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I can openly say that the 1^st of August 2010 was one of the best days ever. Why? Well, read on to find out more.

When we entered the zoo the first thing I thought to myself was “Wow! Gosh I have not been here in ages!” Next to me, IIyas, IIyasaq and Roslan were chattering excitedly. The first thing we did was to get a map and get into a tram which took us half way; we passed by elephants and tall-necked giraffes. I caught a glance of IIyas and IIyasaq’s faces; they were just taking in the beauty of their surroundings.

We got off the tram and decided to walk; we passed by an ant-eater, birds, clever monkeys, snakes and crocodiles. We also bought from the counter leaves and sugarcane for the twins and Roslan to feed to the animals. It was truly a marvelous moment to see their faces light up once they feed the elephant the sugarcane from their trunk which then the elephant very cleverly puts in its mouth.

Soon, we stopped for few sandwiches which Shruthi’s mother very generously made. The twins and Roslan gobbled down the yummy sandwiches and had a nice cooling drink and then we were off again under the hot sun. We saw many other animals and finally, we decided to leave. But before that, we bought IIyas and IIyasaq a souvenir. All of us loaded into the car and headed towards the air force museum.

When we reached there, the twins and Roslan got so excited that they ran straight into the place! It was truly hilarious! We saw so many planes and helicopters and we even got to go inside some. The boys were so happy and I could see that they truly appreciated the trip. After looking at all the planes and admiring them we loaded back into the car and headed to KFC where

We bought them a meal. Finally, it was time to say good bye. Even though it was a tiring day we all had a blast especially IIyas, IIyasaq and Roslan.  We really do hope we will get the chance to see them again.

Friday 30/07/10

We were delighted to be in the presence of the famed Santokh Singh as we arrived at Rumah Aman on the 30^th of July at 3:00pm.

He displayed his skills with the ball by playing a game of football with the children of Rumah Aman and showed us why he still is remembered as a legend in Malaysian Football History.

After the adrenaline pumping match in which the children performed with full enthusiasm, we presented a collection of books, games and drinks to these deserving young children.

At the end of the day, nothing was more satisfying than looking at all the smiles that lit up the children’s’ faces.

Saturday 31/07/10

Saturday began with an early start as myself accompanied by Nyoomi arrived at Rumah Aman by 9:30am. My eyes immediately locked on the adorable twins Ilyas and Ilyasaq, and we were finally acquainted with the two boys.

We then headed off to Zoo Negara along with Dazlyn and Roslan. The three boys were thrilled with our arrival at Zoo Negara and were quick to drag us into the depths of the Zoo. The expressions on the boys faces were nothing short of pleasure and interest; the animals such giraffes, elephants, monkeys, and leopards were a form of eye candy for these young boys!

Roslan had entertained us willingly on his vast knowledge of animals as we found out things we ourselves had not known about animals that this 10 year old knew. We walked and walked till our stomachs called for some form of nourishment and so we picked a cosy spot next to a pond to feast ourselves on a sumptuous meal that we had packed. We rounded up the Zoo session by purchasing souvenirs for the boys which they took with much appreciation.

With the desire to see more, we packed off to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum. For the short period of time spent there, the children were made to feel like actual fighter pilots as their excitement took control of them; being able to walk into the cockpit was something more than any of us expected and hoped for.

We then had to unwillingly drag ourselves away from Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum as the museum was to going to be closed for the day. The last treat we could provide these deserving boys was dinner which all of us enjoyed very much; talking laughing and getting closer to these boys was an evening to truly remember.

It seemed impossibly quick before we were dropping the boys back off at Rumah Aman where we depressingly had to say our final goodbyes to the boys.

I was so excited to visit Rumah Aman again, mainly because we were going meet IIyas and IIyasaq for the first time…… Unfortunately, they had to attend afternoon school! But we were assured that we were going to get to meet them on Saturday.

The highlight of the day was when Santokh Singh came and played football with the kids. I felt so invigorated and happy just watching the kids playing football with Santokh Singh.  I also knew they the children were ecstatic to meet a national football player. I could literally see them glow.

After about an hour of football, we went back into the house and our Captains had brought a large donation of books, games and drinks.  So, we all took turns in handing over all the donations to Rumah Aman.

All of us had so much fun watching the kids play football and cheering for them. We were certainly excited about seeing our pledges on Saturday so we could begin fulfilling our pledge.

The 21^st of July was the first time I visited Rumah Aman; I was accompanied by Mr. Rajan and my classmates who are also involved in the project. The house was a bright and warm yellow, the kind of yellow that appears on the petals of sunflowers.

Our welcome by the inhabitants of the house was just as warm and welcoming as the colour of the house, if not more. The twin brothers, Ilyas and Ilyasaq who are the responsibility of Nyoomi and me were not present, as they had to attend school at the time. Nevertheless the children at the Rumah Aman and us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves over the activities we took part in that afternoon.

We played a game of Frisbee. And after some football as well, where the boys of Rumah Aman took to the field and really shined, they played their little hearts out that afternoon. Overall the day was a well spent one, and we got to know the children at Rumah Aman.

We needed to raise money in order to make the boys wishes come true. So what did we do?

We sold ice-cream and root beer floats!

It was truly an enjoyable, yet challenging, experience.  As we had to organise everything and make sure that everyone cooperates well.

It was truly a success and students from elc had certainly supported our cause.  Other students even started to help us sell and advertise! We were really happy that so many people were interested in helping us.

Visit to Rumah Aman

When I first entered the bright yellow and cheerful building I felt a wave of excitement. We were warmly greeted by everyone in Rumah Aman and I felt a strong sense of comfort even though I didn’t really know anyone well.

We were led to a room where we got to meet Amirul, Hakimi and Roslan. Although, Shruthi and I could not meet IIyas and IIyasaq (the twins) because they had afternoon school we still got to know the other boys better. We also learnt that there was a set timetable for all the boys and they were kept busy throughout the whole week.

After that, we took them out to the garden and we started playing with a Frisbee. Believe it or not they were so skilled with the Frisbee and they were actually better than any of us! Furthermore, we played football with them and it was really fun! All 3 of the boys were so talented they could do so many tricks which just blew us of our feet!

Soon, it was time for all the boys to go for some extracurricular activities, our hearts sank but we knew we had to say our goodbyes. After all of them loaded in the van we stood there waving our hands and looking forward to the next visit to Rumah Aman.

Nyoomi’s Introduction
Hi, my name is Nyoomi Kamani and I am one of the candidates to take a pledge for the “Promise Me” Campaign.

I have taken a pledge involving two seven year old twins named Muhammad Ilyas Bin Mohd. Azmi and Muhammad Ilyasaq Bin Mohd. Azmi. Since there are two boys another candidate named Shurthi will be working with me.

The boys’ wish to visit an army museum, air force and the zoo and we will promise to make these boy’s wishes come true. We will start making their wish come true but as the saying goes ‘slow and steady wins the race.’ So we will be posting up pictures and our daily progress for everyone to see.

Shruthi’s Introduction
My name is Shruthi and I am involved in this campaign because I have a passion to help the less fortunate.

I hope, for the next 2 weeks, to share some of the love with these less fortunate children. I along with my classmate Nyoomi, have taken on the pledge of 2 twin brothers, Muhammad Ilyas Bin Mohd Azmi and Muhammad Ilyasaq Bin Mohd Azmi, both aged 7 and who are from Rumah Aman.
These boys have a great interest in anything military related and want to visit an army or air force museum. So obviously we have planned to take them to one, so that they can have their dreams fulfilled. We have also decided to take them to the Terminator Alive at the Sunway Lagoon theme park, where they can actually shoot people with lasers and have a blast.

We have also been trying to arrange a meeting between them and an army officer. As both of them have also expressed a wish of going to a zoo, we will definitely include a trip to Zoo Negara. We know that these boys have a lot of fun in store for them!