One humbling experience

It started with a few old and new friends trying to help Iskandar @ Dr Bubbles making a difference in a few kids' life. RM200 soon multiplied and in no time, he managed to collect roughly RM9k for his brilliant mini libraries project. A few went to Janda Baik to materialise the mission a few weeks ago and I joined the second trip to Kampung Cheh, Bukit Gantang Perak last weekend. It was one humbling learning experience and we had so much fun too along the way. I think I've learnt so much more about humanity and goodwill within this 48 hours than I have in years!

Iskandar, Farouq, Bro Nasrun, his wife Kak Nett and myself left for Ipoh on Saturday morning after a brief breakfast meet at Setiawangsa. Since 2 of the guys happened to be STAR Old boys, we went to have 'Nasi Ganja' at Jln. Yang Kalsom to let them take a journey down their memory lane as soon as we arrived in Ipoh (kasi can la kan..heheh..). Here is a photo of it, especially requested to be put up here by another Old boy, my former 3MMMP boss :)


Sorry that the picture is abit blurry.. I only remembered to take a snap of it when I already had my fingers onto it!

We met up with Salina and her brother at that Nasi Ganja place so once our stomachs were filled, we made our way to Bukit Gantang in 3 cars. At Nurul Hidayah, we were greeted by smily yet shy faces of the young residents and later, by the friendly owner, Pak Manap. Bro Jiwarasa (from Ipoh) and Kak Laily (from Penang) with their respective families joined us soon after. Let the photos do the rest of the story-telling...


Our destination


The task began: sorting out the books


A light moment


Some were donated, many were bought


Mission accomplished (for now at least)


The kids enjoying the new books


Khusyuknya Fila


Pak Manap's homestay: where we went to rest and clean ourselves

Later in the afternoon, Pak Manap and Mamagie took us to visit a poor cancer patient in a neighbouring village. I almost wanted to cry seeing the condition she and her family were in. Yup, poverty still exist in this country even after 50 years of independence...

In the evening we went back to Nurul Hidayah for BBQ and get-to-know session with the kids. The initially shy and reserved kids turned out to be very chatty and asked numerous questions, which some I couldn't easily answer like "Ahli Psikik tu kerja apa kak?"


BBQ


Kak Nett chatting with the kids about future careers


A serious discussion with Pak Manap and Pak Tam ( sebenarnya tengah tunggu ayam and ikan patin siap tu..hehe..)


Filling in the gaps with the career books (nasib baik Is beli buku 'Ahli Farmasi', senang sikit nak explain!)


The kids posing with my handbag

By the end of the night, I was really close to the kids that they even asked me to spend the night with them. Part of me wanted to, but I didn't want to interfere with their daily routines. I did spent some time in their dorms though, dispensing old hostel tricks such as how to make a good bed before saying goodbyes. We then headed to Pak Tam's place, and even managed to learn a few massage tricks from him before calling off the night.

Early sunday morning, Mamagie and I went for a short visit to a couple of cancer patients' houses after breakfast, and again, their living conditions particularly of a very old lady who can't walk and lives alone caught my nerves. If only I could do more for them...sigh..

We then joined the rest to visit another cancer patient who owns this:

Such a strong lady she is

Before we left for KL, Pak Manap took us for a nature and history trail and brought us here:

Kampung Warisan Resort

and here:

Long Jaafar resting place

We finally bid goodbye and left Bukit Gantang at about 11am. But another twist of event followed. Instead of straight to KL, we ended up here:



All for a good cause of course :)

More photos here soon.