session 5 and subsequent sessions at Budriah

we will have session 5 this sat (jun 27) with the training session on thu (jun 25) at 4 om in room C21.

the coming sessions are on july 4 (6th), july 25 (7th), aug 1 (8th) and aug 8 (9th & last)

session 4 - only in june!

next session (4th) will only be on june 27, almost a two-month gap. group in charge of session 4 is mr james' sweet & sensible (aww...)

My Reflection

This post is kind of overdue, and I got lazy, but was motivated to write something because of you, DHEVIA! Well, having the 6 'cupcakes' over was a blessing too. Toiletries, nah, it wasn't bothersome, it gave me a feel of what it would be like raising teens (counting down 12 more years for Jay Vann).

It is not true that teachers teach all the time. I am sure any teacher would agree with me that, we learn a lot from our students and yes, I learnt from all of you tremendously.

I was always complaining of how much I have to handle, how much I have to do but little did I realize that this bunch of teenagers whom I was working with, had even more to handle and not forgetting expectations to meet. Yet, each and every task assigned to you was tackled at your best. I salute the strength and effort all the Budriah volunteers have. You could have chosen to remain in your comfort zone like your peers. Why get involve in activities that will take so much of your time. Isn't it better to stay in Casa on Saturday, do some laundry, catch up on sleep, work on the unfinished assignments, but NO! You chose to be there at Budriah, and that has touched the lives of so many people.

The selflessness in the the volunteers is a lesson I, as a teacher, obtained.

Let's look forward to the sessions to come!

Cheers!

sharing your experiences

hi all, firstly, thank you for a job well done. the bonding that you all have managed to forge with your kiddies is invaluable; you have made a difference.

any thoughts/experience that you would like to share? this can serve as 'your journal' as well. please feel free to write and email it to me, i will then post it up for you.

for those of you with a story to tell, with name of child, gin kye would like to hear from you. you can email me and say that it is for gin kye only.

have a good week ahead.

'my experience' from Dhevia Kalyana Sundram

The 25th of April marked our 3rd session at Tengku Budriah. It had been 3 weeks since we had last seen the kids. I couldn't help but miss the racket, laughter and smiles.

This is extremely delayed and was really meant for after the 4th. Nevertheless: A BIG THANK YOU TO our lovely MS. SHARON! Our second session wouldn't have been possible without your encouragement, support and baking expertise! The cupcakes were most definitely a success. I'm sure everyone would agree that it wouldn't have been easy putting up with 6 teenagers who conveniently forgot to bring along toiletries. 6 teenagers who had to be marched off to the showers and who had appetites of grown men. Thank you for having us over, we had the absolute best time!on behalf of the cupcakes, bucketfuls of LOVE to you mommy sharon! :D

Thumbs up to chaiwallah for a smooth-running session. Job well done guys. Pointers we can all most certainly learn from.

The children of Tengku Budriah have moved me in many ways. The lesson this week proved to be highly useful in allowing the children to open up to us even more; love conquers all. Whilst talking to one child in particular, i noticed that he had a mark on his wrist, what i assumed to be a souvenir from an accident. Unfortunately, my guess was wrong. Upon questioning him, he explained that it was because of abuse. Pain that he had endured because of his father. To be honest, i felt a certain hatred for the man. Who would do that to a child, their own flesh and blood? I could not bring myself to condone such an action, whatever the circumstances may have been.

Curiously, i asked him if he was angry with his father and whether the person who caused him such distress was forgiven. his answer, YES. i asked him if he loved his father. his genuine, heartfelt answer, "YA, SAYA MASIH SAYANG AYAH." I felt the tears welling up. Determined not to let him see me cry, i sent him off to return his journal.

While relating the incident to a fellow Cupcake, i started to sob. The little boy came back and i'm sure was horror stricken to see a kakak crying. I convinced him it was nothing but dust in my eyes. This child was selfless and forgiving. Half of which most of us fail to be. The lesson may have taught him well but the generosity he had, was innate. I secretly feel downright ashamed of myself. Reminiscing the endless occasions where i blamed everything on a bad day or mood.

Despite having gone through so much, not once had i seen him sulk or throw a tantrum. He is, by my standards one of the most cheerful, polite children i have met. his parting words to me were written in his journal for he still is somewhat shy. "Saya sangat gembira hari ini. Saya akan tunggu sehingga kakak balik lagi."

A simple gesture that put a smile on my face and reminded me of how the exhaustion i felt was more than worthwhile. I feel privileged to have met this child. I will always be proud of him. We speak of angels roaming the earth all the time. He may just be one of them.

Who says angels don't come in miniature, beautiful packages? My best wishes to that little boy. He will, without a doubt grow up to be an admirable man. GOD BLESS.

Signing off with more thank yous to everyone involved in madu. I couldn't be happier spending every other Saturday running around and doing the chicken dance :)

Dhevia Kalyana Sundram, 08J7.

Session 3 POSTPONED!

please note that tomorrow's session has been postponed to april 25th, as the kiddies have to go to school for replacement classes.
all arrangements for this session on april 25th will be as status quo.
you guys are all doing a great job, keep it up!
remember to write down your experiences and email them to me.

Many Thanks to You!

Here comes the long awaited and delayed word of thanks to all of you who put your heart and soul into making Session 2 a success, especially to Cupcakes and the Skit actors. This time round was more organized and the children were less rowdy, which was a job well done by all of you. From observation, there are a few things which need our attention.

1. ALL group leaders MUST attend training sessions. If a leader cannot make it, please send a team member.

2. Please READ lesson plan before training.

Well, that's all I guess. Anyway, good luck to Chaiwallah this week!