On a sunny Tuesday morning, the students of Sekolah Sinar Harapan at Bukit Mertajam met with 20 Volunteers from Sophic Automations' ESG-CSR activities and arrived for a day of fun and celebration, with each volunteer leaving donations of clothes, toys and notebooks.

After a welcoming speech from Headmaster En Sabirin, volunteers were treated to 2 amazing traditional Malay and Chinese dances by the school's students. After which, it was the volunteers' turn to entertain the students. We held a warm-up session followed by a dance session, having the kids follow us with dances of their choosing: like the “Penguin Dance”. This was quickly followed by singing the children's favorite songs, like “Kelentang Kelentong”. Irfan, a blind boy, especially loved this song so much, clapping his hands in excitement as he sang loudly for all to hear!

The last song was “Bole Chudiyan” from the movie “KhabhiKhushi Kabhi Gham”. While this started as a sing-along song. Fatimah, one of the dancers from the opening performances, stole the show by dancing to it, encouraging her fellow students to join her. Soon this last song turned into an impromptu dance performance by the students themselves!

For a short break, we held a calming breathing session before a quick and exciting game of musical chairs held by the volunteers and teachers!

After all that excitement, it was time for the kids and volunteers to get to know each other more. Pairing up volunteers with students alike, with the shared activity of coloring in scratch picture cards. Showing truly heartwarming connections, like Ameera who laughed and played the whole time, and Farah who enjoyed the activity so much she coloured in 3 cards!

Finally, the day ended with a birthday celebration and lunch sponsored by Sophic Automation. with a moist chocolate cake brought by the volunteers to celebrate the special day for 3 kids: Carol, Zee Hoi, and Irfan!

Running a school like this is far from easy, but we could feel the passion and kindness of the teachers, and the genuine smiles of the students were heartwarming. We were truly happy and grateful to have spent this day with you all!