Yangon, Myanmar

This is my third post on our overseas volunteering trip to Full Moon Orphanage and if you would like to read the previous posts, here are the links – Day 1 & Day 2.

The children wore the same shirt on the third day of our visit. They looked so cute and the girls could’t resist taking a group picture with them. If you are wondering what is the yellowish-white paste applied on these kids’ face, it is called thanaka which is made from ground bark to provide protection from sunburn and promote smooth skin.

The children begin their morning worship singing as they gather at the common hall. The singing start off with a cheerful tone and halfway through the session (2:30min onwards) , the children raise their hands and some close their eyes to focus and sing. I am not a christian and I do not understand what they are singing. But…I am so moved. For some reasons, I really really really want to cry so badly and I struggle to hold back my tears. It feels like these children are making a humble plea to god, “please pick me up and hold me.” Every child in this orphanage has their own little story. I am not trying to be righteous but I must say for whatever reasons, it is still an irresponsible act to abandon your children in an orphanage. You have created a life…It is your responsibility to take care of your children, shower him or her with love and please don’t take away their rights to have a complete family. It is like taking away a piece of their life and it is never going to be complete again.

The menu for lunch consists of rice, vermicelli, corn, eggs, mixed vegetables and hotdogs. These children has an amazing appetite and they ask for at least 2-3 times to refill the rice. It feels like they are stuffing themselves to eat as much as possible. I have no idea if they have enough food to eat everyday or if they get to eat meat in their diet. The villagers also come to the orphanage with big buckets to get free food. This makes me wonder that the children staying in the orphanage might be leading a better life than the villagers. A large population of the locals live in poverty and it is not unusual to see families living in self-made huts made with straw and wood along the roadside.

Father Joe, the founder of Full Moon orphanage, bring some of us to a tour around the village. They have built a windmill to power electricity for the home and also grow their own food. To sustain the home financially, the older kids will go out and work to earn money

Met this little girl in the village and she looked so cheeky in the second photo. My brother said this little girl look like me when I was small. I used to have such boy-cut hair style like her when I was in primary school. Do you think we kinda look alike too?

The little girl hold my hands and followed us back to the home together with her brother. Heehee.. She likes me!

Some photos of the animal that I took during the tour…

Back to the home and we begin the “finale” of the night. Here is my boy Jason and he has a lot of fun with this toy gun. My little cutie is so cute! I am so glad that he is able to join me on this volunteering trip. Throughout the three days, we sweat so much under the burning sun but I enjoy volunteering with Jason because we can share this meaningful experience.

It is an evening with dance and laughter! We have our “Super Gangam Boy” (the boy in black t-shirt) who led us to dance Gangam Style.

The last activity of the night is Piñata. The children will take turns to hit the bag (full of candies) with a stick which is suspended from a rope until it breaks. The candies will then fall out from the bag. The children have some fun rushing to collect the candies.

And it is time to say goodbye… We form a big circle and the kids take turns to shake hands and bid farewell to each and everyone of us. It is an emotional farewell with the kids saying, “Please come back again”, “God bless you”, “Hope to see you again”, “We will miss you”.

Some of the children were teary-eyed and a few came to me and my boy to take photos. I really have no idea how we have impacted them but it was such a touching moment.

Goodbye Is Always The Hardest To Say…

I was on the verge of tears but I tried my best to hold back. I didn’t want to let it be a sad goodbye. This home is a happy place and all these kids have so much fun playing, flying kites and running around freely. The kids stand along the road, wave and bid goodbye to us as our bus drives off. This must be the emotional goodbye ever.. And it hits me pondering what tomorrow brings for them after we have left.

This volunteering trip to Myanmar with 5Cs is the most meaningful thing I have done with my boy. We were sunburned but it is all worth it to bring a smile on these kids’  face. This trip won’t be possible without the dedicated effort of the project leaders and 5Cs committee. They are really a great bunch of people! Kudos to them!

…..Dear God, Please Bless These Children.