JEDDAH: The Young Initiative Group (YIG) recently held a breakfast cooking event for young orphan boys aged between 9 and 11 from Dar Al-Zahra at MoonMilk Café.
The café was buzzing with the activity of the young orphans lending a helping hand to chefs in making breakfast. The involvement of these young orphans in their cooking tasks and the ease with which they followed instructions from the chefs were noteworthy.
Volunteers encouraged the orphans to paint pictures while some of their little chef friends whipped up chocolate-cheese crepes and prepared juices for them. “I didn’t expect the kids to have so much fun. They felt very happy. Some of them were busy enjoying coloring while their friends were cooking. You could see the smile on their faces when they ate the food they themselves prepared. This is the first time we had this event here and I wish to do it again,” said Ata Elyas, the owner of MoonMilk Café.
“It was a very good experience for the boys. This will enable them to be more independent and realize that to be a chef can be a career option not just for women but also men,” said Siham, a YIG volunteer.
“I was so happy to see the orphans and play with them. I want to be involved with them in the future,” said Sohaib Mansoury, 16, the youngest YIG volunteer.
Events like this highlight the importance of integrating the orphans into our society rather than stigmatizing them. “The event was very successful. We received good participation,” said a YIG volunteer. The group plans to organize many more events for orphans in the future.
