Moments From A Special Merdeka (Pt. 1)

These are some of the photos taken during our Special Merdeka event for the Rumah Solehah kids yesterday.. Too many photos to be uploaded in one post. Therefore, it is split into two parts...

Shaza and I had slept over at May's house on Friday night as the venue is quite near to her place. We (May, Ashlei, Shaza, me) were the earliest to reach the community hall and since we had ample time, May and I got somebody from Rumah Solehah to unlock the doors of the community hall. We pumped up the balloons too.


The balloons in May's Car


Let's take some photos!!

Not long after that, the band members arrived. Eve joined us too. While the guys busily set up their stuffs, the girls did nothing but swat flies.



Well, not literally. Hehe.

The rest arrived around 930 am. Two Student Services Dept (SSD) staffs joined us. (They are gonna reward us with some appreciation letter, which will be a bonus for us when we leave TOA, according to them.)

So, everyone began their preparations for the event. We encountered some problems like last-minute banner, no microphones, etc. But, we had things worked out quite well, I think.


Putting up banner. Needless to say, Chin Hou is the right man for this job.


Focus, people...focus...


Junn Tseng making sure the alphabets are in the right place..


Voila! Not bad for a hastily-done-on-the-spot banner... (That orange colour thing on the bottom right corner is a TOA plastic bag... Haha =p)



Artisan blood flows deep in them.. =)


Cranes, balloons, streamers... Beautiful combination...

(Just to let you know, those 60 paper cranes are folded by Chin Hou himself! *salutes*)


Not forgetting our Jalur Gemilang too...


Inside the hall...


Guys (and gals), please do not be deceived by Shawn's seemingly hearty smile...

This fella here did something naughty to Geri and in return, he got some punishment for his own deeds.


Something miraculously appeared behind Shawn's back.


And another one more...


This says it all about Shawn Ba(e)ck... *ROTFL*


May's deepest secret - She plays drums... LOL


From left: Melissa (May's high school best friend), Chrystal, May, Julianna, Evonne, and Ashlei

Initially, the event was scheduled to start at 10 am, but due to some reasons, it only began at 11 am. Typical Malaysian timing.

Anyway, the kids came . Eve and Julianna gave them cute little stickers with their name on it..



We had something to stick on too. The ribbon symbol of HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign. To mark our support of their campaign in conjunction with our event.


Eve flashing her sweetest smile... =p


William showing off his drums...and himself. LOL

Before the event started, all of us helped out to get the kids settle down comfortably. Some of the Rumah Solehah staffs were there too. We handed out some refreshments while they waited.


May and Ashlei helping out...


Ethan and Pinky attending to the kids...



Finally, our MC for the day, Shaza welcomed the guests in BM and followed by a short speech from Pinky and the caretaker of Rumah Solehah (I dunno how to call her)...







She reminds us that HIV doesn't recognize its victims. HIV/AIDS awareness is very important, especially among the younger generation who will someday be parents too.

After that, we gave a performance of Best I Ever Had by Vertical Horizon. To tell the truth, it was very very awkward to sing without a microphone, especially when performing with a live band. Our band was awesome..

Then it continued with an Art & Craft session where the kids get to play with modelling clay, under our guidance. This is the part where we get test our patience level and learn to cope with a bunch of energetic kids... Haha...







*to be continued*