Hectic and stressful week at GIFT Foundation
We are back in Malaysia and it has been a hectic and stressful week at GIFT Foundation for Shane and I. We accepted Dr. Firdaus’ offer to stay in her house which is also the foundation for her organization. Her children and the children at GIFT Foundation are excited because Shane is around 24/7 and they want to be with him all the time. I struggle to adapt to kampung (village) living with so many children and goats running everywhere. The constant noise, lack of privacy and structure are affecting my health so we decide to find a place of our own.
Update on our first week with the children
Children at GIFT Foundation are introduced a goat mascot and gifts we brought from the United States. Unfortunately, some of the toys broke a few days after because the boys are so rough with them. We need to enforce discipline and mindfulness because many things get damage here.
Managing Mental Health Challenges workshop
Shane shares his expertise on overcoming mental health disorders at “Managing Mental Health Challenges” workshop/seminar at University Malaya. He also introduces GIFT Foundation and its mission. Dr. Firdaus is eager to have him talk about ADHD in another workshop sometime in the near future.
Personal thank you to our contributor
Shane goes to Tesco Malaysia to collect the weekly vegetables supply and to thank their staffs personally for the donation. There is still no storage and refrigeration for the produce.
New project at GIFT Foundation
Some men in the Champa community volunteer every weekend to build a foundation for a restaurant and a learning center next to the house. The progress is very slow due to lack of financial support. All the woods used are reclaimed and weatherized with recycled motor oil.
Shane counsels these men while I act as a translator. Their usual concerns are the delays processing their immigration applications and consequences.
Children at GIFT Foundation
Yasmin is a Somali refugee girl under UNHCR staying at GIFT Foundation. Shane starts counseling sessions with her. There are more local children coming to GIFT now than earlier this year but we don’t have teachers. Yasmin teaches basic English to some of the younger ones while Shane and I try to build a study schedule for them. A live-in Champa man/ustaz helps watch over the children.
The Rohingya boys from our first visit earlier this year have been moved to a new school funded by a Qatari government. We go through some of the lesson books and old computers in the storage to see what we can salvage and work with.
NADI Malaysia
NADI Dialog Malaysia and GIFT Foundation hosted a seminar titled “Our Future: Management and Contribution of Infaq and Waqaf for Development of Ummah”. They discussed how the Muslim society should distribute the wealth accordingly as guided in the Quran and by Prophet S.A.W. This seminar was conducted in conjunction with Maulidur Rasul. I designed a leaflet and backdrop for the seminar. Shane speaks with a few members of NADI to understand the best approach to solicit donation for GIFT Foundation under that foundation.
More donors for Maulidur Rasul
On the same day we met Persatuan Sukarelawan Kebajikan Masyarakat Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (PSKM) and DB Brothers Sdn Bhd for snack packs donations to our GIFT children in celebration of Maulidur Rasul.
Afterwards, we attend a birthday party for 2 boys at an orphanage in Kuala Lumpur hosted by Datin Wan Fatimah. The orphanage cares for 40 children ranges from 3 to 16 year old.
We continue to try our best to help GIFT Foundation because of the children and the Champa community. You can read more about our work by clicking on the link HERE.