Myanmar 2013 - Bidding Farewell

We ended the evening with the volunteers and children holding hands in a wide circle, singing and shaking hands. For some, it was a tearful farewell as friendships had formed and blossomed; some promised to return next year to visit them once again. Amidst tears, poignant smiles, fond farewells and soaking wet bottoms, the volunteers' bus departed.

We were fortunate to have Captain Yang Siew and IA Vincent Boey who had very skillfully captured many of those precious moments, so that we will always be able to look at those photos and reminisce about the wonderful times spent with the children at Full Moon.

Come next year, there will be more to be done. The kitchen at Full Moon will be extended and refurbished; more bunk beds will also be added to accommodate more children in need of shelter. The volunteers play hard and work even harder.

Besides the desire to help the less fortunate people and give something back to the society at large, it the infallible spirits of the children and the friendships that developed which draw us back year after year. It is really inspiring and admirable that to see that these children are able to find happiness and contentment in times of poverty and political transition. We certainly look forward to seeing them once again next year and bettering their life a little bit than before.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who had very generously gave their heart and time to embark on this journey at their own financial expenses. All the volunteers had shone through brilliantly by doing what they do best, be it at handling the logistics, cooking for all the children and volunteers, playing with the children or simply being a fantastic team player. Thank you to all the volunteers for making the trip such a dynamic and memorable one and more importantly, for bringing joy to the little hearts at Full Moon.
 

 

Disclaimer: This article is written by Melissa Than.

 

 

Myanmar 2013 Day 2

The third day was the highlight of the trip — the carnival! Colourful balloons were strung up and paper chains were made and hung around their assembly hall. There was a photo frame making contest in the morning where the children would design, paint and decorate their photo frames made out of used cardboard boxes. The library was soon filled with children buzzing with excitement and crowding at the table looking for the prettiest patterned papers ad stickers for their photo frames.

After lunch, the carnival was finally in full swing. Game booths were set up and all the children eagerly queued up at all the different booths, their eyes alight with anticipation and joy at the prospect of winning attractive prizes. There were basketball, bowling, ping pong toss and windmill making, to name a few.

While the children were totally engrossed in the carnival games, 11 of our volunteers quietly slipped away and braved a grueling 8-hour trip to the more remote villages to give out clothing, food and used toys to the villagers who were in great need of these basic amenities. They spent the night with the villagers as it was too late to make the return trip to Yangon. It was very touching to know that although the villagers were desperately poor, they made every effort to put together a good meal for our volunteers.

 

Back to the carnival, the best games were saved for the last. We had balloon stomps, balloon tele-matches that promised a wet bottom at the end of each game as well as 3 rounds of piñatas. There was a lot of cheering and the children were beside themselves with joy and excitement.

At the end of the carnival, we had a lot of water balloons leftover from the tele-matches and very quietly, water guns were loaded. The children were quick to pick up on the cues though; before one could blink, water guns were drawn and water balloons were flung, drawing squeals of surprise and glee from the dripping wet recipients. Very soon, water guns were dropped in favour of pails. Everybody was thoroughly soaked and having fun.

Bidding Farewell~~!!

Myanmar 2013

On 19 April, 40 volunteers set off for Yangon. This year's trip, unlike the previous ones where upgrading projects or building works were involved, was a much light-hearted one. As the dates of our trips coincided with the Burmese New Year and water festival, we decided to take the children out to the National Park on the first day and have a carnival at Full Moon on the second day.

We landed to a dusty and uncomfortably warm morning in Yangon. Nevertheless, it did not dampen our spirits as our hearts were focused on seeing the children at Full Moon once again. For some of the volunteers, it was a yearly trip that they would embark on without fail, while for some, it was their first time visiting Myanmar and meeting the children of Full Moon.

The first day was spent largely on logistics, organizing and settling down. In the evening, we came together for a good dinner at a nearby restaurant and toasted to a successful and fruitful trip ahead.

Day 2:

We started the second day bright and early. With all the boxes packed with water guns, goodies bags and food, we began our 2-hour bus ride to Full Moon. When we arrived, we were greeted by the children at Full Moon as they ran alongside the bus, waving and smiling.



Our cooking team began to get busy preparing for the children's lunch. It was one of the things that the children looked forward to because eating meat was a rare treat for them. It was a one-of-a-kind cooking experience for the volunteers as well, using firewood to cook and using pots the size of a huge cauldron! We are talking about feeding almost 300 people after all.



Soon the children were sorted according to their colour teams, fed and packed on buses all ready to head to the National Park for afternoon out in the sun. Regrettably, due to the large number of children at the home, only 150 children with the best academic results were able to go the park. The remaining children stayed back at the home and made Thank You cards for the people who had very kindly and generously donated or contributed to the home. The children were a little hesitant initially but as they slowly warmed up and their creative juices began to flow, the Thank You cards were simply original and beautiful.
 

 

Read more on my Myanmar Day 2!

Mount Rinjani Climb (June 2012)

Above is a video made by my close friend Jeff Chong from http://uncleblogger.com/.

Our group didn't manage to complete the whole itinerary (which was going to the lake and spending a night there) that was planned to us due to fatigue. My advise to fellow the guide's advise which is don't push yourself too hard for the summit if your body can't take it. When the sun rises and if you can see the peak, tho it look near but trust me, its not!! The way up to the peak is tough!!

This video was brillantly made by Jeff and it does bring back fond memories of our trip!

Myanmar 2011 with 5Cs

In March 2011, I joined a group of like minded people on a quest to make this world a better place for 208 kids that stay in Full Moon Orphanage located approx. 1 hour drive from Yangon.

It was my first ever mission trip and I am really glad that I've joined SIA 5Cs (Cabin Crew Club for Community Care) to thier trip annual trip to Myanmar. It was really an eye opening experience for me and I was grateful to meet many new friends during this trip.

The Volunteers

Fact: (as of 2011) 

There is an estimated 1 million children in Myanmar who are orphans. Some lost their parents to fighting between government forces and insurgents, and others are there because their parents die from illnesses. Many have become orphans since the devastating cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which is the worst natural disaster in the record history of Myanmar. The orphanages in this country are all run privately as the Myanmar government does nothing to support the children in desperate needs. These are beautiful children, without parents to love and care for them, who often struggle for their basic needs. The sad truth is, every 1 in 14 children in Myanmar die before their first birthday.



The video above summarized most of our activities during the trip and as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words; let the pictures taken during the trip show you the joy we had there. =)

I will follow a post with more info.