Monfort Boys Town Open Carnival

Sunday dawns bright and clear on the 4^th of May, when a team of 12 pencinta alams made their way to Shah Alam where Montfort Boys Town is located. Their mission - to help raise fund in Montfort's 2008 Open House Carnival under the banner of Supreme Master Television.

Founded in 1959 by a brotherhood of St Gabriel, Monfort is a welfare and industrial training centre catering to boys aged 16 -18 who are school dropouts from underprivileged homes or are orphans. According to their aptitude, the students receive training in printing, welding, motor mechanics, machining, carpentry, graphic designing, computer maintenance and even baking skill. Besides education, they are also well rounded in sports and many recreational activities to help develop personal and leadership potentials. The 350 resident students pitch in to help in the daily maintenance and cleanliness of the school. They even have a small farmyard and grow organic vegetables and fruits for their own consumption.

We took up a booth to help in fund raising, as well as in creating awareness on global warming, promoting vegetarianism and Supreme Master Television.

Montfort was more than happy with the distribution of new colourful and informative SOS flyers and SOS Save our Planet DVDs. Global warming and other constructive programs downloaded from Supreme Master Television, were played throughout the duration of the Carnival which ran from 9am to 5pm.

Pencinta alams who were good at cooking were roped in to cook a variety of delicious vegetarian/vegan food for sale. Our table load of vegetarian/vegan fare ranged from Mmmmmmm... Japanese sushi, Japanese tempura, fruit and veggie rojak, cupcakes, mushroom pancakes, seaweed and yam rolls, Bar-B-Q sticks, glutinous rice and satay. All ingredients used were mostly economical and local. Patrons were pleased to find that not only vegan food is delicious but also affordable! Our booth was the only one selling vegan food. Many came back after sampling and even packed to take home for their family. All serving plates/spoons, take-away boxes and carry bags were eco-friendly. We even sold some recycle cloth bags to many individuals as part of our ‘Go Green’ campaign instead of using plastic bags.

Many stopped by to watch and ask questions on environmental issues and also the whys and wherefores of adopting a vegan diet. Banners promoting Supreme Master Ching Hai's books – The Dogs in My Life and The Birds in My Life – were also displayed prompting a few who were interested in buying them. They were directed to go to Amazon.com to make their purchase. Go Green posters and relevant information were also prominently displayed to let people know on the urgent need to address global warming and its consequences.

As the crowd started to join the Carnival, pencinta alams stationed themselves at strategic points and braved the hot sun to distribute the SOS flyers and bookmarks. The DVDs were given out to individuals who stopped to ask for more information. By the end of the day, flyers were given out to an estimated number of about 3000 guests attending the carnival.

Ms Jamie, the chair-person of the Carnival was gladly interviewed by Malaysian Supreme Master Television team and shared her positive views on the environment and vegetarianism. A good number of the crowd also came forward to be interviewed, eager to share their experiences on the steps they are taking to help stop global warming.

At the end of the Carnival, we were delighted that all our food was sold out. While appreciating each others’ effort and closeness when working together like a big family, we are indeed grateful to the Almighty to be given this opportunity of sharing, and blessings throughout the whole fruitful event.