A half day with the residents in Siloam House, Karak

Hey.... well its been awhile since myself  (Irlene) posted anything here. I am back again. Busy with the workloads. Long weekend now and here is one I would love to share with everyone - Bayer Co. Malaysia colleagues with the residents in Siloam House.

Who are they in Siloam?

The residents from Siloam are adult age from 18 - 50 years old who has intellectual disabilities and do not have any home because some of them have been neglected and rejected by family, orphans or those with aging parents who can no longer take care of them. These residents are given guidance and basic training in the activities of daily living such as self-help skills, personal hygiene, forming relationships and becoming a member of the family.

 My personal experience with Siloam House - I was assigned to organize and lead the Bayer team to run a charity program, venue picked - Karak. I was reading the site to understand more about the home, however I still believe I would love to see more myself than just read. Drove all the way to Siloam and fell in love with this place immediately, good getaway from the city, fresh air, well maintained farm - limau kasturi, durians, mangosteen, papayas, avocado and many more, river side with well kept guest house (you can go canoing too! ) and most importantly the warmth welcome from everyone in Siloam House. A little tea with Madam Lim (the lead of the home), showed me around and introduced the residents. I was touched and proud to see they are being well taken care by the care takers and seeing how these care takers dedicate their time and love for these residents. The residents are trained to do house chores - learn to prepare lunch, sweeping the floor, gardening (they maintained the big farm!) etc. I was so amazed to know that the residents pluck the limau kasturi, pickled, dried and some squeeze the juice and then bottled / pack it to sell in Karak town or church members. There and then I told myself I will spread the goodness of the home and get as many donations I can for the residents.

On the 14th of July, 50 people from Bayer and some of the family members went up to Siloam House bringing all the donations and spent some time with the residents. Mann, i have to say the residents were all so excited to see us, and all the donations that we brought with us. They talked , they sang, they were jumping of joy when musics are played.

Well, if you happen to be in Karak do drop by and pay a visit to Siloam House or a short getaway from the busy town in Siloam guesthouse by the river - in return you may give your donations in kind. Little games can cheer them up, a little sing a long can boost their spirits, a little contribution can fulfill their daily live quality, and most importantly these residents will always remember the little time spent with them forever.

You may also visit the website: http://www.siloam-house.org/web/index.html

BAKING TIME! - Colorful Cake

*DINGDONG-DINGDONG* Come in guys! :D
Okay... Well, this is partly for my sis Jo cos it's her birthday today. HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY JIE!!!!!

Jo with her cake :]

The process was a lil gruesome since it's my 1st time ever baking.. Normally i just bake using a ready cake mix. HEHE.. But it was all worth it. :D So, here's the 'Behind-the-Scene' of the cake... :p

Here's what you should prepare before baking:
Butter
Castor sugar (originally was supposed to be 210g)
Eggs
Vanilla essence
All purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
Milk
Coloring of your choice (most people do the 6 rainbow colors:- red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple)
*Do make sure the butter, eggs & milk are at room temperature. :)

Butter + cream-cheese filling:
Butter (i used half of it)
Cream cheese (the whole pack)
Icing sugar (depends on the sweetness you want)
Milk (put it bit by bit just to make it moist & creamy)
*My sis Irlene help me out on this so our measurements are not fixed. It's according to how sweet you want and how much cream your cakes need)

Method (my way :p):
Grease the baking tray & preheat the oven at 170'C.

A:
1. Cream the butter and sugar til it's light and creamy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition til the mixture is also light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla essence.
B:
Sift the flour and baking powder.
A + B:
1. Add the sifted flour into the mixture bit by bit and do the FOLDING METHOD.
2. Once it's all done, finally add the milk and mix til well combined.

Once you've got the batter, separate it to different containers (depends on how many colors you're doing). I did 4, so i separated it to 4 different containers.

Mix the colors into the batter:

Pour the mix into the baking tray and bake it at 200'C til the sides of the cake turns brown OR until a cake tester/toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. (It takes me about 20 minutes per cake.But it's depend on the thickness & size of the cake)

Remove cakes from oven and and leave it awhile to cool.

Start stacking those cakes! ;D

RESULT:

Hope you guys out there get to try your own Rainbow Cake (my version - Colorful Cake) at home. Last but not least, let's wish Jo again a HAPPY GREAT 24TH BIRTHDAY! ;)

Posted by,

-marymkhan