Bread of Life Home in Bahau

7 July 2012  -  We got to know about this Home through one of Hubby’s FB friend who is a regular volunteer at Tong Sim Senior Citizen Centre.  Hence, early Saturday morning saw us taking a scenic drive down to Bahau with the requested items which the Home needs.



Items requested



A special request - school socks to replace the worn out ones

Located in Taman Jempol, Bahau, next to a Mobil petrol station and a stone’s throw away from a prominent secondary school SMK Dato Mansor, finding our way there prove to be a fairly easy task.  Prior to that, we dropped by the town’s KFC restaurant to collect the pre-ordered lunch treats for the Home – 30 packets of their Snack Plates with side orders of Potato Wedges.

The Lunch

On arrival, the scene that greeted us was a pleasant surprise - a single-storey bungalow with ample garden space for the kids to run around, this Home painted in white, projects a clean and serene ambience.  A marked contrast to most of the ones we visited in the past.  We later found out that this spacious place is being rented to them at RM700 a month only – a steal of a price.

The Premise

This Home was established by Madam Francesca, who moved from Klang Valley to Bahau nine years ago.  Her first base was in Mah San, where she provides free tuition to the estate children there.  She has since helped many people in that area and nearby, counselling the troubled and distressed, providing spiritual guidance and being a friend to all.  She is a strong believer in sharing her blessings with others in need, and does not hesitate to part with whatever surplus that this Home gets on occasions and share it with other Homes.  An Old Folks Home nearby is a regular recipient of her generosity and friendly visits.  She admitted that in the early days of setting up this Home, she has seen hardships too, but by God’s grace, she has been able to overcome them. Therefore, she relates very well to other Homes’ sad predicament and will help them out within her means. Over the years, she has built up a network of friends and generous contributors, regardless their religion or beliefs and whenever she has the chance she will share with them the plight of other Homes who may benefit from their kind generosity.

Madam Francesca, fondly called as "Mummy" by the kids

This Home currently houses 26 women and girls, 15 of them schooling, the rest are toddlers and homeless women who help out as volunteers in the Home.  Due to limitation in rooms, Madam Francesca only accepts girls.  The kids are a lovely and friendly bunch, joyful and well-mannered, a testimony of Madam Francesca’s good guidance and loving care. 

We were informed that currently the Home’s grocery needs are adequately met by kind benefactors and friends, a night-market trader provides the vegetables from his leftover stock, another kind Samaritan drops in with poultry and fish once a month or so.  However, there are still other items needed by the Home such as cleaning detergent, toiletries etc, as well as rental and utility bills to be paid, which Madam Francesca has to struggle to fulfill with whatever little donations she gets.

While the kids tucked into their KFC lunch and later a game of Musical Chair, Madam Francesca shared with us her journey in life, the hardship she suffered, the kind people she met and all the blessings God bestowed on her.  In between running the Bread of Life Home, Madam Francesca also visits other Homes in the vicinity, bringing with her whatever excess the Home has to share with those less fortunate.  Even when she is in the Home, visitors will drop by, seeking advice or comfort from her.

Our visit ended on a different note this time, leaving us with a different and happy feeling.  The kids who arrived there carries painful past or memories, some deeply scarred for life, but under Madam Francesca's patient and loving care, their pain is soothed away, their past slowly left behind and they blossom with confidence. Their faces carry smiles, theirs heart filled with love – this Home provides more than “Bread of Life” to these kids.

Discovering Lotus Charity Care Centre in Semenyih

30 June 2012  -  We stumbled upon this Home while helping our eldest son, Gary to identify a Charity Home for his college’s Moral Education Project.  Gary, sharing the same thinking as us, prefers to help out at one of the needier, lesser known Homes.  Days of Google-ing did not produce the result we seek.  It was Hubby who got this Home’s contact and subsequently called up the Caretaker to obtain more info.  With the Home's name, we were able to do a more detailed search and found out from online forum and few blogs that this Home hardly receive contributions from public due to lack of awareness on their existence.

Situated in Taman Hiew Piow, Semenyih, this Home is run by an Indian couple, Rev. Dr Thomas Manoharan and Mrs Sarah Thomas.  Mrs Sarah Thomas oversees the running of the Home with the help of four volunteers, taking care of 35 residents, comprising of 17 kids and 18 senior citizens.  Out of the 17 kids, 11 of them attend kindergarten and school.  A few of the old folks are confined to bed as they are too old and frail, while others just sit in their chair or move about slowly with walking aids.  The old folks paint a sombre picture in contrast with the cheeriness of the kids. 

Their Premises, a single-storey terrace house, rented at RM1200 per month has a small room for its office which also double-up as bedroom for Mrs Sarah and the babies/toddlers.  Two larger rooms  houses the old men and old women respectively, while another two small ones houses the kids.  A small area adjacent to the house, covered with just an awning roof but no walls, is both their living room and dining room.  During meal times, foldable plastic tables together with plastic chairs, transform this area into their dining room.  However, I do wonder ... what happens when heavy rain splashes in from the uncovered side?  As for the school kids, they do not even have any proper study desk, let alone the luxury of a study room...

The Common Area which the residents spends their waking moments ....

Visitors to this Home are scarce, maybe due to location or its lack of publicity?  Mrs Sarah often finds difficulty in making ends meet with whatever meagre resources this Home gets.  Many a times, she has to set aside her ego and call up some people asking for groceries or foodstuff, sometimes they will oblige but there are also times when Sarah has been "told off" for disturbing them too often. So, it’s not surprising that treats for the kids and old folks here are rare.  KFC and Pizza are once-a-year thing - if they are lucky.  Noting this, we planned to drop in again with these treats for them.

Little Andrew arrived here 2 years ago ...

This 1-year-old cutie was left in this Home by her mother after her father abandoned them



Hubby holding two-week old Little Ambiga, born out of wedlock n abandoned by her father



Uncle spends most of his time dozing off in his lazy-chair, oblivious to the commotion around him

Auntie's "companion" is her wheelchair n perservering cough

As usual, when shopping for grocery items to bring to this Home, our dear Joshua, thoughtfully thrown in some Mamee snacks, lollipops and Apollo cakes for the kids which were snapped up by them eagerly.  It is obvious that they hardly get to enjoy these kind of treats, from the way the suck their lollipops to the last drop and even scoop up the fallen bits of Mamee snack from the floor.  Our regret is, we should have bought more… a lesson we will keep in mind for our future visits.

Yummy

Brother n sister enjoying lollipops

Allow me to peel off the plastic wrapper for you...

Even the Old Uncle (left) and the Mentally-challenged (right) succumb to the temptation of Mamee

We lingered on a while longer even after Gary obtained all the necessary info for his project paper, each of us captivated by the kids’ friendly antics and could not bear to say goodbye so soon…  Before leaving, I took out my notepad and asked each of the kids what gifts they would like, and each of them shyly come up to tell me their heart’s desire.  Cooking set, dolls, doctor set, soft toys are some of the simple requests from the girls while cars, toy pistols, helicopter, watches are on the boys' list.  One of the teenage boy was not at home at that time, but his “brother” did not forget him and ask me if he could request a watch for him on his behalf.  To witness such camaraderie is indeed heartwarming….

One of the gifts Hubby brings to Homes is his time and care



Puzzle time for Joshua n his new friends



Gary has a special touch with babies n toddlers who seem to adore him



Thanks to Gary, we made new friends here which we intend to visit often…  Most Homes may share similar sad tales and background, but looking beyond that, the uniqueness of each Home lies in their residents, be they kids or old folks or the handicapped.  Look beyond the Home’s shabby exterior and you will discover the beauty of the occupants within.  They may be poor in material things but look beyond that and you will be see the richness in their warmth and laughter.