Charity Jumble Sale at IBU Bazaar Sat May 8th

We will be having 2 booths at the upcoming annual IBU Jumble Sale and all proceeds from sales will go towards the Kachin refugee schools. We've got boxes of donated items to sell as well as HeArt products which feature original designs from the children (greeting cards & gift wrap).

Do come support us and do a bit of shopping for a good cause. Details:

Date: Saturday May 8th
Time: 10am-3pm
Venue: Bangsar Village II (opposite Kidzsports)
Tickets at RM10 at the door (proceeds go to charity)

See you there!

Alice Smith's Interact Club Raises Funds for Refugee Schools

A few weeks ago a group of Interact Club students from the Alice Smith School paid a visit to the New Generation School. The students were from all over the world including the Netherlands, UK, USA and Fiji. The NG students were delighted to watch a slideshow presentation of what life was like in these different countries. The boys were especially attentive when it came to listening to the pretty Alice Smith girls! :)

The group had dropped by to present over RM4000 to the schools. This money was raised by the Interact Club through selling of candy canes over Christmas and roses over Valentine's Day. The students also raised close to RM900 in December selling some of the HeArt products of which all proceeds go towards the Kachin schools.

Thanks so much to Myrthe and her friends from the Interact Club. These gals have such big hearts, their school should be very proud of these future leaders! Myrthe and her mom have also donated many items to be sold at a charity Jumble Sale, all proceeds going to the schools as well.

I'm sure the Kachin students look forward to their next visit!

Myanmar Showcase at International Bazaar

Recently the students from New Generation Learning Center had the opportunity to showcase Myanmar at Garden International School's annual International Bazaar. It was the first time Myanmar was featured at this event. Many students, and some adults, didn't even know where Myanmar was! This year's theme was on the 5 senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. On display were colorful photos of Myanmar's famous landmarks, facts and figures about the country and population, handcrafts, clothing, school books, games, etc. There was also traditional Myanmar music courtesy of budding musicians Raymond & Dominic. There was free food sampling of Myanmar delicacies and the popular spicy dish "balawchong" was also available for sale.

The highlight was when the students performed their traditional Kachin dance on stage. It was a great way to share more about Myanmar's beautiful and diverse culture. Best of all the students and teachers had a chance to visit over 40 countries in one day! They enjoyed themselves visiting all the other countries' booths, sampling the food and finding out more about the culture. Maybe some of them might get resettled in those countries one day...

Thanks to all the students and teachers who helped out and to GIS for giving us the opportunity to share Myanmar's culture with the students.

Kidz Zone & Kenny Rogers Treat

42 kids between 4 and 10 yrs old had a "ball" of a time playing at Kidz Zone in Hartamas Shopping Center. It was the first time they'd ever been to a kids' play center and they didn't want to leave! After an exhausting 1.5 hours (for the adults at least!) we escorted the sweaty and hyperactive kids over to Kenny Rogers for a sponsored lunch courtesy of its proprietor Ms Jenny Chang. They closed the entire restaurant just for the kids.

It was the first time the kids were using forks and knives instead of their usual spoons to feed themselves so you can imagine it was a rather interesting albeit frustrating experience for the hungry kids. For many of them it was also their first experience eating mashed potatoes and coleslaw so some were understandably suspicious at first :)

Thanks to Jenny for her continuous support for the schools and to Kidz Zone for the discounted entrance fees.

Fun Day at Selangor Pewter

A busload of refugee students and teachers were treated to a fun and educational trip to Selangor Pewter's headquarters in Setapak. They were guided through the mini museum of artefacts and history of Selangor Pewter. They were also given a tour of the factory and witnessed firsthand how pewter products are meticulously handcrafted. Some even tried their hands at it and quickly realised it was alot harder than it looked!

Finally the kids had a blast at the School of Hard Knocks (rather ironic!) where they learned how to mould their own pewter bowl. The kids were thrilled to keep the bowls and aprons as a wonderful souvenir from their day out.

After the tour the kids were personally served light snacks and refreshments by Datin Paduka Chen Mun Kuen (Director of Selangor Pewter and grandaughter of founder Yong Koon) and Grace Yong (wife of Selangor Pewter's GM). It was a perfect way to end a fun day as the kids had certainly worked up an appetitie after all their hard "knocking".

Thanks so much to Selangor Pewter for hosting the children. The trip was even mentioned in The Star papers ( http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/3/8/central/5806365&sec=central)

CNY Goodies for Kids

MLM company Forever Living Products recently donated several boxes of Chinese New Year cookies to the refugee schools, much to the delight of the kids. The students and teachers also received ang pows and oranges from one of the volunteer teachers. Thanks to CG & Jenny from Forever Living Malaysia.

CNY Ang Pows For Sale

HeArt has launched another project to raise funds for the refugee schools, this time we're selling beautiful ang pow packets using the tiger drawing from Jenny. As CNY is fast approaching we're selling them very cheap at only RM10 for 3 packs (10 packets in each pack). Please help support this project by buying the ang pows and telling your friends about it as well. Send your orders to my.beautiful.myanmar@gmail.com

You'll be happy to know that 13 year old Jenny who drew the tiger (featured in the 2010 HeArt calender and Jungle cards), was recently relocated to New York with her family. She had been in Malaysia for more than 3 years. I've seen Jenny blossom from a shy 9 yr old to a confident and beautiful teenager. She was even selected to appear in their Kachin community's 2010 calender as one of the models. I'm sure she'll do very well in New York as will her brother Peter who aspires to be an engineer so he can return to Myanmar to build homes for the poor people.