Introduction

For our moral LAN assignment, we chose to pay a visit to an orphanage house situated

in Jalan Tiong, Puchong. We were there to spread some comfort and happiness to the

residets of the orphanage home as well to share stories of their ups and downs. It took us

about fifty minutes to travel from Bangsar to Puchong. Along the way, we passed by

Pearl Point, IOI mall and thanks to a massive traffic jam in Bandar Kinrara, we were

twenty minutes late even though we started our journey earlier than we planned. We were

not sure about the exact location of the house and this lead us to as for direction. Finally

at 2.30 p.m., we reached our destination, Rumah Shalom.

It is a quiet and peaceful neighbourhood and there are less traffic in this area. As we

walk towards Rumah Shalom, dogs from neighbouring houses barked as loud as they can

indicating we are strangers to them. But then, as we knock on the door of Rumah Shalom,

we were greeted with joy and warmth. Kids were running around showing excitement of

our presence. At first, they call us ‘Uncle’ as we are still a stranger to them, but later they

called us “ann-nek” (brother in English). When we enter the house, it looks like they

lived an average life. But deep inside, they are in need of funds to support their daily

expenses. Furniture and books were all donated by neighbours and some generous CEOs.
 In the house, it seems that they already cleaned and tidied the house. They were

expecting us and Mr. Aru, the owner of the house greeted us with joy. We handed over

some snacks we bought and the children were whispering to each other with smiles on

their faces. So we thought that maybe they were excited about the snacks we brought. Mr.

Aru invited us to sit and then we started asking some questions about the background of

the house.

At first, Mr. Aru said there was thirty children depending on him. We were shocked at

first looking at the size of the house, and wondering how a double storey house can fit

thirty children. Only then Mr. Aru tell us that the house we visited is actually the Head

Quarter of the homes. There were only eleven children in the house we visited. Other

children were in the other house located in Jalan Tiong 1 and Jalan Tiong 12. Here’s a

brief summary of the placement of the children:

Jalan Tiong 1 (Branch no. 1)

• 8 children (7 Indian boys and 1 Chinese boy)

• Age 7 – 14

Jalan Tiong 12 (Branch no.2)

• 11 children (10 Indian girls and 1 Chinese girl)

• Age 6 – 13

Head Quarters( Jalan Tiong 5)

• 11 children (Indian boys)

• Age 5 – 13
 Background of the house
Mr. Aru said that at first he did not think of establishing a home for the needy. But

when he attended to church trips, he went to rural areas and he saw children were

helpless and they were lack of education. Then he told himself that he should do

something to help out children who are in need. The first house was established in

the year 1997 and with the generosity of the public, 9 years later, two more house

were built to benefit more orphans. Mr. Aru was very thankful to the public for

their years of support and made him manage to help these orphans.

Where did the idea of establishing Rumah Shalom come from?

- Mr. Aru said at first he did not think of establishing a home for the needy. But

when he attended to church trips, he went to squatter areas and he saw children

were helpless and they were lack of education. Then he told himself that he should

do something to help out children who are in need.

- The first home was establish in the year 1997 and with generosity of the public, he

managed to support the children and eventually established two more home to

support more children.

 • What does the logo and motto of Rumah Shalom stands for?

- The building itself symbolizes a home for the children.

- Tree symbolizes the environment around the house.

- Bird symbolizes peace.

- The leaf which the bird fetches symbolizes the needs brought by other people to the

house.

- Words written in blue symbolize a comfortable environment for the children.

• How Rumah Shalom got its name?

- Shalom actually means ‘peace’ in the bible dictionary.

- It was a unique name rather than other common name such as ‘joy’ and ‘happy’

- It was Mr. Aru’s personal idea and he got the name when he was reading

• Why establish Rumah Shalom in Jalan Tiong area?

- Mr. Aru told us that earlier the house was situated in Puchong Indah. However, he

stay in Jalan Tiong. Therefore, he moved the house here because it is easier and

convenient for him to take charge of the house. Other house were near as well, in

Jalan Tiong 1 and Jalan Tiong 12.

• Does the children have to meet any requirements before Rumah Shalom

supports them?
 - Rumah Shalom only accepts children above the age of five and they should possess

good attitude. The youngest child is Benjamin, who is five years old and he has lost

his father.

- Rumah Shalom accepts children from various states: Batu Caves, Seremban and

Sungai Besi.

- The home supports children until the age of 17, which means after completing their

SPM, they have to find a job to supports themselves. Mr. Aru said that this will let

the children to be independent and be prepared for the future.

• What is the maximum number of children can Rumah Shalom support in one
intake?

- “Thirty children is actually the limit so far. The reason we keep to this number
is that we want to maintain the quality and attention we give to these
children”, Mr. Aru told.

- Mr. Aru said it is possible for them to accept more children, but looking at
the current financial status of Rumah Shalom, we are trying to save to make
ends meet.