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From 11:00am to 6:00pm, my friends and I stayed in school playing handball and football with the kids. Thankfully, Mr. Thompson was there to coach the boys (about 15 of them) and we all had a lot of fun.

Firstly, it was handball time (Amirul’s pledge!). Mr. Thompson set up some plastic cones and put the boys in line, and trying very hard to teach them some important skills of handball – like how to dribble the ball, different types of passing and how to score. When he was teaching, I looked at the boy and I found out they were all concentrating on every word he was saying.

Then it was a short break, and we had oranges for snacks. However I prepared 4 bottles of drinks especially for Amirul, so he got to drink in between small games. Anyway, after oranges it was lunch time! I had got Nasi Lemak with chicken for all the people, and they seemed to love it very much

After a very short time, we went back to the basketball court and started the second part of that day’s training – soccer! We learned to head, dribble, and play the ball. I still remember what Mr. Thompson had said to the kids – “The ball is our friend”. I was too scared to head the ball, but the others seemed to enjoy the training very much.

After that, we went out to the field and practiced the penalty kicks. I would pass the ball to the kids and they would try to score to the goal, with Mr. Thompson as the goalkeeper. While they were still practicing, we gave them some watermelon to rehydrate and keep their energy levels up.

It was soon about 4pm and a few other elc students came to help us play a soccer match with the kids. Whilst it did start to rain all the kids did not stop, even though they were falling and sliding in all the rain.

Very soon, it was time to go back. I gave Amirul a photographed frame (the pic is below) with him and I smiling, hoping that he would remember this special meeting. I also gave him an indoor-handball, a very soft one to also play in his room, along with the gloves.

I was happy that I had completed his pledge, but on the other side, feeling sad as well. By this pledge, I was given a chance to teach and spend time with Amirul. For the last time, I hugged him and said goodbye. The kids of Rumah Aman were just so lovely and I am happy that I had the chance to try and make a slight change in his life.  I hope he will remember this special meeting every time he plays handball, or soccer. I am trying to arrange another meeting with him along with another elc student – Kaberi – and her pledge. So don’t say goodbye yet, I hope to be back with more stories soon! J

Friday, 30^TH July was my second visit to Rumah Aman. It was for us to spend time with the kids by joining Santokh Singh, one of the all time soccer legends of Malaysia.

After watching a presentation for kids by our leaders, Rudy and Jen Ho, Santokh Singh began his talk. Kids could ask any question about soccer, and some of them were like ‘How to be a good defender’ and ‘How to shoot well’.

After the talk, it was time to actually play! Santokh Singh and our elc P.E teacher – Mr. Thomson, and one of our Captains – Rudy, all went out to the field to play alongside them. The kids had football boots and long socks as well, and they were so cute.

When the game started, it was all just about fun. The kids loved playing and I was surprised of how good they were! My friends and I cheered for them.

Sadly the game finished after an hour of non-stop playing.

Then, it was time to give donations and gifts! The elc students had all brought donations.  These ranged from board games to books, and even three bikes!

Before I talk about what I have been doing for the past few days, I should mention that there are two types of handball.

First one is the ‘game’ handball, a little like squash, which we play normally, just using two hands and bouncing it against the wall. It requires a very small ball called the blue ball (about a size of a tennis ball) and you MUST have your gloves on (something that looks like golf gloves). Goggles, if can, should be worn during the practice because it can bounce off anywhere, and even may hit your eyes.

The other is the ‘Olympic handball’, which we see people playing in teams and scoring goals on the other team’s side. These two types of handball are totally different, because unlike the ‘game handball’, the Olympic handball requires slightly bigger-sized ball and you do not need any gloves nor goggles. This game should consist of two teams and played in a court.

So, back to what I’ve been doing over the few weeks: looking for trophy/certificate/medal, that say something close to ‘the world’s best sportsman’. But I couldn’t find it anywhere! I really need to get it soon. If not, I will make the certificate by myself (computer-generated). I really want to give him a trophy though!

Anyway, today I shopped for the ball, gloves, drinks and a photo frame. Now you would say, a photo frame? For what? Okay. Here’s what I thought – together with the trophy/ certificate/ medal, I can also give him the photo of us in a photo frame and the ball (the one I bought & as well used for the training)! Doesn’t it sound great? Something he can remember me of, that we played handball together.

Check list!

Hand ball

Drinks: 100 plus, water

ü  Gloves for Amirul and I

A photo frame

A trophy/certificate/medal

The photo of us

Food (lunch) – packed Nasi Lemak

Oh, by the way, I will be paying my second visit to Rumah Aman on Friday with a group of my friends, to look around the orphanage and meet Santokh Singh, the soccer player who won the Malaysian Cup. I will write again tomorrow!

Today, Wednesday July 21, a group of school mates and I went to Rumah Aman, an orphanage where our pledges live. We were excited to meet them and brought a Frisbee along so that we can play whilst talking, so that out first meeting would not be awkward.

My kid’s name is Amirul and he is a really, really friendly person. He was well-mannered.  At first I found him quite shy (hardly surprising as it was our first meeting) but very quickly he opened up and became very active.   I had so much fun, actually playing together with him and interacting with him as a peer and not a teacher.

After some time, he asked me whether I would like to play football together with him and his friends! I knew he was now getting really excited. Very soon, we passed the ball along and played some matches.

Then, he showed me a trick of how to play with the ball! He was doing the kicking and it looked so cool, so he also taught me how to do the trick.

Time passed really fast, and I didn’t even notice that. Soon they had to leave for some classes and I stood there waving hands to them and Amirul, until they were out of my sight. They were saying bye and waving hands too! I found that very sweet.

I loved today and now I can’t wait to teach him how to play handball next week. It will be so fun!

As I’m now slowly starting to put my plan into action, I have realized that some things can cost quite a bit of money and time. So Dazlyn, James, Nyoomi, Shruthi and I decided to get together in a group, and think of an idea to raise money.

After few days of discussing what we could actually do to raise money in a short time, we figured out that it would be best to sell things which people don’t get to eat or drink usually…. we needed something rare. Then we thought, why not try ice cream floats? Everyone loves ice-cream and soda, so put them together and produce something people will enjoy twice as much.

The day eventually came together we brought the ice-creams, sodas, toppings, and utensils required to make this a success. We were ready, and tense, and began our first sale at the first break.  Surprisingly we made a lot on the very first day, even though we started off at a very low cost.

Despite the fact that the ice-creams were are sold at a higher cost towards the end the students continued to buy as much as we could dish out. They all know it’s for us to use in a good cause, and so all I can say is thanks for the support!

Below are some pictures of us doing sales -

Hello. I am Jennifer Seo from elc International school.  I think this “Promise Me” campaign is wonderful chance for us to help the children to complete their wishes.

I have decided to join this campaign, because I believe we all can give back what we have experienced. I want to make a difference in a kid’s life, by giving him a memory of something that he would remember even in future.

The kid’s pledge I was given was teaching Amirul how to play handball. I am trying to get a professional trainer for him, and also provide the uniform! And the best part is, that I will give him a medal or a trophy on the last day of the session.

I would love to see him being happy. Just thinking about spending time together with him makes me smile.

To leave the world a better place.

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.”

- Ralph W. Emerson

Because the “Promise Me” Campaign is helping so many lives, I really love being part of it.