A TESLIANS JOURNEY TO SPREAD LOVE AND HAPPINESS!

    Sitting in the campus’ bus, we were all excited about our trip we’d planned out since last week – a visit to Sarawak Society For The Blind (Sibu Division Branch) & Sibu Benevolent Home. Thus, here is a journal of how we spent our day at those two places!

    Our first stop was the Sarawak Society for The Blind (Sibu Division Branch). It is a care home for the blinds which was located in Sibu. According to the manager, there are currently just two persons residing in this place, which explains why it appears to be so serene.

    In order to not waste any time, we have divided some tasks, especially for the cleaning the structure. Some of us were sweeping the floor, while others were mopping it or cleaning the window panes. One of our lecturers even offers with hair trimming. It is genuinely heart-warming to see her doing it.

    As we are cleaning the whole structure, we heard from one of the elders that he actually wants to go home like the other person. Unfortunately, there was no one that can pick him up. It was truly heart-breaking to hear that from him.

 After finishing all the task, we proceed on giving mandarin oranges and donations. In Chinese culture, it is said that giving orange mandarins to others means that you are of wishing them happiness and prosperity. Thus, with that, we wish that our visit could at least help in any way.

    Next, we drove to the Sibu Benevolent home for the second and last stop. Honestly speaking, the warm weather that spreads all over the home has create a sense of tranquillity. In spite of that, I can’t help but feel the depressive and sombreness surround it. It was strangely calming to be there, I guess probably due to the serene atmosphere.

    The elders in the nursing home were so welcoming to us. It was really heart-warming to see them approaching us to shake our hands and interact with us. Although, it was quite a shame that language barriers exist among us considering that they are mostly Chinese language speakers. However, it still can’t stop us from conversing with them. 

    As we did last time at the first stop, we have divided tasks among ourselves for cleaning. We spend our time cleaning the hall, the window pane, and so on. Afterwards, we proceed to performs something like dancing and singing for the elders. They were extremely supportive by clapping for us. Honestly, it was so adorable. One of our classmates, Shaleha has perform a graceful traditional dance from Bajau’s race. I was so mesmerized by both of her dance and beauty.

    By the end, we gave them drinks and mandarin oranges alongside with donations to share the love and happiness before Chinese New Year. Besides that, we also took few pictures together with the elders for memories. When we are on our way back, one of the elders were sad that we are going back. Well, we were sad too. So, I wish that we can come back there again soon.

    That sums up our one-day journey. In short, it was such a great experience for us to be there. We were extremely grateful that we could be with them even for a short time.