Penang Shan Children's Home caters towards orphans and disadvantaged children and relies on donations for their daily needs. The location is in a slightly eerie place, you have to drive through an old grave yard to reach it but once you reach the home itself, it's a very clean and cheerful place.
Dr Chandran, the Home's administrator, brought up a couple of very good points. When they first stayed there, they were a little frightened but they came to feel that there's nothing scary or macabre about being surrounded by our ancestors, the people before us and it's a reminder that sooner or later, we will all rest peacefully there. He also mentioned that in this age of pleasure and leisure, it's good for us to take out time to help them. It made me think ... when I'm gone, do I want to be known as someone who had a wardrobe bulging with clothes or as someone that helped put a smile on others?
We spent the afternoon playing games and chatting with the children there. It took a few games for them to really get into the spirit and to start having fun, giggling, laughing and just being themselves. Can I tell you how well behaved they are? Seriously, they are so disciplined and self restrained in a way that had all of us amazed. When goodie bags were handed out to each child, they lined up patiently without shoving or rushing to the front. During tea time, before they ate slices of cake, they prayed fervently, mouths moving silently to prayers, hands firmly clasped together.
The part where I nearly had tears was when they were given bottles of Vitagen. You could see the delight in their eyes over an unexpected treat, being able to choose what flavour they wanted and even when they wanted a second bottle, they were shy about asking and when we gave it, they were just so happy. It made me realized how lucky we've been when we have so much and others that are less fortunate have so little. It's so richly rewarding to give and see how joyous the children are.
Penang Shan Children's Home
679-D Jalan Mount Erskine,
Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang
Tel/Fax: 04-2292186 / 016-4127711
shanchildrenhomepg@yahoo.com
Here is a video shoot by Momenz Creation about Shan Children's Home. Dr Chandran (Principle of Shan Children’s Home, Penang) & Dr Bala (Chairman of Shan Children’s Home) talked about how the home is founded and how they manage the home. They also share about the visions and goals of the home. Dr Chandran also bring us around the home for a short tour and show us the environment how the children growing up.
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