WELCOME
On behalf of the Directors, we would like to welcome you to the Winter issue of our Newsletter, M.E.F. As the light of 2023 is starting to fade, we are pleased to inform you that the light of Birthday Happiness Asia is getting brighter. Despite being between Webmasters and not having a Social Media presence, there is great interest in our objective to deliver birthday happiness to as many less fortunate children as possible. An analysis of our website saw an increase of 14% in views in September and, thanks mainly to you and word of mouth. Thank you.
JOYOUS PARTIES IN OCTOBER
Our first joyous party in October saw us return to the Society for Community Organization in Sham Shui Po. There were 10 Celebrants but two of them could not attend as they were unwell. The Celebrants that were able to attend had a memorable time along with their 20 Guests. The Volunteers Kiryu Chan and his wife Karen and mother, Mary attended as Volunteers. Mary came for the first time and really enjoyed herself so much that she wishes to join us again as a Volunteer. Kiryu came first as Spiderman and half way through the joyous party changed into Antman. The Participants did not realise that it was Kiryu under both costumes and again the joyous party was delayed whilst everyone got selfies with Spiderman and Antman. All the Celebrants loved the cake made with love by Radhika. They also loved their birthday gifts that were kindly donated by Sidney Cheung. One of the female Celebrants became upset when jokingly we told her that we wanted her Hana Montana box set and Barbie Doll back. A great joyous party made memorable by the wonderful organising by the Social Worker, Cathy Chung, great Volunteers and a yummy cake.
Our second joyous party was in a new Partnering Organisation, The Zubin Foundation in their Family Centre in the Austin MTR Complex. The Zubin Foundation helps low-income ethnic minority children. There were 8 Celebrants who never had a birthday party. Along with their Guests, mainly their mothers, there were about 23 Participants. All the children gasped when Superman, 2 Spidermen and Spiderwoman made a grand entrance. The joyous party was delayed by 10 minutes with everyone taking selfies, including the mothers! The joyous party was led by Mansha with traditional games like Musical Chairs, Musical Statue and Limbo dancing. The Celebrants loved the yummy cakes were made by Aisha. She made a pink cake for the girls Celebrants and a blue cake for the male Celebrants. The birthday gifts for the Celebrants was presented by the Superheroes. The Social Worker, Smita was happy to see all the Participants very happy. The Supervisor, Ms. Chau who unfortunately could not attend the joyous party but watched the videos and saw the photos and was very pleased that everyone had a great time. She is looking for a date and times we can come back to deliver birthday happiness every quarter.
Our third joyous part was at another new Partnering Organisation, the Missionaries of Charity in Nam Cheong. This joyous party was postponed from the previous Sunday because of Typhon Koinu. The yummy cake was made by our newest Cake Donor, Neeta. She made it the day before the typhoon hit and surprisingly it was still fresh on the day of the joyous party. She was accompanied by her son, DHeeraj who flew in from Australia for the joyous party. Music was provided by Gary who played his Saxophone. Although he claimed he is a beginner everyone was blown away by his playing. They were joined by Qually although being a Volunteer for a long time came to a joyous party for the first time with goodie bags for the Celebrants. She said that she enjoyed herself immensely and will come again as a Volunteer. For the first time, we were joined by Razel who had a great time. She wishes to help us deliver birthday happiness and hopefully at the next joyous party she comes to will sing Happy Birthday in Tagalog, Maligayang kaarawan. We also had Black Panther and Spiderman joining us to deliver birthday happiness. Yet again the start of the joyous party was delayed because everyone wanted selfies with the Superheroes. The Mother Superior, Sister Estaben and all the nuns were overjoyed to see all the Participants, especially the children so happy. One of the female Celebrants who is shy and withdrawn came in and pulled her cap down and was sulking in the corner. As the joyous party progressed she saw that everyone was having a great time with the Superheroes and Volunteers that she joined in. Afterwards she told Sister Estaben she had a wonderful time at her birthday party. Sister Estaben is planning that we will come back next year to deliver more birthday happiness after Christmas and the Chinese New Year
Our next joyous party saw us being invited back to the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society in Kowloon City. We had our first joyous party with them in June and they wanted us to return. There were 8 Celebrants ranging in age from 7 to 15 years old. The joyous party was led by P.Y. who impressed the Social Worker, Bibi with her leadership skills despite her young age. She was ably assisted by 2 Spidermen who again delayed the commencement of the joyous party with everyone wanting to take selfies with them. P.Y. had the traditional game Pass the Ball and Charades. This game was very popular with the children. The delicious cake was donated by Ms. Mabel Chan who unfortunately could not make it as she had a PTA meeting. She was disappointed as she could not see the happy faces of the Participants when the cake was brought out. One Celebrant kept on asking to eat cake before his meal of pizza and samosas. He rushed through his meal and was overjoyed to finally get to eat his cake. He was even more delighted to take some home. A Cake Monster in the making……
Our last joyous party saw us go to another New Partnering Organisation, Branches of Hope. We first met the Social Workers, Cherry Chan and Joshua Philipps in March and introduced the concept of delivering birthday happiness to less fortunate children and the benefits to everyone, especially the Celebrants and their Guests. There were two Celebrants aged 6 and 7. Their Guests were their fellow pupils in their class and they came straight from their class to the joyous party. They were all very excited to have a birthday party. One of the Guests’ mother bought her a new dress for the party. Their excitement grew even more when the Spiderwoman and Spiderman entered the Venue to the Avengers theme music. As none of them had cameras for selfies they rushed up to the Superheroes and hugged them tightly. They were so happy and the joyous party had not even started. Tope led the joyous party brilliantly with the usual games like Musical Chairs, Memory Game, Simon Says and the Limbo Dance. Despite the children’s high spirits, she was able to lead a smooth party. She was ably helped by Jeremy, one of our Cake Makers. He made a yummy chocolate cake and was a great help to Tope. She also had 2 new Volunteers, Natasha and Lewis. Both had come for the first time to see how we do deliver joyous parties and the joy on the faces of the children. Both had a great time and want to come again to help. Tope also had her friend, Andrew joining her. They have not seen each other since a joyous party in Hans Andersen Club last year and immediately started where they had left off before, delivering birthday happiness in their unique way. The nutritious food was made by Nel, Merce and Lyn, Volunteers with Branches of Hope. They made Filipino Pancit and Filipino style fried chicken. Jeremy’s yummy cake was the gobbled up by everyone, including the mothers waiting for the Celebrants and their Guests.
JOYOUS PARTIES IN NOVEMBER
This month we have two confirmed joyous parties. On Friday, 17th November we return to Home Care for Girls in Tsing Yi. This joyous party will be led by Ms. Eva Lo who has led parties in the Home before. Along with the Volunteers that the office recruits, Eva usually comes with her personal friends and business associates to deliver joyous birthday parties to the young ladies. As some of the ladies might have been abused by men, the Directors have decided only female Volunteers can assist Eva to deliver birthday happiness. On Saturday, 25th November we will return to the Society for Community Organization in Sham Shui Po. This joyous party will be led by Edward Fernandes. If you are able to help us deliver birthday happiness in anyway, please do not hesitate to contact the Birthday Happiness Asia office. Thank you very much.
NEW DIGITAL CONSULTANTS AND IMPROVED LOGO
After attending the joyous party in Branches of Hope both Miss Natasha Lau and Mr. Lewis Lupton were impressed by the way we deliver birthday happiness and could see the value of a joyous party. Both have agreed to update and maintain our website. They will update the site with new material and create sections for our dedicated Cake Makers and Volunteer Cosplayers. They will also load interesting news as related to Birthday Happiness Asia. They have also taken our old and tired logo and have given it a fresh appearance that gives a better representation of our primary objective. Thank you to Natasha and Lewis for freely lending us their creatives geniuses.
ANONYMOUS DONATION
We are very pleased to announce that an anonymous donor who has never been to a joyous party has kindly agreed to donate HK$1,000 per month towards the purchase of chocolates. He heard about our mission from another Volunteer and was touched by our mission. A joyous party always starts off with a bang when the Celebrants and their Guests can eat a lot of chocolates. No joyous party is complete without chocolates! Thank you very much.
SONYA KING
One of our former Team Leaders, Sonya King sent us an email after receiving the last issue of our Newsletter. Sonya graduated from the Li Po Chun World College with distinction and went on to study International Relations at George Washington University in Washington D.C. She also secured a post teaching children at a DC public school and is hoping to open a branch of Birthday Happiness Asia (America). Do you know anyone and/or have connections in the USA or the East Coast of America who can help Sonya? If so, please contact Sonya via the Birthday Happiness Asia office. Thank you.