These Kids In Penang Got To Meet Their Garbage Truck Heroes In The Most Wholesome Way
Their teacher said they would often run out of the school to wave at MPSP workers as they drove past.
By Samantha Khor — 24 Jul 2019, 05:11 PM
This might be the most wholesome thing you'll see today.
Puan Syuhaida Ali, a principal of a kindergarten in Penang, recently shared an endearing story about how her students made friends with garbage collectors in their area.
In a Facebook post, Syuhaida noted that the kids are always excited when the garbage trucks drive past the kindy, so much so that the teachers started allowing them to run outside and wave at the workers
In an interview with mStar, Syuhaida said, "I've realised that since 2017, if we're in the middle of the lesson, the kids would lose focus whenever the garbage truck passes by the school."
"They would get excited and run to the sliding door, yelling 'pak cik, terima kasih' (uncle, thank you). So I let them go outside and sit next to the fence for a closer look," she added.
Seeing an opportunity to teach the kids about respecting and appreciating everyday heroes, Syuhaida and her colleagues decided to treat the workers to a refreshing beverage... with some help from the kiddos
So when the truck drove by on Monday, 15 July, Syuhaida called the Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai (MPSP) workers over to the kindergarten, where the children carefully carried cups of beverages to them one by one.
Syuhaida said that the kids, all of whom are between one and five years old, were especially excited to meet their Wira Oren (Orange Heroes, named as such due to the colour of their uniform), adding that she hopes to be able to connect the kids with the workers at least once per week.
Syuhaida also recalled a few moments during the kids and MPSP workers' short gathering that left an impact on her
"While they were drinking, one of them told the kids to 'belajar rajin-rajin, jangan jadi macam kami' (study hard, don't be like us)," she told mStar.
She added, "One of the kids even wanted to shake a worker's hand but he humbly refused, saying his hand is smelly even though he wore gloves.
Maybe these kids understand, maybe they don't. What matters is that they are given the exposure and experience."
Syuhaida hopes the experience will teach the kids to cultivate respect for others regardless of their profession
"It’s our responsibility to teach the kids to respect others regardless of their profession as well as to appreciate the contributions of these unsung heroes," she wrote in her Facebook post.
She later told mStar, "To me, pre-school education should not restrict students by only doing activities like drawing and colouring.
They have to be exposed to out-of-the-box activities with applicable moral values so they can be an example to other people."
