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.
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.
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