Perak Turf Club provided a magical experience for under-privileged children to see horses at its equestrian club along Jalan Kelab Golf on Saturday, February 13.
It was a morning of carriage rides, show jumping, horse petting, face painting, red packets and lunch with clowns, for children from Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah, Vision Home, Precious Gift Home, Edufun Learning Centre, Yi Shan Home, Anning Children’s Home and Pusat Pemulihan Sultan Azlan Shah.
Present during the occasion were the deputy chairman of Perak Turf Club, Dato’ Cheah Choon King and committee members, Dato’ John Lim Ewe Chuan, Norman Tan and William Balasingam.
Ipoh Echo spoke to Yean, the chairperson and founder of Yi Shan Home. “The kids are having fun today as they have never seen a horse before.” Formed in 2014, the home currently supports five single parents financially and houses 14 orphans ranging from 4 to 16 years old.
The relatively new home located at No 1, Lengkok Bunga Saroja, Taman Melor, 31650 Ipoh (next to Pasir Pinji) is in need of funds and foodstuffs such as rice and biscuits. Readers wishing to donate can contact Yean at 016 5216798 or 05 3217890.
Meanwhile, Jeya Jeyaratnam of Edufun Learning Centre, told Ipoh Echo, “I think it’s very inspiring for the children, as some of the riders are very young. I said to them, if they study hard, obtain a good job and earn enough money, they can then start taking lessons. It’s a form of motivation for them to get good grades.”
“Some of them scored straight A’s in the UPSR exam last year,” Madam Salome, their guardian, added. Edufun Centre, founded in 2012 by Soroptimist International Ipoh, is located within the low-cost flats in Buntong. It provides a safe haven for poor kids in the community.
The centre is looking for a part-time teacher, preferably Tamil-speaking with experience in managing kids, for its 25 children. Those interested kindly contact Jean Chai (President SI Ipoh) at 012 588 2313.
Mei Kuan