Hola Mexico!

Date : 1st April 2009
Venue : School Hall, Wesley Methodist School
Event : International Understanding Day

A Video Courtesy of the Mexican Embassy """ Embajada De México"

On the 1st of April 2009, the Interact Club of Wesley Methodist School hosted its 35th annual International Understanding Day, themed Mexican Fiesta. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear of the word Mexico. Sombreros? Cactus? Many of us may know Mexico by name but not all of us know of the rich heritage that lies behind it. Mexico is rich in history and culture and it is my pleasure to share this learning experience with all of you today.



International Understanding Day is hosted every year, with a main goal to provide opportunities for gaining increased knowledge and understanding of community, national, and world affairs. This event was done in hopes of creating goodwill and friendship amongst people of the world, eliminating all religious, political or racial barriers which is the best instrument for world peace. Thus, a variety of performances, exhibitions and other activities were prepared on that day with hope to impart some knowledge on the history of Mexico to the guests.



Every Interactor was given an opportunity to participate in the organizing of this event. As duties were delegated, every club member was responsible in taking charge of many aspects of the planning of the event. Thus, this event was a success due to participation of the club as a whole that managed to work together as a single body.



The decoration team did a splendid job decorating the school hall according to the theme. All the club members rented costumes set in the time of Mexico to give our guests a somewhat similar experience as to actually being in Mexico. The club had also managed to get the cooperation of the Embassy of Mexico to provide some materials for use in our event.





The event was organized in such a way that the program did not go on in a conventional way, but instead it was presented by means of integrating the various items into a make-shift play. On the agenda, there were a couple of speeches and other performances, including a dance featuring the culture of Mexico, and a short but informative presentation on a brief history of Mexico. The presentation covered many aspects of Mexico, such as culture, economy, geography, festivals, people and food.



Later on in the evening, there was also some time allocated to give an opportunity for those interested in learning more about Mexico to visit the many exhibitions, prepared by the Interactors, and to also have an opportunity to win various prizes by taking part in a questionnaire. The event ended in the lat evening after the souvenirs and prizes were given out.



Among the many guests invited to grace the event that morning were the representative from the Embassy of Mexico, Rotary Club Diraja KL and of course our school principal, Mrs. Vimala Mathews. The Interactors have worked tirelessly for a couple of weeks in preparation for this event and their hard work has definitely paid off.

WMS Cross-Country 2009

Every year without fail, our Interact Club organizes the annual cross country race. Every year, it promises to be better than the last - and this year was no exception. The event went great and even though there were a few hiccups, everything went along pretty smoothly.

This year, The club pre-decided that we should donate the funds to a number of charities, among them being The Children's Wish Society(CWS), Pusat Bantuan Sentul (the centre where we volunteer to tutor the children), Mercy Malaysia, National Cancer Society and P.S the Children, most of them in which are involved in children's causes.

Our Interactors arrived at the Lake Gardens early in the wee ours of the morning on the 14th of February, at 6:30am. After getting our Cross-Country T-Shirts (specially designed by Interactor Chan Jamin) , there was a short briefing by the otganizing chairperson and her assistant Grace Lim(Comm.Serv. Director) and Chia Su-Yen(Asst.Comm.Serv. Director) respectively, about what we were to do that day. All the Interactors were told to go to their assigned groups and then they were briefed by the person-in-charge there.

The event started on time at around 7, with attendance being taken by the Interactors put in charge of each class. After everyone was settled, we sang the national anthem and the school song, followed by a speech from the Principal and our guest of honour, Datuk Dr. Tan Kee Kwong (chairman of the school board), who officiated the event.



The event then went in to full swing with lots of laughter and smiles. Our President and Vice President, Catherine and Jonathan, lead the students in morning exercise, Interact club style. The students were made to warm up while listening to "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings. While the students were busy getting pumped up for the run, the Interators assigned to stations took off with their teachers and respective PBSM (Red Crescent Society) members.

Then, Datuk Dr. Tan Kee Kwong began the flag off, starting with the upper secondary route. followed by the lower secondary, teachers and parents. Among the categories of participants included the lower secondary, upper secondary, parents and teachers(under and above 50). The run was a success as there were no serious injuries or accidents (thankfully)! The security people cycled along the route, making sure everything was running smoothly and that there were no problems with the stations. Quite a few of the particpants wanted a ride on the bicycles!

After the last person crossed the finish line amidst lots of cheers and encouragement, everyone reassembled and enjoyed the sponsored food and drinks. The results were tallied and the prizes were given out by Mr. Allen Hubbert, Executive director of CWS who graciously attended the event. (Thank you so much Mr. Hubbert!)

The prizes included several iPods, a Handphone, Puma bags and Watches among other goodeies. There was even a prize for highest donor and also highest class donations by form.

All in all, the event was a success. We managed to raise a total of RM 47,301.17 this year, beating last year's record. However, the sum money raised proved to be not nearly as important as what we would do with it. We were proud that all the money we worked so hard to raise would eventually go to people in need of it.

Of course, we hope that next year's cross country will be even better than this one. Our Interactors agreed that it really made us feel good to contribute towards an event like this, which will hopefully impact many lives.

And last, but not least, there are many who helped us greatly to make this event a success, and we would like to thank them:

hi5 - for sponsoring delicious buns and much needed energy drinks - the 'Revive' drinks were snapped up almost immediately by our exhausted runners!
Elken - for sponsoring 1200 bottles of mineral water
Uncle Jimmy (our school canteen operator) - for providing the delicious banana fritters and various kuihs.
The Red Crescent Society (PBSM) of WMS - for playing a big part in making our event a success. We would like to thank them as they ensured that any student injured or feeling unwell was well cared for.
The teachers - many teachers helped out with the stations, food and various other things for the event. Also, the teachers who gamely took part in the race! Thank you!
The students and parents - Lots of amazing runners with great potential out there! thank you for supporting our event!
There were also cash sponsorships by various companies. Thank you so much for your contribution!

And of course... to our beloved teacher advisors, Mdm. Norhayati and Ms Teng, and to our Interactors, who worked tirelessly to make this event a success.

International Understanding Day 2009

Charis Old Folks' Home Visit

Our first community service project for the year was the visit to Rumah Orang Tua Charis in Cheras. Setting off from WMS at around 8, we spent most of the bus trip making last-minute reviews on what we would be doing - our tasks, games, interaction etc. Catherine, our president, and Grace, our Comm. Serv. Director, set some ground rules - the first one being INTERACT with the old folks.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the cheery old folks, gathering at the front porch. They informed us that the caretaker, Ms Janet, was on her way, so we split up and started talking to the old folks. Since all the residents of the home were Chinese, Interactors who could not speak Chinese or Cantonese were paired up with those who could.

The first few moments were awkward. What do you ask old folks, how do you talk to them? I racked my brains and came up with mundane questions like "What time did you wake up today?" "What do you do after you wake up?" "How is your day like?".

But somehow, it was as if that was all the old people needed - someone to listen to mundane stuff, just for awhile. Their lives are nothing exciting, day in and day out - some of them are illiterate, so they can't even read the newspapers. That, or their eyesight is too bad. Being a Christian home, however, most of them are taught to sing hymns in Chinese by their caretakers, Janet and Suzanne. I learnt that the old folks don't even play what is generally assumed as 'old' games, like chess. They mostly sleep, or chat with each other.

While it was nice conversing with them, I could sense the hint of loneliness when they talked about their families. The old man I spoke to had a nerve problem with his right hand and it lay limp, unable to do anything. When I later offered my hand to shake his, and he responded with his left, I felt a pang because I'd forgotten that he couldn't use his right. He had a family - a wife, two children. They lived pretty far away, and seldom visited. He could take a taxi to visit them, but seldom did that either. In a way, it was saddening to hear such a thing - here he was, an old man inconvenienced by inability to move well, and his family wasn't with him. How would you feel?



Once the caretakers Jenny and Suzanne arrived, we proceeded with our plans. One group of Interactors broke off to take care of the porridge lunch we'd prepared for the old folks, while the rest of us arranged chairs in a circle and proceeded to play 'pass the parcel' with festive Chinese New Year songs.

Of course, we deliberately stopped the music such that each old folk got their turn doing the 'punishment' >.< Most of them sportingly complied, singing old tunes for us. Some even danced! And surprisingly, they were quite good at singing. I remember a beautiful rendition of 'Edelweiss' by one of the folks who could speak English pretty well. And there was another who sang the Cantonese Classic 'Xiong Hoi Tan'.



Each of them got at least a present, from caps to birds' nest. When the 'punishment' fell on Interactors, they, too, gamely did their thing, mostly dancing for the old folks. I suppose the only place in which we dare to sing would be the shower.

After the game, it was time for an early lunch. setting out tables, we escorted the old folks' to their seats and served them porridge and stewed pork with eggs, grinning when they gave us the thumbs up and chorused 'Hou sek!' (delicious) The Interactors helped with the food, cutting up pieces that might be too large for the old folks, and even got our share of the food later.



While the old folks ate, some of us went back to the kitchen to wash up and clean up the place, mopping the floor and such. Some of the old folks experssed surprise that we knew how to do this things - perhaps they assumed that we were the pampered generation. ^^ After cleanup, it was time for the next activity - performances by the Interactors.

This was a rather haphazard compilation of simple dances and songs, which we never really completed, feeling awkward halfway through because we'd forgotten some steps or the lyrics - but the old folks laughed anyway. We gave out gifts after that - face towels, mandarins, and even angpaus donated by one of the Interactor's parents.

All too soon, it was time to leave. After a group photo, we bade goodbye to the old folks we had first spoken to - I was startled to find the old man I had spoken to first - the one with the limp hand - crying when we said goodbye. It was quite heartbreaking... and we went and hugged him. We hugged most of the old folks too. Perhaps that was what they needed.

Altogether, it was a touching experience to serve the old folks. It reminded us of why we should always love and care for the elderly, because they need us.

ILTS @ Sri Garden

On the 17th of January 2009, a little van trotted off the road and got lost on the way to Sri Garden.
After ending up outside Sekolah Aminuddin Baki, the little van reversed out of the lane and took approximately 5 minutes to end up outside..






























Well, not exactly there.
Outside the school gate really, which was just a brisk walk from the actual hall.

We began with some icebreaking: an infusion of Simon Says and adjectives on names.
Followed by scintillating speeches by:





New Generation Director Rotarian Hardeep Singh





















President of the Rotary Club Diraja Kuala Lumpur
Rotarian Francis Chan



















The talks were followed by a break for refreshments and then when we returned, we were split up into groups according to posts: Teacher Advisors, Presidents and Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers and Funding Directors, I.U. Directors, Service Directors and Club Service Directors.


The session concluded with a presentation on what we learnt by two members of each group, followed by Prize Giving, where Sri Garden swept all.

Treasurer Jenani Segarajah and Funding Director Melvyn Leong passing on what they have learnt.




Rot. Francis Chan and Int. Terrence, President of Int. Club Sri Garden





















Then it was a speech from the President of the Rotaract Club, Rotaractor Kavita.






















We broke for lunch after and went out separate ways.


































All in all, the session was very informative. =)