Fruit of our labor and kindness saw more than 400 people benefited through a motivation camp conducted by Yayasan Salam Malaysia from 9 to 11 July at Sek Keb Bukit Raya, Hulu Langat. The camp partially funded by the money collected during our Grand Reunion Dinner.
Since I was scoring points as a minor celebrity during the camp, I decided to test my popularity in a more 'festive', Chico fueled promo. It was Saturday night and we were waiting for parents to arrived for second night of parenting skills session. I had been very modest in promoting Chico State Alumni so far, so I dolled myself up (sprayed cologne on my brand new Alumni t-shirt) and set out at 8:30pm to greet the trickle in arrivals. It was a unmitigated alter-ego booster. Not only were all of the parents commented on the nice t-shirt and wanted to buy for themselves, but guys were commenting that I looked so 'alim' to assume a graduate from California. I kept rewinding my Chico State Alumni Grand Reunion Dinner story, many many times. I shared some of my Chico experience with a group of them - ustazah, some young wives, cikgis(female teachers), none of whom would meet my eye. From a safe distance these ladies stared at you like you have three ears, however in an intimate setting they look everywhere but directly at you. If you wanna have some good clean fun, you could pretend to look at something else and when you’re certain that they’re looking at you, you whip around to look at them and they almost break their necks trying to look somewhere else. This game provided non-stop delight during my tips on parenting talk. By far the night was the most engaging session before taking my leave, giving way for my trainer to conduct the 'recall' session.
The kids and parents were having parallel 'recall' or x-files session, where they were being bombarded with emotional roller-coaster monologue, videos and soul-searching flash-back. The kids were made to write a 'wasiat' and the parents were holding 'treasured gift' which they gave to their kids when they were younger, reminiscence the love, hope and dream they had upon their kids.
The highlight of the night was the rendezvous of emotionally charged parents with their kids and the untold episode unfolded. Instant gratification I felt, that our small contribution made such significant impact in these small people and their parents. I hope to see a lot more people with big heart, give a lot more small contribution, help us to help a lot more small people and make a difference.
