By Vincent D’Silva

JOHOR BARU: Smiles were etched on the faces of needy children from Sekolah Anak Yatim Al-Husna from Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi during a joyful buka puasa event recently.

The 40 youngsters, accompanied by their teachers had a wonderful time at the Sand and Sandals Desaru Beach Resort & Spa where they were treated to a variety of Malaysian delights.

The children. aged 4 – 17 years, enjoyed the visit and had a fun time chatting with the resort staff.

For these children who never get a chance to enjoy an outing, this trip was indeed a joyful one for them.

The resort’s general manager Lily Lim Lian said, “The month of Syawal is much awaited by Muslims around the globe, and no one should be excluded from joyously celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Lily Lim Lian, general manager of Sand and Sandals Desaru Beach Resort & Spa

“We hope our small contribution today will be able to bring happiness and joy to the children of the school,” she said.

She said the festive seasons are also the time to give back to the less fortunate. “We work with different homes each year to spread happiness,” said Lily.

The event also saw the staff resort mingling and chatting with the children.

“For Sand and Sandals, the iftar programme is also a platform for the resort to share the meaning of Ramadan,” she remarked.

A number of children who were present were either from broken homes, single parents or low income group.

Many of them said that this was a truly joyful experience for them and it brought plenty of cheer for these children.

According to Lily, the resort has been doing this buka puasa event with orphans, needy families and single mothers for the past three years.

“Next we may want to do something for Deepavali, but since it’s too early now our hotel team will make the necessary arrangements,” she said.

The resort, said Lily wanted to show it cares and want to forge a close knit with the people and let them know that they too are a caring lot.

From the start of the event both the staff and children had a gala time and they made good connections at the event.

Lily mentioned that after the pandemic this should be the best year and glow and spark seen on the faces of the staff showed that they have all geared up for the event and to mark the festival with splendour.

Before leaving the place, the children all received a goodie bag each,  and duit raya from the resort, Lily and  Simon Murphy from Dash Outdoor.

As they lined-up to get their gifts the children were in joyful mood as they hugged the staff and bade goodbye before leaving.

Mohd Najib Abdullah (in green),the resort’s executive assistant manager having a chat with the children during the buka puasa.