Summer Buzzing

WELCOME

On behalf of the Directors, we would like to welcome you to the June issue of our Newsletter, M.E.F. Finally, Summer is here with the promise of warm days and air-conditioners!! Unfortunately, many less fortunate children’s parents cannot afford to stay cool with air cons and have to rely on old fans and sometimes nothing at all. These children deserve birthday happiness and hopefully be inspired to see a route out of their insidious cycle of poverty. By giving birthday happiness we not only give them a joyous moment but we hopefully inspire them to be better in their studies and aspire to be the next generation of leaders in Hong Kong. A joyous party is not the final stop on the road to a better future but a joyous start.

JOYOUS PARTIES IN MAY

Our first joyous party of May was in the Society for Community Organization’s Centre and was led by our newest Team Leader, Eva. She conducted the joyous party with Volunteers who are mainly around her and come from the catering and training fields world. The snacks were kindly brought back by Sharon from a trip to Taiwan. Nicole had just returned from Japan and brought birthday presents and gifts bags back who together with her son, Wesley wrapped them. Wesley also acted as the D.J and showed a real talent for it. They all contributed to the cake. The nutritious food was sponsored by Ms. Lorie Kapandyarihan who is from the Philippines. Lorie returned to the Philippines to celebrate her own birthday with family and friends. When they tried to give her presents she requested them to give her money instead to give to a deserving cause in Hong Kong. She collected about HK$1,000. When back she used Google to find a worthy cause to donate the money and found us. Thank you to Lori, family and friends in the Philippines for sponsoring the food. Thank you to all the Volunteers for a special joyous party that will live long in the memory.

The next joyous party in May was supposed to be in the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired but unfortunately had to be postponed as the School arranged a day trip the same day and the children would have come back too tired. The joyous party is postponed to later this year.

Our second joyous party was in the Refugee Union and was led by Tope. There were 10 Celebrants and with their Guests there were about 30 Participants. She had the traditional games like Pass the Parcel, Musical Chairs and both descended into chaos, but great fun. The delicious cake was kindly donated by Radikha who unfortunately could not attend but arranged delivery of her creation. The hot nourishing food came from the Jollibee restaurant in Sheung Wan. Everyone enjoyed the spaghetti and fried chicken.

Our next joyous party was in Love21, our first with them since their Centre in Diamond Hill was damaged in a major fire earlier this year. The joyous party was held in their temporary Centre in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon. The memorable event was sponsored by Faith Charity Foundation who wanted to join hands with us to deliver birthday happiness. All the Volunteers came from the Foundation and Rani demonstrated how to Bhangra dance, Bollywood style. The Volunteers from the Foundation provided all the prizes and birthday gifts. They also provided the delicious eggless cake and vegetarian food. Many of the Foundation’s Volunteers have agreed to join us as Volunteers for future joyous parties. The guest of honour was Mr. Prakash Punjabi who finished the joyous party with a prayer for everyone. Very touching moment that everyone appreciated. Thank you, Faith Charity Foundation and everyone involved.

Our next joyous party was scheduled to be held in Caritas Lok Yi School on Saturday, 27th May. Unfortunately, it had to be postponed because there was an outbreak of Covid in the School. The joyous party has been rescheduled for Sunday, 11th June starting at 2.30 pm for 90 minutes. Please mark your diary.

NEW PARTNERING ORGANISATION

In an effort to reach as many less fortunate children as possible, Birthday Happiness Asia reached out to Tung Wan Mok Law Shui Wah School (https://www.tws.edu.hk/). About five years ago, the school moved from Lantau Island to new premises in Tuen Mun. The School is divided into Primary with approximately 70 pupils and 30 in the Secondary School. These children experience barriers in behavioural and emotional development that do not allow them to benefit from mainstream schooling. Some have been referred to the school by other schools and outside agencies. By providing a pleasant, harmonious and caring environment and dedicated staff the school attempts to cultivate an adult who adheres to accepted norms and can be contributing members of society. The School has agreed that our first joyous party with them will be on Friday, 14th July starting 11.00 am for 2 hours. Please mark your diary.

JOINING HANDS TO DELIVER BRTHDAY HAPPINESS

In our March issue of M.E.F. we informed you that Ms. Reshma Gopwani approached us to see if Birthday Happiness Asia would join with Faith Charity Foundation to deliver birthday happiness. As reported above, the Foundation joined hands with us to deliver birthday happiness to children with Autism and Downs Syndrome in the Love21 temporary Centre in Tai Kok Tsui. The Foundation paid for everything including the eggless cake, vegan food, prizes and gifts for the Celebrants. Reshma has been to many of our joyous parties and could see the benefits of a joyous party. Many of the Foundation’s members could also see the benefits and have agreed to be our Volunteers.

Edward formally thanking the Foundation by handing over a letter to the Volunteers, Reshma Gopwani, Anita Mirpuri, Sheela Samtani and Saloni Vaswani

CONFIRMED JOYOUS PARTIES IN JUNE

We are happy to inform you that the following joyous parties have been confirmed for the month of June. We are expecting more soon. Sunday, 11th June we will be at the rescheduled joyous party at the joyous Caritas Lok Yi School in Sai Wan Ho. It will start at 2.30 pm. This joyous party was meant to be held in May but there was an outbreak of Covid in the School. The Team Leader will be Edward. The second joyous party will be in the Society for Community Organisation in Sham Shui Po on Saturday 17th June starting at 2.00 pm. The Team Leader is P.Y. The third joyous party is on Saturday, 24th June in the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent, Ethnic Minorities Centre in Kowloon City starting at 11.00 am. The Team Leader will be Edward. If you can help deliver birthday happiness at any of the joyous parties, please do not hesitate to contact us. Many thanks.

SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFITS

Our Co-Founder, Marilou insisted that before any joyous party the Social Worker introduced themselves, their Organisation and the children they help to the Volunteers. This way the Volunteers are “educated” about the circumstances the children live under. If they come back and help in any way, Birthday Happiness Asia is very happy. Before the commencement of the joyous party with Love21, The Dancing Queen, Ms. Rani Gidwani presented Love21 a cheque for HK$5,000 on behalf of Darsh Hartono and family. Thank you very much for this act of kindness and generosity.