As you may or may not know, we have been on a team serving a small fishing village (Gertak Sanggul) here on Penang Island. We have been taking Dalat high school students down to teach ESL to 60-70 village kids on Saturdays, and we have a big party once a year. One of our team members writes news stories about life at our school and he wrote this about the party. The story features a Malay family.



Face in the Crowd
by Chance Edman

Living is hard in Gertak Sanggul.

Take the looming towers, air-conditioned malls and busy streets of George Town and imagine the opposite. Small shops, community markets and a laid-back lifestyle make up the small Penang town that sits far from major roads and cities.

Ah Loong and his youngest

Many people here fish for a living. Others like Ah Loong, manage to provide for their families by running a small restaurant. “Barely” is a good way to describe life for Ah Loong. His kids attend school, they have clothes, food and other necessities, but barely. There is no room for extras.

For two years, Dalat students have been teaching English classes in the village. Ah Loong’s four cute kids attend regularly. Last week, the Dalat students teamed up with Care & Share, Dalat’s outreach program, to host a massive carnival for the entire community of Gertak Sanggul at the town’s small, weathered school.

About 200 children laughed and screamed their way through the various carnival stations Saturday evening. Total, about 400 people attended the carnival. Dalat students and staff members ran games and contests where kids could earn tickets, which could be redeemed for candy or small toys.

Teaching English on the beach

Ah Loong came with his wife and four kids. The kids were shy and took a while to join in the fun. Eventually, the older two threw wet sponges at Kenji (a Dalat student), played the ring toss and got their faces painted just like all the other kids. The whole ordeal was free for everyone who attended.

After an hour of games, all 400 people got in line for a free KFC dinner with coconuts from Joez Coconuts. Choosing a meal that would fit the various cultures in attendance took some planning from Dalat staff members, but they finally settled on fried chicken – a meal that tastes great in every culture.

Ah Loong’s kids enjoyed every bite. This was a real treat. Ah Loong is an excellent cook, but fried chicken is not on his menu. His curry and satay are among the best in the business, however. He has also perfected sun-baked jello, crystallized sugar on the outside and pure jello on the inside.

Students and staff from Dalat worked for weeks in preparation for this carnival. They secured donations for a lucky draw that took place at the end of the festivities on Saturday. When the time came, all the village kids pressed closely around the table full of items to be given away – board games, mosquito killers and plenty of toys.

From somewhere in the back, Dalat staff member Jonathan Steffen hopped on a bike way too small for him and rode through the crowd. Another gleaming mountain bike was brought out as well. The kids’ eyes got big and a ripple of enthusiasm swept through the small mob. As various items were given out, most eyes stayed locked on the shiny new bikes. These were the grand prizes.

Three special faces in the crowd

The event was intended to be a blessing to the community. Dalat is fortunate in many ways, so staff and students feel it is their duty to give to those who have less. In this case, they were able to raise funds and donations to pass along to the village of Gertak Sanggul.

As the first bike’s ticket number was called out, Ah Loong emerged from the crowd, holding the winning ticket. With his littlest boy in his arms, the oldest boy and benefactor of this prize at his side, Ah Loong pointed at the bike to make sure he heard correctly. He doesn’t speak much English, but the look of gratitude in his eyes needed no translation.