It’s calling calling time!

During our board meeting on Tuesday night, we finally decided that this year’s Family Day will be held at Lost World of Tambun (LWOT). Yep, we had our Family Day there a few years back when we had a sponsor for the annual event. Since the kids loved the place and kept on talking about how they enjoyed themselves there, we decided to go there again. Besides, it seems there are new attractions since the last time we went, and in addition to that, this year we have the budget to hold the event at a venue which requires quite a substantial amount of money for entrance fees.

So while the sub-committee will be meeting every week from now on to discuss on the itinerary, logistics and whatever arrangements, all the volunteers will have to start contacting their clients to inform them about the event and to confirm who’s coming etc. Hmmm… that means I will have to do most of the contacting because I have the most clients!

Well, I’ve started with one today. Coincidentally it is time for my monthly grocery delivery and my visit today was to Sofie’s house. So after getting all the stuff at the minimarket, off I headed to visit Sofie and the kids. It has been a month since I last went to visit.

Unlike during my usual visits, this time when I got to the house, the front door was closed. I was at first quite concerned that maybe nobody was home (I did send a text message before going but Sofie seldom replies my message – not enough credit) but I saw the children’s bicycles outside, so somebody must be home.

When I got to the front door, I did hear some voices, and so I gave the salam. I kept on hearing voices but nobody returned my salam. So I knocked on the door and gave the salam again. This time I heard a child’s voice returning the salam and asked, “Siapa?”

“Saya…” (hehehe… purposely trying to find out if the boy recognised my voice…)

“Makcik Afizah ya?”

It was Saiful. They (Sofie, Saiful & Ika) were in the kitchen, thus the locked front door. Once Saiful opened the door, I started carrying down all the stuff in my car – rice, cooking oil, sugar, flour, anchovies, potatoes, canned sardines, drinks, milk, chili sauce, tomato sauce, soy sauce, eggs, margarine, detergent, etc.

Usually Saiful would help me but today he was helping his mother who needed to hold on to someone to walk from the kitchen to the front. Oh dear… she looked rather weak today.

Apparently after feeling a wee bit better, and not wanting to depend on charity all her life, when an owner of a food stall who needed an extra hand at the stall, coaxed Sofie to work for her, Sofie accepted, She thought it would be a great opportunity for her to earn extra income for the family.

Problem is, Sofie is not fit to work just yet, although she’s better than the first time I met her. Well yes, working at home doing all those wires she gets from a nearby factory is okay, because she gets to do so at her own pace at home, sitting down. But the job at the stall required her to take orders from customers, meaning she had to walk around quite a bit. Given her condition, she actually couldn’t walk around too much. Now she’s starting to feel the pain and has problems even to get up and walk. After a week of working, she’s beginning to get fever, she lost her appetite to eat, and she vomits every time she tries to eat.

I told her to get a complete rest. I admire the fact that she wants to work to support her children, but for the moment I can still get financial assistance for her. For genuine cases like hers, all I have to do is open my mouth and God willing, help will start coming in.

Anyway, the moment I told them that this year’s Family Day will be at LWOT, both Ika and Saiful went “YES!!” Waaah… so very happy! That’s the purpose of the Family Day… to make them happy. I asked Sofie to confirm how many of them would be coming – Sofie said she didn’t have any doubt that Azman, her second son would want to come along, but she wasn’t too sure about the eldest, Azlan. He’s usually not the type who likes to join all the “kiddies” activities. But at LWOT he doesn’t have to worry about having to play with the kids. He is after all, already 16, he doesn’t have to play at the kiddies pool (only makciks like me do that… hehehe!)

Azlan happened to just get home from school while we were talking, so I asked him direct if he wanted to join. I told him I’d need his confirmation as we need to pay for everything before the event, and so we can’t wait for him to decide on the day itself whether he wants to join us or not. I think he too must have been wanting to go to the place which he had only heard of before, and he knows for a fact that the place is not only for children but for adults as well, so he said yes, YAYYY!!!

So yep, I already have 5 people in my “going” list now. I’d better start calling the rest… Lin, Fuzi, Murni, Sha, Mrs K, Jah, Yah, Maria, Sharifah, Nuri, Ani… hmmm… who else ya? I’d better check my clients list so that I will not miss anybody…