The two groups of children are roughly the same age: cute, big eyed, cherubic cheeks with just a hint of baby fat. Just like an unfinished masterpiece. They exude a sense of purity, of vulnerability that will melt the heart of whoever set sight on them.
Yet they couldn’t be more different.
For those on the left were an award-winning choir members flown in from KL; those on the right, children suffering from cancer.
Those on the left were resplendent in their Santa hats and smart red-and-black vests; standing upright rendering Christmas cheers in heavenly voices. Those on the right were dressed in shapeless green smocks, their head shiny domes, listening passively.
Those on the left are here to give, those on the right, receive.
What makes them different? What makes them the anointed one to give; and conversely, one to receive, when in theory all children were born equal?
Surely not more than a throw of dice. Fate dealt a hand, and one find him/herself on one side, the other find him/herself on the other side of the divide.
And just by that, the rest of their lives are different.
Life is unfair. But surely, mentally and spiritually, both sides gained something from this visit, because even me as a bystander, learnt something new.
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