Looking back, we now know that the kids were scared of us, not knowing who we were or what our intentions were. For most children there, it was the first time they had ever met foreigners. But once we started introducing ourselves and participating in activities with them, it didn’t take long for all of us to bond. The kids were interested in who we were, and curious to find out how they too could help others as we were helping them. They asked us about what they should study, and told us that they wanted to learn English in order to be able to communicate with us better.
Villagers and military volunteers helped with the construction; working alongside such a motivated group of people was a meaningful experience for us all. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we shared laughter and smiles. Everyone knew that we were all in this for the same purpose - to help enrich the quality of life of those who needed it most. Food was provided by our team of military volunteers, who joined forces with the ladies of the village. There was a language barrier to begin with but, once the women knew that our male volunteers didn’t mind helping with kitchen work, everybody started to work together and the women went from being scared of talking to our volunteers to asking for help. They loved getting the men to help carry heavy pots and cook vegetables, and what started as a quiet kitchen turned into a lively team cooking and laughing together.
Many kids and villagers told us that what they enjoyed the most about our visit was the fact that we spent time conversing and eating together. Most of the children have had to make their own lunch since they were 12 years old; their parents work in Malaysia and don’t have time to cook for them, let alone eat with them. This is also why so many kids live at school, because living at home would mean living alone. As simple as our lunch may have been, it brought the whole community together. We all know the joy that comes from eating with our loved ones, but we couldn’t have anticipated how much it meant to them. It made us realize how many things that we hold dear are in fact the things that these children have been deprived of.