Thursday 5 January 2012

House Of Joy - Temporary Shelter at Dewan Serbaguna MPSJ Taman Kinrara



So, the searching of this "Dewan Serbaguna MPSJ" took me more than half an hour rounding Seksyen 1, Puchong with the GPS of no help either.

Finally called up House Of Joy and the person answered the phone told me to head over to Jalan TK1/1, Taman Kinrara, Batu 7, Jalan Puchong, where their administration office is located, you will see the Dewan located nearby...

Receiving me upfront at the entrance was Ah Hong, who is one of the teenagers made homeless by the fire incident last week. Two reception tables were set up at both sides of the entrance, on the left was manned by Lesley Mah and her friends, the person responsible to attend to activities and visitations. To the right was a bigger table displaying all the Chinese New Year cookies and some other items on sale, to help generate funds in this trying times, I presumed.

Overall the boys were well taken care of in terms of food, clothing and basic necessities. There are now close to 40 of them aged between 3 to 18 years old housed in the Dewan while waiting for a more permanent solution to the lodging arrangement.

As the school term had just started two days ago, I was requested to provide some packet milk for them to bring to school. Some extension wires also come in handy for fans and other electrical appliances as the hall is fairly large. Garbage bags were also needed to maintain hygiene in the place. I have so far fulfilled their needs and made a small contribution with the hope that they will overcome this difficulty in no time.

Children were seen playing badminton and some started doing their homework right after having the packed lunch courtesy of some kind Samaritans.

Ah Hong reminded me to speak with them prior to bring cooked food to the children to avoid over supply.

Should you wish to pay them a visit, or just drop in your contribution, please refer to the followings:

Address :
Dewan Serbaguna MPSJ Taman Kinrara
Taman Kinrara Seksyen 1
7/12 Miles
Puchong
Tel: 03-8026 3299

or

Jalan TK1/1
Taman Kinrara
Batu 7
Jalan Puchong
47180 Puchong, Selangor

House of Joy Contact Persons:
Pastor Tang - 012-2246396
Lesley Mah - 019-3392847
Lee Choo - 012-9200141

If you wish to donate:

Account Payee:

JOY TO THE WORLD COMMUNITY SERVICES

A/C NO: 05700061502 HONG LEONG BANK

Send to : 78A, Jalan TK1-1
Taman Kinrara
Batu 7, Jalan Puchong
47180 Puchong

Attention to : Lesley (House of Joy)











Tuesday 3 January 2012

House of Joy, Puchong Orphans are homeless again


For the past six years, it has been home to orphans as well as children from poor and broken families.

But The House of Joy, in Puchong Petaling Jaya, was razed after fire gutted the two-storey building.

The disaster left about 35 underprivileged children homeless and in tears, The Star reported.

The House of Joy chairman Pastor Tang Chee Sing said there were five caretakers and 19 children, aged between six and 12, at the home when the fire started.

"The rest of the children were out on training and attending workshops," he told the Malaysian daily.

The fire is believed to have started in the dormitory on the second storey on Friday, New Straits Times reported.

Firefighters, who arrived at the scene nine minutes after receiving a distress call at 10.50am, found the entire second storey in flames.

The fire was brought under control within 20 minutes.

There were no casualties, the report stated.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director Anuar Harun told The New Straits Times that preliminary investigations show that the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.

He said: "The cook heard an explosion upstairs and went to inspect. He found the fire raging in a room and used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the flames.

"He called on the other caretakers to evacuate the children."

One of the caretakers, Mr Moses Chat, 68, said he and four other people were preparing lunch when he heard small explosions coming from the dormitory.

He added: "When I checked, we saw sparks coming out from one of the power sockets."

Pastor Tang said a neighbour offered food and shelter for the children while the firefighters battled the flames.

The children will be temporarily housed at a multi-purpose hall while the management looks for another house.

Pastor Tang said: "We were in the midst of raising RM2 million (S$820,000) to build a new boys' home and had planned to move out after Chinese New Year.

"But this fire has thrown our plans out the window."


This article was first published in The New Paper.