A bilum heavy with a baby (far left) and three empty hammocks whose occupants are somewhere playing.
This bilum has been hanging for quite sometime, giving the mother of the sleeping baby a chance to help volunteer mothers prepare the day’s lunch of beef stew and special soup “lomi”, a favorite Filipino dish. (More pictures after story)By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
A Friend of Tembari Children
FOR MORE than a year now, I have enjoyed taking pictures during my special Saturday feeding program.
It’s only during this event that unique scenes would pop for my camera to snap.
My latest fascination right now are those bilums and cloth hammocks dangling from branches of a mango tree, which could be loaded with the warm bodies of sleeping babies, or just simply hanging empty as they swayed to the passing breeze.
I would admit that the pictures that I produced were not really outstanding, to say the least – but passable, I could say, for uploading on the Internet.
But the point of the whole exercise is that my camera was documenting unique scenes that only a Tembari event could elicit.
I am sharing some of such pictures here, for the readers of this Blog to see and enjoy.
On Saturday, we had more than 90 young diners -- out of the 175 expected to come but did not for one reason or another -- who savored a painstakingly prepared beef stew dish and “lomi”, a favorite Filipino noodle soup, something the children have usually looked forward to, having been tired of eating rice and tinned fish five days a week.
The Saturday special feeding is some sort of a break from the daily routine of tinned fish and rice, rice and tinned fish.
I can afford to prepare something special as this particular dish is usually sponsored by two friends who chip in K200 (US$70) each to cover the cost of materials that go into the dish.
On another note, TCC’s Founder and Co-President, Rishabh Bhandari, who is studying in USA and spends all his vacations in PNG to work at TCC, has been working to raise moey for school fees while he is in the USA. His dream is to ensure all the TCC children has access to education to the extent their potential allows and they do not get hurdled by financial reasons. He once told me that he would love to see some TCC child one day going to the same US school he went.
Rishabh has raised enough money in the last few weeks to pay for the school fees for 21 TCC primary school children for this year.
Well, last Saturday was another of those Saturdays that turned out great for everybody – from volunteer mothers and beneficiary children alike.
Personally, it was another gratifying day for me after long hours of gathering and preparing the foodstuff prior to cooking, having been able to prepare a decent meal for the Tembari children,courtesy of our generous supporters.
Enjoy the pictures!
Volunteer moms cooking the day’s lunch.
Close of a pot boiling with “lomi”, a Filipino dish.
A volunteer and kids collecting donated foodstuff from the car of blogger APH.
Tembari bulletin board showing lists of schoolchildren who have been enrolled this year.
Tembari children killing time inside their classroom.
Children sitting on the mat and enjoying themselves while waiting for lunch.
Some play with some parlor games to the delight of those who watch them.
Penny, the Tembari Children Center's Co-Founder and Co-President, and three volunteer teachers preparing the school records of Tembari children.
A volunteer mom fetching water from the water tank to be used in cooking and washing used utensils and pots.
A volunteer mom scooping steamed rice in preparation for distributing lunch to the children.
Food bowls to go…
Children gulping their soup.
One kid simply sips it as it is still hot.
Raphael, a beneficiary child with deformed feet, enjoys his soup.
kids waiting for lunch.
A young boy enjoys his lunch.
Others are having theirs while sitting on the blue mat.
This kid pauses for a picture before finishing his lunch.
This kid is caught while drinking his cordial, a sweetened water concoction that usually follows after lunch.
Volunteers cleaning used plates, cups, spoons, bowls and pots..– All pictures by ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
Email the writer: alfredophernandez@thenational.com
jarahdz500@online.net.pg
freddiephernandez@yahoo.com
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