangor Cheshire Home. Add 4 youths to a group of middle-aged volunteers of The Sunshine Group,I daresay it was a wonderful combination to set off a vibrant mood. The young men and ladies were 2nd year medical students of Sunway University on their awareness programme of the disadvantaged in the community.


All hands busy making the flag


Watch me and follow


Our main activity with the residents that morning was the making of the Malaysian flag. With 53rd Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) on 31st August approaching, Daisy, who was in charge of the activity had meticulously prepared the bits and pieces for an interactive session with the residents.

In truth, making one's own country flag is no child's play. It has to be THE flag as we know. There was even a little quiz about the significance of the colours - yellow, blue, red and white, the crescent and the 14 stripes and points of the star.


A helping hand next to me


Some among the residents may have forgotten. But that did not dampen their spiritedness in following instructions, and with a little help got everything in place to make the Malaysian flag. Nor in their gusto singing the national anthem, Negara Ku (My Country). One or two, talked with pride about the country they love, the place they call home. I believe most schoolchildren have had the chance to make a flag and wave it so fervently for the country. One way for the seed of patriotism to be planted. Merdeka Day (Independence Day) will come and go as each year rolls in and out . Our young nation celebrates with parades, march pasts and fireworks. Citizens, especially the schoolchildren are reminded of the past sacrifices of the country's leaders to achieve independence for one and all. Tunku , fondly called Father of Independence (Bapa Kemerdekaan) will always be in our hearts.


Art happy to tinkle the ivories. Besides Negara Ku, we sang some other songs


Art, one of the youths played on the piano for us to sing . The youths were attentive and caring in their ways. They will surely be missed when they have to be back in the University and new visitors come after them. The morning ended as it began on a high note. The warmth and camaraderie spread around and was gratefully received.

So, it was an early celebration of sorts among individuals - residents of the Home, students and volunteers. It was an engaging session - the youths and volunteers reaching out as caring citizens - bringing smiles, laughter and friendship. Undoubtedly, there are countless more ways than one to reach out to fellow Malaysians. The beauty of it all is that we take away such warm memories of rare moments shared and how much better we can be as individuals. I believe there is no super formula. It comes from the heart. From it springs the love to make Malaysia, our beautiful country,a truly caring nation.

To all Malaysians, Happy Merdeka !


Nearly done - just a pair of scissors to snip off unwanted bits.


Proudly holding the flag she made


More than a smile!



27 comments:

  1. Happy Merdeka day to you. Very good entry.

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  2. Okay, this entry made me tear up, Keats! How wonderful and heartwarming! Youths like these, volunteers like the Sunshine Ladies, and brave and determined individuals like the residents of the Cheshire Home -- these are the things that make our country great!

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  3. This is very meaningful, my daughter also handmade few Malaysia flag for me to take pictures for my Merderka meal.Happy Merderka!

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  4. getting everyone on Merdeka mood... that's a very decent activity by the youngsters.
    ~bangchik

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  5. What a great project- so wonderful that there were many volunteers on hand to offer assistance.

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  6. This is a heart-warming post, Keat..It's so good to see people volunteer their time at the home, which is rare here..

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  7. How wonderful to see everyone working together! My guess each group would say they got the most out of it.

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  8. How wonderful that everyone was able to join in together in a common activity, truly a unifying and uplifting day. A Happy Merdeka to you, Keats :)

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  9. The aged are remembered. How touching!

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  10. Great post and good know know everyone was involved. My 2nd daughter made a mini windmill from school project for 1 Malaysia, it was so pretty, we hung it outside. Happy week ahead.

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  11. What a great activity. Love the smiles!

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  12. It's like a circle - we start creating with our hands, singing and dancing and that's how it should be all our life!
    But we forget to be funny, creative when we are busy in our daily life.
    This is good reminder - life shouldn't be that serious! We should enjoy small things, every day!
    Greetings from Casa!
    (I feel better already. Three days like a zombie was hard!)

    BLOGitse

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  13. I like this idea of Merdeka Day activity very much. This is a great convesation piece and ice-breaker. Makes one reminise about old time. When I visit charities, quite often, I am at a loss as to what to do or say with the inmates and ended up liasing only with the administrators. You have done a good job and Cheers!

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  14. What a wonderful thing to do! And I love the smiles also.

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  15. 53 years is a long long way..half of a century gone..tQ

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  16. You can just see the joy in their faces. Creating together can be such a great way to connect.

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  17. I completely enjoyed your writing and the photos you posted. This touching post shows action full of trully love and patriotism and assistance from the heart. Just wonderful post!

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  18. Thanks for sharing these experiences with us. That was a very fulfilling activity. You can also see it through the smiles on the photos :-)

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  19. Love the smiles. Beautifully written as always, Keats.

    Happy Monday!

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  20. That is such a noble thing the guys are doing. Such pleasing shots. Great post.

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  21. Greetings from Bilbao, Spain where we spent super great weekend!
    What a beautiful, clean city with full of art...
    Have a great week ahead!

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  22. definitely a great activity. our flag is easier to make than yours but look at how happy they are able to make it.

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  23. Beautiful post. Thank you for sharing. Hope you are doing well.

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  24. What a good way to get people to be excited about 'merdeka'. Also how caring our society can be. Keep up the exemplary good work!

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  25. I hope you'll have a wonderful Merdeka Day, dear. This event was already a great way to celebrate.

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  26. Happy Merdeka! Keep up the good work!

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Great to have you popping in!