Thanks to all our faithful helpers and volunteers

JS had a thank you dinner at the Malacqa Nyonya Restaurant in Subang for its helpers, workers and volunteers and a total of 10 people turned up – the 3 co-founders Lian See, Sanice and Mary Anne while the others included Jayne Loh ( amcorp volunteer), Sally Lui party helper, Yun (lorry driver), Suhaibah (JS worker) Normala (JS volunteer), Adrian (sewing tutor and volunteer van driver) and Megan (trainee).

While the food was disappointing, the spirit that enveloped the venue was lively and fun. The 3 co-founders took the opportunity to thank the helpers for their dedication, urging them to forgive and forget slights and insults, to work willingly to impact the poor and the needy and more importantly, to always be motivated by love so that God’s blessings will flow readily into their own lives.

After that, the helpers surprised Lian See and Sanice with a belated birthday gift each – a set of pewter fruit picks for Lian See and a fat, jolly, golden piggy for Sanice! For both co-founders, it was a simple gesture of TQ from a deeply appreciative pool of helpers and volunteers. To all of them and those others who could not make it , we salute you folks for your willingness to avail yourselves to the cause of poor single parents – as Sanice says “Let’s all keep the flag flying till the end of our days!” Amen to that! 

Celebrate Joget at JS party for single parents

Jumble Station’s annual party for single parents went off marvelously well with some 92 single parents and their many kids turning up for an afternoon of fun and laughter. The laughter part came from the funny, cute, intricate face designs created by face- painter Niza and from the ice breaker games where the parent was blindfolded and the kid was supposed to direct the parent to stab as many yellow balloons as possible. The first one popped 5 balloons so swiftly it made us wonder if she could see through the blindfold. The next few parents had a harder time as they sought to both listen to their kid while trying not to be distracted by the voices of the onlookers! 

The Dekir Puteri or Warrior Princess dance performed by the staff and volunteers of JS  went off flawlessly made all the more charming by the presence of so many very cute kiddie performers with the youngest Daniel only aged 6 years old who insisted on performing alongside his older brothers.

This was followed by the Jazz Exercise Dancers who looked so pretty and lithe in their pink exercise gear while effortlessly going through all the different dance steps. The youngsters wowed the older audience with their rhythmic movements complete with smiles and umbrellas and made many an obese single parent realize they needed to take up exercise to trim off the fat!

Needless to say when Celebrate Joget came up, almost all the folks in the hall were ready to joget to the catchy dance tune and pretty soon, the floor was awash with single parents and their kids all “jogetting” their way through the entire song, not once but thrice!

Many first timers to the party were touched by the manner in which Jumble Station has been able to get all the three major races, the Malays, the Indians and the Chinese single parents to come together in a naturally friendly, happy and very harmonious manner – it was a time for all to relax, to enjoy, to forget their worries.

The party drew to a close with a Blessed Draw involving items donated by ARL International and Christina and Millie’s Cell Group that saw so many of the single parents going home with a prize each.

As they all trooped out for the dinner each single parent and their kids all were given a goodie bag filled with sponsored items such as KFC vouchers, pen and notepad from GDexpress, toothpaste, bathsoap and dishwashing paste from Lam Soon Edible Oils, a DiGi mug, multivitamin syrup and Calcimate tablets from Hovid Bhd. The parents and the kids were giddily happy to express their THANKS to all the organizations that had teamed up with Parents Without Partners to make this event a memorable one. 

Inspiring the poor, one life at a time...

The poor are a mariginalised group primarily because they have not learnt to rise up beyond their current crippling situation. The education system teaches them to read, write and grasp ‘rithmetic but does not teach them the marketable skills that will enable them to get good jobs and climb up swiftly through the corporate ladder of success and thereby break the chains of poverty.

Citizen Network for a Better Malaysia (CNBM) Group 4 which focuses on the issue of alleviating poverty in this country has been actively organizing a series of training courses designed specially to lift the morale and quality of life for the poor. The group led by Nancy Lee and guided by Dr Dennison Jayasooria has been making small inroads in tackling this issue with the latest being held at Ara Damansara at end June.

This time around there were 13 participants, Hasrun, Hassan, Feizal and Eddie from LV Control, a company owned by Lillian Lip, Faroz, Rosdi, Ghani and Satifah from Jackson’s mall outlet and Melini, Hani, Jahuyah and Malian introduced by Jumble Station. Some 8 of them hail from Angsana at USJ1, Subang Jaya, a low cost flat rife with grime, grind and crime!

Since the introduction of the programme, some 45 individuals have benefited, learning for the first time in their lives, the importance of self motivation, mastering positive mental attitudes, learning what it takes to be a good worker, the challenges of being a boss, balancing their finances and the difficult art of budgeting, harnessing their inherent skills and marketing them, monetizing their hobbies among others.

Each and every one of the participants and the trainers (Lillian, Jackson and Mary Anne) as well as facilitators (Nicole and Jamie) come away from the course, more refreshed, inspired and willing to try new things to improve their lot in life. For CNBM members, this is an ongoing journey on developing the power of optimism and inspiring each other as we journey through a beautiful life ahead! The best part of it all? We’re doing it – one life at a time…want to join us in this life changing process?