And part of the life lessons we try to impart is learning to give and to bless others with all we've been blessed with.
Last Chinese New Year, we decided to take part in street feeding for the homeless with Need to Feed the Need.
Kiddos contributed part of their ang pow money to buy "mini paus" to supplement the menu of the night.
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| Yummy at good price too! |
It was the second night of CNY, so after dinner, we headed over to Chow Kit dressed in our festive clothing.
Food was supposed to be served at 9pm onwards, so we went a little earlier to help arrange stuff.
However due to some mix up with a new caterer, the main food had not arrived! And we waited and waited and waited ...
The crowd was building up, slightly impatient, but still orderly.
The volunteers made some alternative arrangements and brought in some food, so we were able to feed the women and children first.
The kiddos were troopers in handing out the paus and mandarin oranges.
The main food still hadn't arrived, and the men were getting antsy.
We managed to speak to the volunteers, especially those who have been with NFN from the very start and serve faithfully every Thursday night. It was very inspiring indeed.
At about 11pm, we decided to make our way home as it was late ... even though we had wanted to stay back until the end and assist with cleaning up etc. Maybe next round. Still an eye-opening experience.
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Last Christmas, the kiddos' grandparents brought them on a shopping spree to buy prezzies. Only this time it wasn't for themselves. They were buying gifts for kids in hospitals. So Girl bought the "girl toys", while the Boys shopped for the "boy toys" for various ages. Girl sorted and wrapped them all.
But Christmas time was also one of the busiest periods for us, so we didn't get to make it to the local hospital.
So on the lull that is New Year's day, we made our way to the hospital. It has changed a lot since I last went there, so we were a bit lost.
We waited for visiting hours, then went from block to block until we found the new shiny children's wing. (We're still not sure if there was another paediatric ward in the hospital that was not so shiny and new).
We had expected a more open ward concept, but the patients were in rooms, which made it a bit more daunting a task.
Thankfully, the kiddos were game, and went in to hand out the gifts and wish the patients a happy new year. Most of the patients seemed quite cheerful.
But a visit to the oncology ward was heartbreaking. It was quite a sight to see so many kids with bald heads. We pray that they will recover soon and be able to enjoy the year ahead.
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