Updated 12 May 06
A Precious Moment.
By Jerusha
Today was the day and it arrived hot and sunny too. After a month's worth of planning by team Alpha, the futsal match dedicated to the Precious Home kids would take place. Alpha had hosted a lucky draw event which delivered 1000 ringgit. A brilliant success, I must say.
It was my very first time: a real virgin-futsaler. It was obvious too, when I was the only one who showed up in jeans.
All the old faces were there: Choon Wei, Emily, Alan, Nelson, Farah, Su Lyn, Shino, and Adrian. It was our very own Alpha reunion together with some Deltas, a few of our cronies and (drumroll please) the Precious children plus their caretaker.
All in all our team amassed to 23 people, so we split right down into two groups.
We started off with a warm-up session to loosen those stiff 'ole muscles and creaky bones. One of the kids, a tiny chipmunk kindly volunteered to lead us and we soon followed suit, twisting and turning at (very) odd angles.
Then off we went! It was us vs. them.
It started on a mellow note, as a couple of us newbies didn't want to make some clever move like tripping over the ball or kicking it into the wrong goal. Then like that (*snaps fingers) we all began chasing after the ball, executing some pretty smooth maneuvers (or at least I'd like to think so).
I worked up a sweat in no time, just watching those kids hunt down the ball like natural predators. I swear, they must have been on Duracell or something the way the just kept on going and going and going...
Surprisingly, Alan and Adrian actually put up a decent fight. All those hours spent jungle trekking didn't go down the drain after all...
The team spirit was definitely present. The competition was intense, creating this energy that kept pushing us on (even when my legs threatened to breakdown).
In the end, we managed to score a few goals with the score summing up to 3-2.Hurrah!
Things screeched to a halt when there was a collision between the boys: Shaun twisted his hand pretty badly (Su Lyn said she heard a loud snap, ouch!) but he took it like a real man, without a single complaint. Proud of you, kiddo.
It was around 1:30 by that time which meant two things:
1.game over
2.lunch!
We headed over to the nearby KFC and managed to wrangle enough seats by breathing down one or two customers' necks. Then we tucked in, between bouts of conversation and (friendly) teasing. The kids were obviously enjoying themselves (duh! not just anybody gets to hang out with us after all, right?) as we warmly cross-examined them about school, life and everything under the sun.
After our bellies were filled to near bursting, we decided to say our goodbyes. It was a real tear-jerker ending when we left, complete with heartfelt partings and Nelson's car almost crashing into Adrian(what a waste, right?).
All in all, it was a real finger lickin' good time.
Updated 21 April 06
Organize a fun futsal game of Raleigh and Precious Children Home for some underprivileged teenagers who are very keen to learn and play futsal. They have never had the opportunity to play futsal before and are very very keen and excited with the idea of this activity together. Do not worry about playing like an expert because it is all about having a good time together while playing some football, guys and girls alike.
Who are they?
They are 12 secondary students from a variety of underprivileged background ranging from 13- 15 year old.
Home address : 11, Lorong 3/ 57A, 46000 Petaling Jaya. ( Behind MPPJ library)
Register now!
This event is open to all. To play a game of footie or contribute to the event? Just drop the organiser an email at info@raleighinternational.org.my.
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