The true meaning of happiness is when you see someone else happy.
Earlier today, my friend Yvonne and I came up with an idea of giving back to the community. She will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow so instead of treating herself on her birthday, we decided to visit a foundation and treat the kids.
We picked the House of Dreams foundation. It’s a small non profit organization ran by a Norwegian national (unfortunately we couldn’t meet him because he is in Norway). However, the foundation has caretakers, one guard and a driver. The foundation has 20 kids with ages range from 2-17 years old. The kids are studying in a regular school. They even have their own school bus which they use to go to school.
Fast forward..
So Yvonne and I woke up early to cook the foods because as per caretaker, the kids normally will take their breakfast around 6:30-7:00 AM. Of course, we didn’t rush because we had plenty of time. We’re doing it professionally. Haha.
But on a side note, we suck in cooking. I mean we’re WORST. So that time was full of how questions but that didn’t stop us to give the kids the best meal they could ever have. Trust me, we’re learning in the process. I hope the kids will appreciate and can feel our personal touch in those meals though. After all, its the thought that counts right?
We arrived in the place 6:15 AM and the kids were already showered. They greeted us with their full smiles and curiosity to what will happen this day. After greeting us, they then took their individual chairs and gathered in one place.
While waiting for the other kids to sit, I roamed around the areas of the foundation and here are what I found.
I'm not sure if I will call it a routine but I noticed everything is so organized. The kids really follow their schedules. Since there are young ones who can't dress themselves yet, they are all helping each other. They are mostly hugging each other and smiling for no reason. One thing I noticed too was that they all look excited to start their day. Seeing those excitement on their faces every morning, it really made me question myself "How do I usually start my day?".
Anyway,
Whilst waiting for our other friends to come, we introduced ourselves to the kids and get to know them. Most of them were shy but others shined like as if they are in a public speaking contest. Proud audience here hahahaha!
They could hardly pronounced my name well so I decided to take an alternative way for them to remember me. I call it the RUBY WAY. I asked them if I am pretty and with no hesitation they said yes. I am now called “Ate Pretty” by them. I can’t blame them though HAHAHAHAHA!
Kids don’t lie!
After the getting to know each other part, it’s breakfast timeee..
I was nervous about their reaction with the food. Yummy? Woow? Ugghhh? Ewww? But thankfully....
They loved itttt!!! I am a 1% cook now. 99% more to go... After they all ate the very delicious breakfast we prepared, we rested for 15 minutes then we started playing games.
Straw relay race
Balance the pingpong ball
I cheek you
We didn't really play a lot of games because some of the kids were tired already. Since we still have a lot of remaining prizes, we just distributed it to them. And to my surprise, they really share what they have to the other kids.
Sharing is loving
After distributing all the prizes to them, we thanked the kids for cooperating with us. It was a very worth it day especially seeing those kids coming from different backgrounds of life smile and don't care about the world. They just care about playing and cuddling other kids whom they treat as their brothers and sisters already. Maybe next time I'll teach them how to write (to the best of my knowledge in writing) so in the future they will join steemit. Sound cool, yeah! :) It's better to start them young!
As per Denzel Washington,
At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or what you've accomplished... It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back.
I would like to thank the kids for teaching me another lesson in life, on how lucky I am with my life with a complete family. Those kids are really strong despite living away from their family. I salute them for that. Compare to them, I feel like I'm too small and weak. I'm not sure if I could handle life that way but one thing is for sure now- they made me strong and better person now. Which is why I am even more convince now with myself to help as much I can. To help other people succeed even in our own little ways. Little things we called but for them, it's already a big thing because in this world, everything matters. We are all the same. We have the same set of eyes, ears, feet and hands. We are just given the chance to help. Given a chance is already lucky and a chance to help is incalculably lucky.
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Thanks for dropping by. Laters..
Yours truly,
Ruby 😊
