Children Are Like Sprouts

Last week, Mrs Ee told me she had passed some long bean seeds to the teachers of Harap Learning Centre Bukit Baru to plant so that the children learn how the seeds grow into plants. Yesterday morning I was quite free. So I went to the centre to have a look.

The small pots were at a corner of the toy and book library. Some of the seeds were already germinating.

Ten out of twelve children were present. They were playing with puzzles or other toys.

Farhan happily approached me and posed while urging his personal photographer, "Teacher, ambil gambar saya (take my pictures)!"

Very soon, his buddy Cinu joined him to act cool in front of my camera. This boy's younger brother Casevan was also my model last January.

Lunch was going to be served soon. Recently, we have a helper Sis Christine who is a former nurse. She asked the children to line up,

poured liquid soap into their hands, asked them to massage their hands before they rinsed well with water.

The lunch menu was porridge. It was accompanied by plain water unless the children's parents had specially prepared packet drinks for them.

I had first noticed this boy Rony during the special programme early this month. Though he was not feeling well and had no appetite in the beginning,

with Sis Grace's spoon feeding, his bowl was the first to be emptied.

Other younger children also needed the teachers' help to finish their food.

This girl Shanty was one of the older children who were able to eat on their own. She looked very different from last time in her traditional costume.

After the meal, it was colouring time.

At the age of five, Rony's elder sister Fidah already knew how an avocado looks like. I had first heard about this fruit only when I was in the secondary school when the television advertised for a brand of facial cleanser with avocado.

The next activity was watching an educational programme on DVD. The children stayed in the room until their parents came to take them home.

In the afternoon, the pots were placed outside to be exposed under the sun. Each child had to take care of a pot by watering the soil every morning. Rony showed me the one he was in charge of.

I suddenly realised that these children were exactly like plants in the stage of germination. May we adults continue to help them grow with the love of God.