Ice-Cream For The Children

At times in life, there are moments when we find ourselves comparing our world to that of the less privileged. It is only then that we truly realise how fortunate we really are.

One incident that left an indelible mark on our minds was the “Ice-Cream Surprise” for the children of an orphanage in Pulau Nias.  While children with their families still intact get to eat ice creams ever so often, ice creams were a luxury that these orphans could rarely afford.

During the lesson on “Our Animals and their Habitats”, Antarctica was described to be as cold as ice-cream. The look of bewilderment on the faces of the orphans suggested that the word ice-cream was incomprehensible to them. It then dawned upon us that most of the orphans had no notion what ice-cream actually was! We unanimously decided to trim our meal budget to be able buy some Cornetto ice-cream for every child in the New Community Home.

It was indeed a thrill for the children! Many of them wanted to keep the ice-cream, not knowing that it would melt if it was not refrigerated. Since it was the very first time the children had a taste of ice-cream, we assisted them by tearing the wrapper for them. Even then, some would not let go of their ice-cream, and held on very tightly to it.

It was an unforgettable moment for us when we saw the orphans with the big ice-cream stained smiles plastered on their faces. The sheer enjoyment of the orphans while eating their ice-cream was indeed a great sight to witness. We felt that their appreciation from receiving such a simple gift from us was magnified many times over and above our expectations. It was extremely heart-warming, and it jolted and reminded us of how privileged our lifestyles were in comparison to theirs.

Written by : Publicity Officers of Project Kasih 2010