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Inspired to Act
A remarkable opportunity to Give Light
Two sisters yearning for a chance to reach out and inspire children in places outside the world they were most familiar with. And so it began that these sisters reached out to the GiveLight founder, Dian Alyan, to propose an opportunity to travel across the globe (world) and enter into the lives of children at the Indonesia orphanage. Within two months from the initial meeting with Dian, their dreams started to come true. The two sisters, Shazia Soroya and Ameera Tran, were on their way to a place that would forever change their lives along with the entire group of orphan children in Indonesia.
Earlier this summer Shazia and Ameera both arrived safely at GiveLight’s first orphanage, Yayasan Noordeen, located in Takengon, Indonesia. With high hopes to inspire and educate children whose lives were greatly affected by the tsunami that hit the Aceh region. There they spent nearly a month with the children. Each afternoon the children all gathered round to learn English and get a glimpse of a world so foreign to them. Through the lessons that both Shazia and Ameera provided, the children soon realized their great potential and that God willing absolutely any dream could be fulfilled for their lives.
To learn more about their trip visit Ameera’s blog.
Every child is special!!
My wife Houda and I had five wonderful children that blessed and enriched our lives. We are a blended family that came together five years ago when we got married. My two daughters and son gained two new sisters as two families became one. Houda and I were hoping to have at least one child together, but after years passed, we assumed that it wasn't going to be.
Last summer our family was hit with a tragedy that broke our hearts, but did not break our faith. My twelve year old daughter Catlynne went into cardiac arrest while riding a roller coaster at an amusement park. She was revived by paramedics but remained in a coma. I stayed by her side for six days in the trauma center until she passed away. In that moment I thought of what a blessing it was that I was allowed to be with her the moment she enter this life and the moment that she left it.
Amazingly, by God's will, two months after Catlynne's funeral we were given the news that we were expecting another child. This was an unexpected joy during this time of personal sorrow. The news of this child made the difficult moments easier to bear. But difficult moments are never far away. Sometimes it's the thought of Catlynne's smile that I will never see. Other times it's the thought of her hugs that I will never feel. It is clear that each child is unique and special. They each can occupy your whole heart and yet you still have room to love even more. We began to think about all of the children that are orphaned and alone. They smile. Is there anyone to see them? They reach out to hug. Is there anyone there to embrace them? Who is there to recognize how unique and special they are? People are there.
People like Dian Alyan and GiveLight Foundation are there, but the rest of us need to do our parts to help. Since we were expecting Houda's friends begin asking her about having a baby shower and where are we registered for gifts. Houda came up with a great idea to register with GiveLight. Instead of buying gifts for our child, our friends and family would give that money to meet the needs of many more children within GiveLight's reach. We pray that they are touched by God's mercy. We send to them our hugs from afar.
Isa Shaw.
Letter from Aceh!!
Ahmed and Dwi Khaleel are newly weds and they are spending two weeks in our lake house in Aceh to volunteer. Following is their account.
My wife and I came to Aceh without expecting much more than a visit. We could not even begin to imagine the genuine sincerity of the children who live at the orphanage of Yayasan Noordeen. We arrived at 6 am on a Friday morning, and were greeted by every child in the orphanage. There were mostly expressions of curiosity and a few shy smiles on the children’s faces.
The orphanage is captured by a picturesque peacefulness and is filled with the warm hearts of children who don’t ask, but happily and humbly receive. Aceh is surrounded by endless green mountains and lush rainforest – a place where goats run freely down the street and cows graze as they please on fruit whose names are unknown to me but which I enjoy eating so much.
We toured Star Village, splashed in Laut Tawar Lake, played on the beach, and soaked in the natural hot springs of Weh Pesam. Alhamdullilah the faces which previously showed so much curiosity slowly began to reveal ear to ear grins, and soon after, warm laughter. The experience has filled our hearts with more than just delight; on many occasions, it has left us utterly speechless.
Around dawn, we are awakened by the strong voice of an eleven year old boy calling the adhan (call the prayer), and we witness five year olds performing the prayer with perfect concentration, followed by the echoing voices of 47 children reciting the Quran. The Give Light foundation has built more than just an orphanage – it’s also a home where some of God’s most obedient live.
Our experience has been one we will never forget, and we will, with God’s blessing, return time and time again.
Ahmed and Dwi Khaleel.
Teaching at the Orphanage!!
For Ira Renfew, the dreadful news of the South Asia tsunami struck close to home. He had a friend vacationing in Thailand at the time the disaster took place.
Several nerve-racking days passed before Ira received word that his friend had narrowly escaped the wave. Since the horror of the tsunami touched him on a personal level, Ira was moved to help those who hadn’t been as fortunate as his friend.
But aside from donating money, he wasn’t sure what he could do.
A year later, Ira met Dian Alyan during a visit to the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara as part of a class he was taking at Stanford.
Dian told Ira all about GiveLight, and by the end of their visit, he asked her about opportunities to become a volunteer. They arranged for him to stay at the newly-built orphanage in Aceh to teach English to the orphaned children.
The four weeks that he spent at the GiveLight orphanage taught Ira about gratitude, patience, and being content in spite of having very little.
In the months since I’ve left Aceh, I’ve often found my thoughts wandering back to the weeks that I spent there, says Ira. The children are amazing. I went to Aceh to teach them, and yet in many ways they ended up teaching me.
They have so few possessions, and yet they’re happy it caused me to reevaluate all the unnecessary stuff I have in my own life. Also, their hunger for learning took me by surprise.
The kids were always coming by my room or shyly approaching me at mealtime, asking, We practice English now? There were times when I wasn’t planning on running a class, but it was just too hard to refuse when they were so eager to learn.
Their enthusiasm for learning reminded me to value the privilege of education and to make a greater effort in my own educational pursuits.
A Blessed Event!!
Donating money is only one way to help enrich a life. There are as many
ways to GiveLight as there are generous people willing to look within
themselves and see what they have to offer. Whether it’s your wealth,
volunteer time, or an effort to increase awareness about Give Light’s
work, every one has a light to give.
 A Blessed Event
When Amanda and Faheem of San Francisco were
contemplating registering for gifts for their upcoming wedding in December
2007, the thought occurred to them that they didn’t actually need
many things. They already felt blessed to live in the United States amid
wealth, comfort and relative security. Instead, they decided to support a
charitable cause by posting information about Give Light’s
orphanage/school in Pakistan on their wedding website. As a result, Give
Light received donations and notice and many orphans’ lives were touched.
“I truly believe education is the way out of poverty
and to a better world for all of us,” says Amanda. “When you see that
only $30 a month can do so much, it doesn’t seem like giving up a lot,
especially if you live in the United States and have so many blessings
already.”
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