Transforming the hearts and minds of society to accept individuals with differences.
Contributed By Elizabeth Tan
Additional reporting by Joan Ho
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| PHOTO: RUDIJANTO HADI |
On July 3, Kits4Kids Foundation held a Harmony cum Family Day Fiesta at the Eunos Community Club. A fun-filled day of exciting games and performances, the event’s main purpose was to showcase the talents and abilities of underprivileged children.
Established in October 2005, K4K started with a cause to create a shared understanding and a sustainable future for people with special needs. A privately funded social enterprise founded by Eric Lim and Jessica Wang, its belief is that society could become more accommodating to children with special needs if there were sufficient awareness and education regarding these children’s impairments.
Its ultimate aim is “to improve the livelihoods and well-being of the people with special needs.”
Today, K4K has extended its social reach internationally, offering social volunteer programs to countries such as Madagascar, Nigeria, China and Australia.
Despite the foundation’s wide-scaled social reach, the Harmony cum Family Day Fiesta proved that the foundation does not neglect the intrinsic drive of social work—human fellowship.
It was a rainy day, but the rain did not drench the joyous and fun-filled fiesta. Many families turned up to enjoy the games, food, and different performances by different cultural groups such as the Chinese Dance Group from Telok Kurau Primary School, a magic show by Ronald McDonald, a hip-hop dance number by V-Production, a story-telling session by the National Library Board, a performance by The Millennial Orchestra, a mini sports day, a coloring contest, as well as a flea market.
The main objective of the fiesta was to integrate the children with special needs into the society and to showcase their talents and abilities through performances by the children, as well as an exhibition of their own art and craft. The organizers hope “to raise the society’s awareness of the children’s impairments and help these students overcome the barriers their difficulties present, quickly and easily in an environment which accommodates their inclusion.”
Said Joan Ho, speaking on behalf of the Millennial Brass Ensemble, “It was a privilege for the the brass section to participate in the Harmony cum Family Day Fiesta. It was a meaningful and memorable performance for us as we could contribute to a good cause of raising funds for children with special needs.”
The MBE performed two Japanese anime pieces, “Spirited Away” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” They also had the honor of playing a fanfare for the arrival of Guest of Honor, Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
TMO, a musical orchestra group made up of individuals with a common passion to bring orchestral music to the heartlands and to the underprivileged, set up a booth to receive enquiries from the public and to recruit like-minded musicians.
The event was successful as it helped to foster a sense of community togetherness, and also created the opportunity for individuals to enjoy quality time with their family.
But most importantly, the fiesta facilitated the children of K4K foundation in gaining more confidence to integrate more smoothly into society, fulfilling the fiesta’s main purpose.
