All it took were some fried chicken and six kind hearted volunteers to bring smiles and cheers to 42 children at a handicapped home in Cheras on the afternoon of 9/7/2022. Caring Soul executed its first activity-related event after lying low during the pandemic period.
From our past activities of offering free hair cut and cooking for the residents of some charity homes, we have resorted to just delivering essentials and groceries to them the past two years. A few weeks ago, a handicapped home caretaker told us that it had been ages since the kids were given a Kentucky Fried Chicken treat.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Datuk Ho Kay Tat, the Group CEO of The Edge, we were able to fulfill the wish of the children with seven barrels of Kentucky Fried Chicken this afternoon. Six members of Caring Soul joined in the effort to distribute the chicken to the children of Persatuan Insan Istimewa Cheras.
Some of the children required feeding and Caring Soul members were quick to lend a helping hand after shredding the chicken meat to smaller pieces for easier feeding. It was also to ensure that the meat was free from bones to prevent the children from choking. Meanwhile, two Caring Soul members also took the opportunity to distribute ang pows to the children.
All of us took a Covid 19 saliva test, wore mask and sanitized ourselves before taking on the task with the children. In trying times when charity homes are struggling to bring food to the table with dwindling donations, we are mindful about utilising funds to help the homes with essentials rather than a KFC treat.
Until our Caring Soul tagline “Coloring Lives” reminded us to find a balance between the will to live and the way to live.
With that in mind, we decided to embark onto this mission of adding a little spice to this group of under privileged children while always bearing in mind that the scale of balance should be skewed towards helping the homes with the more basic essentials. Our tagline of colouring lives is not only meant for the under privileged but also for our members who volunteer their time to do their bit for a better society.
There are already scores of well known charity organisations that are flushed with funds. Religious groups, companies welfare foundations and famous NGOs are but a few which are already contributing mammoth effort to alleviate the woes of the needy.
Mindful that we are no where compared to these organisations ( and we have no intention to ), Caring Soul was founded on the principle of offering a platform to those who lack the financial resources but filled with compassion to want to contribute to the needy.
Because fund raising is always a sensitive issue, Caring Soul steered clear of this area. With some reserved funds from the founders' retirement money, they funded all the events themselves because ultimately some form of financial donations to the homes are needed to open doors to achieve the goal of providing a platform for Caring Soul's volunteers to contribute their time.
The founding couple recalled the early days when they naively knocked on doors of charity homes to offer free hair cuts only to be met with suspicious looks. Hence, most activity related events by our volunteers at selected homes ended with some cash donation from the founders personally.
Of late, some close friends who are aware of Caring Soul's activities have entrusted the founders to help them donate some cash to these homes as well. With that, the founders are able to stretch the dollars on more occasions to carry out events ( mostly spending time with the residents ) at the homes.
Over the last 12 years, we are pleased to say that Caring Soul had succeeded in having more than 50 volunteers who are willing to contribute their time to charity related events. However, we are far from reaching our ultimate goal of inculcating the culture of helping the needy to the younger generation.
It was our goal to conduct education trips to children to charity homes with the dual objective of inculcating a sense of gratitude in them as well as hoping that they will do likewise when they grow up. The ultimate aim is to encourage more people to make the world a better place to live in.
As it is, most residents of homes have already missed two years of companionship when the pandemic hit. It is worrisome to see the behaviour of children and even old folks change after two years of confinement inside the homes.
In some of our visits when the MCO was temporarily lifted, we can only watched them at a distance, separated by the entrance gate. Some familiar faces waved from afar and we could sensed their desire to communicate but were unable to.
Yes, the pandemic has indeed far reaching consequences than we can imagine. We harbour hope that some psychological experts will volunteer some therapy sessions for children affected by the two years of isolation from the outside world. Therein, lies this hidden problem that may only surface years later, if left unattended.
Lastly, we are quick to acknowledge that Caring Soul is a far cry from other charity and voluntary organisations but we we will do what we can. On that same note we will continue to urge all our friends to do whatever they can for the needy. We are sure their touch in whatever manner is going to add some sparkle to their lives.