THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
Malaysia Flag Pictures, Images and Photos

Thursday 12 July 2007

The excitement begins...

Yesterday, together with a fellow volunteer, I went to survey the place where we are supposed to have our Family Day outing next month. At the same time, we were supposed to negotiate for a special rate as this is a charitable organization and the people joining us will be underprivileged children and families. They need a break but they can’t afford a luxury holiday.

Well, we ourselves are funded by donations from friends and the public who understands our work, so we can’t afford to give them a luxury holiday either. But we honestly hope the Family Day, which we organize every year, will be able to let them forget their plight and their sufferings, and just enjoy themselves, at least during this one day of the year. Of course, at the same time, we volunteers too will get the chance to let our hair down and enjoy ourselves silly (and maybe even act more childish than the children themselves!!).

So, yesterday I had the chance to have a “sneak preview” of the place – free of charge. We had a half hour tour of the place… so at least we now know what to expect, and as such it will be easier for us to plan our programmes for the day. The nice gentleman who showed us around even offered a free spinning chair ride… but my friend just had a cup of coffee and she was afraid she may throw up after the ride… while I was not in the proper attire… in my jubah and tudung labuh, which would probably be flapping all over when the chair goes spinning in the air! (Now, that may look like a different version of the movie “The Flying Nun”, don’t you think?) But come that day, I will make it a point to go properly attired so I will not miss any of the thrilling rides available.

Our main concern was the children. We need a strategic place so that we can easily keep an eye on the children. Kids being kids, they are bound to try anything… and especially because most, if not all, of these kids have never been exposed to such fun and amusement before. We just have to be extra careful. So yes, we got ourselves a strategic place where the mothers can easily supervise their children.

Now, coaxing the families to come is another story. For the first timers especially, they ask all sorts of questions… will their illness be discussed in any way? What if their children find out about their illness? What if people look down on them? But once we managed to convince them that there is nothing to worry about as it will be just like any other family day outings, they agreed to join. In fact, the kids are already excited the moment they found out where we’re going. (Oh okay, this overgrown kid here is just as excited…)

Actually, in organizing such events, we volunteers too tend to be caught in a dilemma. On one hand, we want to show the public that there is no harm mixing around with PLWHAs, but on the other hand, on the issue of confidentiality, we promised our clients that we will not disclose their status to anyone without their consent. And so, even in organizing this event, we have to be on low profile…

But THAT will not stop us from having fun!

These next 3 weeks running up to the Family Day, we have meetings every week to ensure the smooth running of the event. We want to make sure it will be a day the families, especially the children, will remember for a long long time…

19 comments:

Mat Salo said...

I think you guys deserve a break. Life is stressful enough as it is -what more if you are PLWHAs or somebody who's caring for one - close families and volunteers of course.

Go on, let your hair down, and have fun!

Daphne Ling said...

Haha Kak Pi,

"..in my jubah and tudung labuh, which would probably be flapping all over when the chair goes spinning in the air! (Now, that may look like a different version of the movie “The Flying Nun”, don’t you think?)"

Funnily hilarious lar you! First you 'sepupu, dua pupu, tiga pupu' on RubyAhmad's blog, now you want to be Flying Nun pulak!

Haha...

Hope you and all your 'clients' have a great time!

Pi Bani said...

Mat Salo,
Yes, yes... we will let our hair down and in the process raise other people's hair instead... :)

Pi Bani said...

Yo Daph,
Betul what... if in my jubah and tudung labuh I go naik the spinning chair, can you imagine the scene?

Anonymous said...

Kak Pi,

Ater, idok ke kome gayat nanti?

Hope that you guys will have a good time.

Monster Mom said...

How nice would it be if all the "having-problems" moms could enjoy themselves...

Don't worry... be happy and merry...

Pi Bani said...

Kina,
Teman ni ghasenye idok le jenih gayat bebenor. Kalo terapung kene puji je yang teman gayat... takut kepale jadi besor...

Pi Bani said...

Monster Mom,
I sure hope they will be able to enjoy the day. It's not often they get the chance to have this kind of outing.

winniethepooh said...

Pi Bani, enjoy the day, your colleagues and you have all worked hard for it!

I'm sure you have been told by many that you have brought such joy and relief to them..even here on the blogging world your sense of humour (at least to me) is such a joy to embrace :)

Cheers!

Pi Bani said...

Hi Winnie,
To bring joy to others is to bring joy to oneself, my friend...

Unknown said...

Hi Pi,

I pun ketawa baca Daphne's commnent. Ya lah apa lah flying nun pulak..ha ha. Hey keep up the good work. Make the kids' day. Good luck.

Pi Bani said...

K.Ruby,
Actually I dok teringat kalau I naik my e-bike yang tak berapa laju tu pun sometimes my tudung would mengerbang-ngerbang... so you bayangkanlah kalau I naik the spinning chair in the same attire!

J.T. said...

You are a hilarious one, Pi. I laughed reading about your flapping 'tudung labuh' on the spinning chair.
A different version of Superwoman, perhaps! hahaha

Hope all goes well with the Family Day. To everyone involved - enjoy yourselves! And Pi, don't forget to get some pictures. How about one with you on the spinning chair, no? ;)

Pi Bani said...

JT,
I will definitely bring my camera along... but whether or not my picture will be in is a different matter - most of the time I'd be behind the camera, not in front!

Pi Bani said...

Hi Mustafa,
Thanks. And welcome to my blog. Went to visit your blog but couldn't understand a word... will need to undergo intensive Turkish language course first to be able to understand. No translation?

Lee said...

Hi Pi Bani, I sure tersedak if you go up on the spinning chair in your jubah and tudung, and terselak in the wind.
Ha ha, just practising what I learned.
Good for you guys taking the kids and parents for the outing. I can just imagine the children's laughter.
Oustanding Pi Bani! Lee.

Pi Bani said...

U.Lee... my new Malay language student... :) Hmmm... not bad, not bad... but I think I'm teaching you more of Manglish (Malay+English) rather than proper Malay. Ah but at least you've already got a few Malay words covered there, haven't you?

nyonyapenang said...

hahhaa....a 'flying bunny' having loads of fun during the family day. must remember to put up a pic or two here, ya? and maybe u can use some sticky-tape to prevent 'terselaks' and 'tersedaks. hehehehe...

minta space sikit, pi bani:

and Uncle Lee,, please leave your pipe on the ash-tray before reading the post.

Pi Bani said...

Hi Nyonya Penang,
Flying Bunny, eh? Haha... quite a scene you all are anticipating I must say...