Page 105 - 聖方濟各英文小學（學校雜誌）

English

The First Time I Went to an Orphanage

6B Lau Ka Ching

Last week, my mother forced me to sign up for voluntary work at an orphanage. I didn’t want to go there
because I thought it would be extremely boring and the whole environment would be very dirty. I asked my
mother if she could cancel it but unfortunately, she said she could not as she wanted me to try it for one time. If
I don’t like it, I don’t need to go there again,

Then, I arrived at the orphanage. Before stepping into it, I was greeted by a very unpleasant smell. I stood
in front of the door and looked at my mother unwillingly. However, she didn’t budge and pushed me in. At
that moment, I was so frustrated. I greeted the children without much emotion but they greeted me with such
warmth and joy.

We introduced ourselves to each other. After introducing ourselves, we started chatting. Suddenly, I
smelled a really bad smell. I noticed their clothes were really dirty and I asked, “Why do you need to wear
these old and dirty clothes? Don’t you think they smell bad?” They answered, “We cannot choose what clothes
we wear. It depends if people donate better clothes for us but we are already really lucky to have clothes to
wear. At least, we can still keep warm with these old and dirty clothes. I have some friends that don’t even
have clothes to wear.” I felt ashamed for always complaining about my clothes and wanting to have more of
them. And another child continued, “Our food is also donated by other people. If they donate leftover food, we
still need to eat it.” All of a sudden, I understood that I was really lucky to have everything I wanted.
After that, we played a game named tug-of-war. We were separated into two teams, Team A and Team
B. I was in Team A and my mother was on Team B. Before the game started, each team had 2 minutes to
discuss together. We started discussing. I suggested myself to be placed in the front to lead them. I told them,
“Remember to hold the rope tightly and lean back when the whistle blows.” A child from my team yelled,
“Team A must win!” Then, the game started. We tried our best to pull the rope. However, we were still defeated
by Team B. I yelled angrily, “Our team members are much better than those in Team B. How did we lose?”
Suddenly, I felt some tiny hands on my waist. The children were hugging and comforting me. I could not
believe that although we lost, the children were all still very supportive. I learnt to be positive. Suddenly, there
was a smile on my face and I found out that I had a great time playing with them.
From this experience, I found out that I was really lucky to have so many things that not everyone has.
I should try to buy less daily necessities as they are well enough for me. Moreover, I found out that I should
always be positive even when bad things happen, as being negative won’t solve the problem. Additionally, I
should donate more clothes and food to them as the children cannot afford them without their parents. I can’t
believe how my feelings changed in just a few hours. I am looking forward to seeing the children again and I
hope I can make them as happy as they made me.

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