LEE KONG CHIAN FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND

SCIENCE
MPU 34032 COMMUNITY PROJECT

Name
Student ID
Partners Name

CHIN HONGRUI
1505519
CHAK YUEN NENG
CHEN YIN HOU
HONG HUI LENG
JOANNA TEO CIA CIA
NATAHANAEL LEONG WENG JIAN
PHIM PHA PROMMANOP A/P THIRAK
YAP CHIA KEE
LIEW DEK FEEI
SITI SHALIMAH BT. MOHD RAZALI

Lecture Group
Title
Date

L3
JOURNAL 2
24/11/16

INTRO
Miss Amelia, give this a read, cause to me this is really a journal with what I
think is important rather than writing every single thing that happened. Thanks

I would like to start by noting that I wasnt with my groupmates on their first
visit, because of my fathers birthday celebration. However, I have then
participated in the other 2 days as well as volunteered as program master for the
third visit.
Day 2
I was meant to be our photographer today. Phim Pha had told me earlieron the
phone today that the kids at the House were of the very hyperactive sort and
that they were not to be left alone for even a second, lest they go off elsewhere.
This didnt sounds too good, but I just focused on what I had to do for today.
Phim had drove Yuen Neng and I from our apartments to the House of The
Angels, and when we got there I got the first impression that the orphanage had
a similar air to it as a daycare centre, as I had used to go when I was still in
primary school. To me, this felt rather reassuring, because it was a familiar
feeling, of being young and not being able to wait to grow up. The children
looked to be mostly young, with one or two exceptions; a girl and a boy both
looking like they were in their late teens. Seeing as I brought my DSLR camera
along, some of them took quite an interest in it. I had opted to let them use it as
long as they were careful but both Joanna, my ggroup leader as well as the
principal shook their heads at me from afar.
Our first activity of the day was origami, which Yuen Neng was in charge of. We
were to fold paper swans, paper boxes, and paper balls. We started handing out
paper to the children and they were soon taken with Yuen Neng, given her
friendly nature. Then I thought to myself, hey they arent so bad, and they
continued on for about an hour and a half or so, with me snapping photos all long
the way. During this activity, Joanna had asked me to take a photo of one of the
kids paper boxes, and I

hadnt realised what she was talking about till I looked closer:

Mum and dad, I love you. It has never occurred to me how orphans might still
love their parents after being orphaned by happenstance or on purpose.
Then, something unexpected happened. From the CCTV in the house me and the
girls watched as many people who looked to be African were suddenly gathered
outside the House. We held our breaths as we waited for the next thing to
happen, and right then they started taking bags of perishables out of their cars
and were piling them up at the car porch. Obviously bewildered, we watched as
Pricipal Lee walked up to them to say hello; it seems theyve met before! The
people were invited in and sat down as we served them with what was had at the
orphanage: half-full glasses of orange cordial and water in exchange for what
must have been a hundreds of ringgits worth of groceries.
We are gathered here today O Lord, most of our visitors had their heads
bowed or eyes closed as one of their number started a short sermon of thanks
and blessing. After that, most of us were asked to have our photos taken with
them they to really like taking selfies and send them off their way after
thanking them all together. Again, surprise as I learned about something Id not
have if not for coming to the House today: not judging people at first glance as
they all seemed to be nice, normal people.
The following activity we had planned for the day was to play word puzzles,
organized by Phim Pha, and the kids took to it surprisingly as well. However, I
had noticed the differences in ability to finish at certain times among the kids,
with this ability not at all proportional to age. The younger ones seemed to do
fairly well while the older ones did moderately well or did rather poorly. I had

guessed then that they perhaps lacked exposure and hence inhibited their
development as they continued staying at the orphanage.
By the end of the day, we had left the house with mixed feelings, as me and
Nathaniel had discussed that our visit was compulsory and we were only here
because we had to. Even so, quite a number of us had agreed that we had
started caring about the kids wellbeing on some level.

Day 3

On this last day of our visits, our overall plan was simply to leave the children
with some semblance of hope for their futures, adopted or no. In advance, each
of us had a card made by hand, to give personally to every one of the children at
the House. At 4.30pm, we met up at a nearby park to get ready: to make sure
our handmade cards were passed around, giving enough time to write short,
thoughtful messages as well as have a short re-brief. We then made our way to
see the children, at which point they greeted us at the front gate with smiles and
calling the girls in our group, calling them jie jie. To us, this was a reassuring
response to our efforts thus far.

The days tone, as far as activities were concerned, was meant to be light and
simple: to take the boys and girls outs for a game of basketball at the park.
Activities involving play are found to create trust, when parties engage each
other at basic levels, without complication. However, with express instruction
from Principal Lee, we were not to take them outdoors and had instead prepared
to carry out the indoor activity planned in case, which was learning to tie
friendship bracelets. It was considered as an option because using only thread,
the bracelets made through application of skill and patience were meant as gifts
to someone the maker cared about. In understanding this, the bracelets could be
customised in their methods of tying and thread colour.

After taking our shoes off, Principal Lee asked for assistance in helping prepare
the dinner we were invited to the week prior, as a way of thanks. Promptly, we

had set out tables and chairs to seat everyone in the house, as well as plate and
serve tonights noodles in vegetarian soup. Some of our group went upstairs to
gather the children, gathering them downstairs so that we could all start. Saying
their simple prayer of gratitude, we had started dining together. While we and
the children were seated separately at first, some of us had simply moved to sit
with them and ask about their wellbeing. Some of us helped ourselves to a
second serving at Principal Lees behest, to not waste food and once were had
finished, we again took over the task of cleaning up.

Once that was done, we had then to work together to get the threads ready
before starting. With our group divided in two, most of us were seated around a
table to measure and cut threads 80 inches long, 3 of each for every one of the
kids while the rest of us kept them occupied by simply talking to them and
asking how they were. Hurrying as much as we could, we soon finished and went
about starting the activity upstairs in the prayer room. At this point, our group
member Phim Pha had meant earlier to make brooches for the kids using
coloured markers, on her own time, but as one of them caught wind of it more of
them wanted to make their own. Then, with the bracelet tying activity finding
itself shorter in participants, we started by slowly teaching the steps involved.
Seeing as the children were aged differently, they showed different degrees of
focus and ability in tying the bracelets. After roughly 1 hours progress had
slowed considerably and we were behind schedule, conversation shifted to
different topics such as past experiences and life at university, we had to end it
and tell the children to again gather downstairs.

As we all stood there in the living room, we handed out our cards and gave them
heartfelt wishes and advice, leaving took much effort on both our parts as we
had genuinely come to care for the children. After giving thanks with their
principle, they sent us off all the way to our parked cars and waved us goodbye.