How time flies. Each year the Than Hsiang Kindergarten hosts annual camps for its six year old students in accordance to the Than Hsiang mission of providing a positive supportive environment for the young to learn. It is hoped that students will become well-rounded individuals who have the capacity to become happy, active, contributing community members. This fifth Kindergarten Camp was a bit different as it was jointly organized with the Sungai Ara Branch of Taska Than Hsiang. It was also a golden opportunity for the Ai Xin Laoshi (teachers) and the children from both centres to mingle harmoniously like a big family.

Campers reported in on Saturday morning, 27 May 2006. Some were even accompanied by their grandparents. Some came without the Kindergarten's T-shirt, but the parents were quick to buy new T-shirts from the Buddhist Article Shop so that their children would not be different from all the other children.

At 9.00 am, the children, teachers and volunteers paid homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Kuan Shih Yin P'u Sa) at the Hall of Great Compassion (Da Bei Dian) before heading down south to Taiping in two school buses and a van. The first stop was the Taiping Lake Gardens. Although it was quite late in the morning the children were happily enjoying themselves jumping and romping around in the hot, sunny weather. They had lunch around noon at the Su Hean Vegetarian Restaurant in Jalan Kota Lama, Taiping.

After a sumptuous lunch, everyone headed for the Taiping Zoo, the highlight of the trip. The children took the mini train round the Zoo. They posed many questions to the poor teachers and were excited to see the various animals. Other holidaymakers waved and were delightedly charmed by the children's enthusiastic response with squeals of greetings and laughter.

Finally, it was time to go back to Than Hsiang Temple. The children were so exhausted that they slept on the journey back. In the late afternoon, after tea and a bath, the children were asked to paint a memorable scene of their visit to the zoo on a white T-shirt. The children were so creative that the judges had a hard time picking the winners of this Art and Craft Session.

After dinner, the children were told the story, “The Deer Repays Its Gratitude”; a teaching on Cause and Effect. The moral of the story was that if one practised wholesome deeds, one would be rewarded with wholesome results. A hand-gesture song ‘Compassion' was sung to round up the story.

Before bedtime, everyone gathered to recite “The Heart Sutra”, to reflect on the day's happenings and to radiate loving kindness and gratitude to all who had helped to make the camp possible, namely the Ai Xin Laoshi, Ai Xin Mama, Ai Xin Papa, Ai Xin Ge Ge, Ai Xin Jie Jie, drivers, cooks, and kitchen helpers.

The following morning the senior residents of the Wan Ching Yuen Centre joined the children for a short get-together. The children hugged and kissed each senior resident warmly and presented them with a small gift they made themselves. Later in the morning, during the “Deep from my heart” session, the children made onde-onde (glutinous rice balls with brown sugar fillings).

The “Happy Family Hour” session was held in the afternoon, in the presence of the children's parents. During this time the children proudly and happily presented the onde-onde they made in the morning to their parents. You could see the parents' faces lit up with joy and pride upon learning that their children had made the onde-onde with their own little hands especially for them. They were all so happy and full of love. It was a poignant time for all the families.

The parents sportingly participated in the newspaper dressing game, which called for family team spirit to have a parent dressed up in newspapers. Donned in their creatively made costumes, the contestants paraded on stage to show off their “masterpieces”. The camp drew to an end with the families taking their leave after the “Happy Family Hour” session.

We learnt a lot since organizing the annual camp and we continue to learn more with each camp. This not only enriches us personally but also helps us to organize better camps along the way.

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