11 Heartwarming Photos From President Obama's Visit To A Children's Foundation In KL
Humanising the refugee situation.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Nov 2015, 03:32 PM
...when the father of two girls stooped down to talk to the children at the Dignity for Children Foundation, a charity-based educational institution for refugee and urban poor children in Kuala Lumpur
It was an absolutely heartwarming moment to see one of the planet's most powerful men, leave aside his Presidential decorum, and mingle with the innocent and vulnerable children at the facility
There he smiled with them...
President Obama is seen smiling with a 16-year-old refugee girl from Myanmar who was subjected to human trafficking and will now be moving to the United States.
Asked them about their career aspirations that ranged from artist to engineer and told a young girl who said she loves math:
"You're going to be an excellent engineer. I can tell."
The US President interacted with the children, some of them from Myanmar, who were busy working on their art and science projects
The Dignity for Children Foundation was set up more than 15 years ago by Rev Elisha Satvinder and his wife Petrina after they found many underprivileged families living in the Sentul area, TMI reports
The foundation aims to empower children from such families to break the cycle of poverty through quality education, positively transforming their lives and the lives of the community around them. Today, the Dignity for Children Foundation is a learning centre for over 1,000 vulnerable children aged two to 17, and provides quality education and care in a secure environment.
Approached by reporters, Elisha said he was humbled by Obama's visit and shared that the president had praised him for the effort taken to educate and empower underprivileged children. "The president said he was proud of what we're doing here. He also asked about the challenges we face. It was a very positive, encouraging conversation," he said of Obama's visit of over an hour.
themalaysianinsider.com
Asked what moved him to set up the foundation, Elisha told TMI it was like a God's calling for him to care for disadvantaged children
Besides educating refugee and urban poor children, Elisha said, a stylish urban cafe called Project B, a collaboration with other partners, had been set up to help underprivileged children over 12 years of age. He said the cafe, fully run by older students of the foundation, was meant to equip them with work experience and skills to enable them to eventually break the cycle of poverty.
themalaysianinsider.com
Speaking of the children he had met with, Obama said:
"Anybody who had a chance to see those kids, hopefully you understood the degree to which they're just like our kids. They deserve love and stability and protection."
huffingtonpost.com
