Harvest Centre ~ Raymond and the Greatest Gift ever

I received this letter yesterday and had done a small donation. I wish to share this with all of you and hope that if you can, give them some support.

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Dear Friend,
Warm Christmas greetings from all of us at Harvest Centre! Christmas is a season that always reminds us of the wonderful gifts we've been given. For me, it reminds me of Raymond and the greatest gift ever.

If you had shopped at the Sentul wet market or wlked down any of its back lanes back in 2002, you would have probably bumped into Raymond. Father in prison, brother on drugs, mother unemployed and with no school to call his own, 7 years old Raymond spent the majority of his day in and out of trouble, wandering the back lanes and streets fo Sentul.

I saw Raymond every day as the Harvest Centre van made its rounds throught the Sentul lanes, picking up children for its then fledgling preschool program. I knew the greatest risk to Raymond's future was staying on the streets; something had to change. After a little convincing Raymond's mother released him to come to our preschool.

Raymond was an eager learner. I remember teaching him in preschool at age 8. Once, after a few weeks of working on the concept of addition, I felt he was ready to take on a greater challenge. I presented him with an equation :

? + 3 = 7

"Raymond," I asked, "what plus 3 will equal 7?"
Raymond's eye lit up. "10!" He exclaimed an obvious look of pride with the quickness of his answer. He didn't get the concept.

So i had to change my tactics. I tried agsin using pictures; still no connection. I tried using counters. Still nothing. We used beads, we used farm animals, I tried everything I could think of but he just struggled to make the connection. After what seemed like hours, I was ready to give up. I let Raymond go to work on different activities. What i withness next was what i consider the greatest gift ever.

There Raymond sat with another. Hild his age. I stared in bewilderment as the child, using my exact words and methods explained the problem to Raymond. I felt time stood still. Would he understand? If he still couldn't get it, what could we do?.

I watched as Raymond nodded his head and spoke the sweetest word to ever grace a teacher's ear ..... "Ohhhhhhhhhh....."

I felt I was going yo jump throught the roof with excitement. It was as if at that exact moment a light bulb suddenly lit up in his mind! He picked up the accompanying worksheet and within minutes presented it to me the biggest smile his face could hold. What a breakthrought!

Now at age 14, Raymond continues to make progress in Harvest Centre's Form 1 program. He is proficient in English, loves Mathematics and grudgingly completes his history assignments. From being a lost street kid, he is now the first literate member in his family, and the hope of a generation. One look at Raymond, and you see generations of poverty broken.

There is no shortcut to breaking yhe cycle of poverty. Investing in a child's life takes time, effort, materials and community of people committed to hope. Investing in q child's life is giving them the greatest gift ever: HOPE.

The Gift of Hope meand that Raymond no longer has to live on the streets. He is set free to dream big dreams. His life, his family's
Ife snd ultimately his community is changed forever.

This Christmas season, you can give the greatest gift ever, to over 650 children like Rashid. Your gift, no matter how small it may seem, provides a child with the tools they need to break free from the cycle of poverty. When you give to a child in need, you give the greatest gift: HOPE.

Wishing you and your family joyous and memorable holidays and a yest full of the greatest gift ever.

Petrina Satvinder
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Harvest Centre is operated by Dignity for Children Foundation (506188-W)

For Check/Money Order / Direct deposit :
Dignity for Children Foundation
Bank : Public Bank Bhd.
Account : 3-9804775-36
Address : Lot G. 01, Plaza First Nationwide,
161, Jalan Tun H.S Lee, 50000 Kuala Lumpur

For online credit card via Ipay88:
Log on www.harvestcentre.org and click "donate today"
*All donation are tax deductable*

For further info, please feel free to contact them :
Tel : 03-4044 1397
Fax : 03-4044 1395
Website : www.harvestcentre.org

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