Spare a Thought

Its been over a week since my last post. Work is taking its toll on my social life! Dang and there isn't anything I can do about it. I have a dozen or so new projects am currently working on and some are running concurrently. I just need to get a few of the more important ones off the book and things should get better.
Either way Deeps is just one week away! Lots of things to be done in preparation. Its not like how it used to be those days but nevertheless its a celebration indeed. A few of us colleagues took some time off last Sunday morning to spent some time with the childrens at the Vision Home , First Garden Silibin Ipoh. Since its Deepavali time, we just wanted to share the festive mood with the less fortunate kids there as we most certainly wont be able to do so on the day itself.
Vision Home is a privately run shelter home for orphaned kids and kids with troubled family background.Though they have a few homes running, this particular one is for young boys only. The youngest kid here is aged 4 and the eldest is 16. They have kids from all sort of backgrounds. Some being orphaned, kids with medical conditions and the most disheartening - physically abused kids. Some of the kids had suffered serious injuries mostly by their own parents before being brought to this home! Why have childrens when they only end up being punching bags?? We are talking about kids below 6 years here. This kind of parents should be stoned to death in my personal opinion after looking at all the injuries. That's not to mention the mental torture the kids must've endured.
Either way looking at the kids , you would hardly notice their troubled past! They looked as normal as a kid can be and it was somewhat heart warming to see them running around just like how a normal kid would be. Some of the kids here are just plain fun to be with I should say. It makes you wonder , if they can swing around their life from all the hardship what makes of us the better offs! We can learn a thing or two from them on how we perceive life! They treat each other with respect and learn to share things. Be it food, toys, books....even prayers! You even get to see a mentally challenged Chinese kid talk in Tamil with his friends! The satisfaction when looking into their eyes when they received their new toys we bought for them is just unmeasurable. It worth every minute and every penny!
It was a very very satisfying moment that few hours we were there from morning till after lunch. It must've been some of the best spent hours in life for me. You get to play with them, read books, have lunch together and the best part is the interview sessions! You should see how open the kids are to the subject of discussion even at that young age. Plans are to take them all out for a day out on a picnic to Lost World , Sunway Lagoon, Tambun with our own families in December for Christmas and maybe a trip to the cinema if a nice animation movie comes out.
For all those reading this, please share some thoughts for all the unfortunate kids and humans in general when we celebrate the Festival of Light this year. Its the least we can do for them! And for those who have the means to do more, spread the festive joy around!