The Boys of the Village .....

Yesterday I blogged about The Girls of the Village ...... today it is the boys turn!  The reason for the 'separation' is that I had far too many images to share and it was easier to see them in two blog posts.

All these children are beautiful, happy and are constantly laughing. Most of them are of the Muslim Faith and I say this as they are truly the children of the world, they cannot see any difference's in color, race or religion.

We - as adults - could learn a lot from these beautiful children of the village.

 It is not for us to 'teach' them our way of life or of our religions either. They need to grow within their own faith, within their own families and community. We cannot enforce the way we live onto these children and who are we to say we are 'doing it right' anyway?

We may see their 'homes' as dirty, falling down, no 'proper' sewerage system or bathrooms, but we must remember these are their homes, not just a building and not just a house .... but their home. It will take many years for the children of some of these countries to have what we 'consider' is normal.

 They often need some help and guidance in area's of safety, physical health, hygiene, schooling, finance, and community health. But that's as far as we can help them. These beautiful children will grow into responsible adults with just a little patience and guidance ..... believe me!!

These children mostly come from the local village of teluk mata ikan, a small fishing village not far from Nongsa Village where the party (Sunday September 26) was held.

The party started at 10.00am and finished at 3.00pm and in those five hours we did not hear one child cry, or whinge, or grizzle, or complain, or argue, or fight ....... every single one of them had a great time. There were 80 children present and they played games or with the balloons or balls that John and I bought for them.

These children do not have Nintendo's or any other 'electronic' game. They do not stay inside to watch TV (that is IF the family even has one) these children are outside playing using their imagination. They play with shells or sticks in the sea or sand, because thats about all they have got.

Stop and think what your children or grandchildren have to play with and I can guarantee these children of the village would have nothing compared to that.

Nothing?

No, that is the wrong word to use ....... they do not have 'nothing' as they have plenty.

They have plenty of sea, sand and fresh air, they have sticks and sea shells to play with and sometimes a ball, a balloon or other toys that someone has given them that is likely to be second hand anyway.

But in that 5 hours last Sunday all we saw were the children playing and laughing, they did not think they were missing out on anything. They all felt incredibly lucky to have a party to go to where there were balloons and games to play.

The games were the spoon race or the sugar bag race, or the eating rice cakes from the string...... all laughing and having the time of their life and already by 3.00pm when it was time to go home they had started to think of the party 'next year'.

Here are some of the boys from that day at the party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and last, but certainly not least ...... a capture of a mothers love:

 

IF A CHILD....

If a child lives with criticism,
he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance,
he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise,
he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness,
he learns justice.
If a child lives with security,
he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval,
he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.
Author unknown