We had the pleasure of having some folks over for dinner last night. Jennifer Allard was in town for a Cargill project and had a co-worker, Eric with her - so we invited them over! We also invited Hub, our new friend that we met at Dining In The Dark, as he is still in bachelor mode until his wife and children get here on Friday. Easy dinner and lots of laughs. Jen and Eric brought a few fabulous gifts...which they didn't need to do! (But, I LOVE them!)
A candle holder made from a coconut, fried sweet potatoes, and a pineapple bush (tree?)
The pineapple is a symbol of prosperity for the new year
This morning all of us went out to Westport for a Cargill Cares activity. Blaine's office adopted a native school 3 years ago and have been working with them to help provide the children with various things. This year, Cargill provided backpacks with their textbooks and some art supplies for each of the 42 children. The building where the presentation took place was their school up until 1 year ago - at which time, the government started providing transportation for the kids and they now attend a public school with a much larger number of children. It was a well-attended event with the headmistress, the village "mayor", a member of the Malaysian goverment, various teachers, parents and many Cargill employees - along with some of the most adorable children EVER! Many of the adults spoke to the children and parents - there was even a lot of "scolding" going on. (We had a person translating for us.) The mayor spoke to the kids about the importance of education. He said he never went to school and when he was "asked" to move by the government, he readily agreed, but did not totally understand what he was agreeing to - and in turn, lost his livelihood. The government official asked the parents what more they (the government) can do as attendance from this village is very low (only about 40%). She stated that they pick the kids up at their door, provide them with breakfast and lunch each day - and she seemed to be making a very passionate plea for the parents to send their children to school. The teacher told us it is not uncommon to have kids missing class for months at a time with no real valid reason. It broke my heart...
But, then we started handing out backpacks...and there were so many smiles! So fun to see kids opening their backpacks, looking at their new books, and showing their parents. One can only hope that a little bit of renewed enthusiasm about school will help increase attendance.
Preparing for the presentation
Headmistress, Blaine, parents and Cargill employees, and a little cutie listening
Backpacks being distributed
Look at those smiles!
I wanted to bring this little guy home with me! His eyes were so mischievous!
Group photo
Then everyone who was in attendance had breakfast...nasi lemak and Milo!
It was definitely a heart-warming and eye-opening event...
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