The Day When Love Is In The Air

15 June 2008, Rotary Club of Sri Petaling had jointly organized a visit to the Ti Ratana Welfare Society at Salak South with Seremban Chung Hua High School Alumni (KL Branch).

For many people, this was the first time they set foot on any orphanage and old folks home. For all of us, this was the first time we were celebrating fathers' day with a big group of children, many of whom are without fathers. At first I felt it was not a very thoughtful way of putting it. But I was proven wrong, and I would tell you the reason later.


It was a hot event, with strong sun shining upon us, but the enthusiasm of the crowd made the heat less noticeable. Registration of visitors, issueing of passes and touring of the welfare society were all carried out with great efficiency, thanks to all the helpers from CHHS Alumni and cadets from the society.



The visitors were later ushered to the hall where they were greeted with mountains of gifts arranged neatly in front of the stage. Glancing through the items, you would see washing machines, water heaters, food, stationaries, ping pong tables, sofa sets, biscuits and the list can going on and on and on. I was totally overwhelmed, both by the heat of the late afternoon sun, and the generosity of the donors. Bear in mind, for every dollar that came out of the donors' pocket, also accompanied was a heart full of love and care.




The programme started off on time at 2:30pm. The temperature rose in proportion with the size of the crowd. It started off with the all important speeches, to bring out the mood of love. Then come the performances from both the Alumni and The Choir from CHHS. The songs and music that filled the air was what it took to temporary forget the unforgiving scorch.


Next come the performance from the Ti Ratana's very own children, their age ranges from 3 to 4 years to teen age. They did not have nice costumes, neither were their moves well choreographed. Some were shy and others were having hard time keeping up with the rest. All these were not important, what melted my heart and brought tears to my eyes was the little statement from one of the girls, " We dedicated the dance to our beloved father Tan for taking good care of us all the time! Happy Father's Day!"



Yes, money and food would provide them the shelter and carry them through the days without hunger. The orphans need more. In Mr Tan, the person in charge of Ti Ratana Welfare Society, the children found the real need in their young minds. The way Mr Tan hugged and kissed all the children, and the way all the young performers ran toward Mr Tan to share their achievement right after the songs and dances, I felt instantly without doubt, Mr Tan is indeed, their true father. His tender touch on their hair and his little encouragement whispered to their ears before and after each performance brought smiles to all the children.

At that moment, the heat seemed to tone down quite a bit, or may be it did not. It was the love in the air that healed the pain, in you and me, more so in the hearts of those who had no one to turn to.




Ti Ratana founder, Ven. K. Dhammaratana's arrival brought a fresh breeze to the audience. I had the honour to be seated next to him. I hold his hand like a child and felt the warmth coming towards me. I witnessed the children jumped on him, cling on to his chest like a grandson seeking refuge on the grandfather. In this wise man, the children sensed calm and security.




The handing over of the donated items, exchanged of banners and souvenirs, all done in a friendly and joyous mood. While the big crowd broke up for a tea break, more crowd was around the founder. They took turn to have photographs taken with him, merely to be near him was enough to make one feel the peace and love.




After the tea break, children were divided into two groups, each was being taught some cartoon and drawing skills by Rtn Amus Loo's children. This interactive session were meant to get closer to the children and share some personal moment with them.

The event had come to an end at about 5pm. Some were exhausted while others were smiling ear to ear. It was another project well done. I will remember this event as the most unforgettable fathers' day!

For more photos, please click the link:

More Photos

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Special thanks to all those who contributed money towards the project:




With the money collected, we bought the following items for the Ti Ratana Welfare Society. the balance of the money will be returned to Rotary Club of Sri Petaling Project Fund:





In addition to the items bought with the collected money, the following items were sponsors by the following people:




The last table shows the participants turned up for the event on the 15 June 2008: