Children Had Zoo-rific Time with Great Heart Volunteers
PETALING JAYA, 24September 2017: On a Sunday morning, 18 passionate volunteers from Great Heart Charity Association (GHCA) invited 27 underprivileged children from House of Joy children’s home to visit the Farm in the City (FITC) petting zoo, as part of GHCA’s You & Me Educational Programme. Organised by a group of students from Sunway University whom had enrolled in the You & Me Educational Programme, the main objective of this visit is to create a learning space for the House of Joy children outside of their usual classroom and surrounding with the opportunity to be up close and personal with various species of animals located inside FITC.
On the fine morning, a short introduction was given by team leader, Ms Lee Bi Jun, to all volunteers on their duty for the day, where each volunteer was tasked with taking care of 2 children throughout the whole trip to ensure their safety and wellbeing. The children were also briefed on the do’s and don’ts in FITC.
The children and volunteers walked hand-in-hand on a guided tour around the petting zoo, with information provided for each of the animal species there. The highlight of the visit is that all the excited children get to enjoy feeding and petting various animals there which comes from different countries, and each were reluctant to leave either animal stations. Some of the children’s favourite animals there include raccoons, fishes, rabbits, and tortoises. The group also had an unforgettable and hilarious time at the Parrot Station, when one of the children volunteered himself to be part of the parrot show and played the “Guess Where is the Ball” game with a parrot.
The Reptile Station also gained much attention from the children, where they crowded the station for the opportunity to brave their fear and touch the skins of various cold-blooded reptiles. At the Raccoon Station, the children could not wait to feed the raccoons with their hands. Volunteers lifted the younger children up to enable them to feed the furry and cute raccoons. Rabbit petting also drew lots of excitement from the children. Some of them refused to let go of their new-found furry friends when it was time to leave the station. The children also took the opportunity to catch fishes at the fishing station. They crowded the station and couldn’t wait to show off their catching skills among one another when being presented with fishing nets.
“ Despite being tired from having to care for the overly excited and active children, we had a great time and created rapport with the children throughout the trip,” added Bi Jun. The volunteers were very patient and caring when interacting with the children, which made bidding farewell hard for the children at the end of the trip. She hopes to see a world where everyone would feel loved and appreciated, including these underprivileged children.