Jeannie Chan
It was a great honor for Silver Lining Missions to invite me to visit Family Village in Myanmar. Before I left, I was so excited! It was my first visit to Myanmar, and I had never visited an orphanage before. But at the same time, I was also nervous about the health situation there. I didn’t know if the children would like the gifts I prepared, or if they would open up to me. With a sense of anxiety, I embarked on a journey to Myanmar.
However, after arriving at Family Village, I found myself worried about nothing. The sanitation was very good (some places even cleaner than Hong Kong), and the facilities were also complete. There were about 80 children at the center, and they were all well-behaved and enthusiastic, with bright smiles on their faces. I felt as if they were grasping at every inch of happiness that they could find. When I handed out the toys that I had prepared, they lined up in an orderly manner without scrambling. After receiving their gift, they would politely thank me. Seeing their innocent and lovely appearances, my heart melted quickly. But what moved me most was not their sensibility, but the fact that they knew how to share love and joy with others. I remember when teaching some children to knit hand ropes, they finished weaving one for themselves, and started to weave another. I was curious and asked them why they continued to weave. They told me they were going to weave it for everyone else at the center. At that moment, I was very moved! Their actions all came from the heart, and they simply wanted to share their joy with everyone around them. One day, I went to play games with the children at an open space. With so many children running around, there were bound to be inevitable collisions, but whenever a child accidentally fell, the other children would immediately rush to support them. All the above made me feel extreme affection for Family Village that I now fully understand how to be full of love!
I think that children can be so loving, and the "mothers" who care for them are indispensable. In Family Village, each mother will take care of around ten children and live in the same home. I lived with one of the mothers for a day, and saw that in addition to taking care of the children's daily lives, she would also teach them politeness and family education. The interactions were no different from a normal family. I sincerely admire these mothers because they don't treat the children as work, but as children of their own. I heard that one of the mothers wanted to take a few days off to visit relatives in her hometown. One of her children was very reluctant to let her go and kept asking her not to leave. I saw the closeness of their relationship and the trust that was established, even though they were not blood-related.
Although the children were very happy at home, it is important to remember that they are orphans, and the pain in their hearts are slow to heal. During the visit, there was a boy who I was close to. One day, when I was playing with the other children, he called my name and wanted me to play with him. But the scene was quite noisy, so I couldn’t hear him. He was quite disappointed and kept asking those around: "Is my sister ignoring me? Do you want me?" I was devastated when I found out, because I understood his feelings. He had once lost love and care. Although he now has a big family to support him, he still lacks security deep in his heart. He longs for warmth and love, and fears to lose that care once again. So we need to give our children more love and support to heal their wounded hearts.
This visit gave me a lot to reflect on. I learned once again that my life is a happy one. The troubles and pressures at work are insignificant, and happiness is actually very simple. We must learn to be content, and not to take things in life for granted. All over the world, there are still many children living in poverty who need our help. I hope to share my feelings and the insights of this visit with the people around me. I also want to say thank you to Lydia and Silver Lining. With your continued love and support, these children have the hope and opportunity to grow and live a better life!
