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A Riding for Street Kids Program was launched on Sunday 15 February. This program was launched at AEDS at Taman Equine by the kind courtesy of the staff and Malton Group.
Quek Sue Yian, Head of Social Affairs of the Hong Leong Foundation, and herself an equestrienne, said, "This is going to be an on going monthly program working with the children of Chow Kit, an inner city hot zone known infamously for its red light district.
The children from Chow Kit are poor and discriminated against. They are from the areas around Chow Kit and the greater parts of KL. They are, for the most part, unable to have their basic needs met and there is little adult supervision. Thus, many children stay on the streets in the middle of the night and are deemed as 'high risk' children vulnerable to sexual predators and child trafficking where they could be sold for sex, labour and, increasingly worrying, organ parts."
"It was a blistering hot morning but the staff and all the grooms were wonderful with all the children. The kids amounting to ten were all terrified of the horses in the beginning and it was gratifying to see them giggling on horse back as the day wore on with some of the boys literally spinning like little gasing on the saddles when we taught them round-the-world. We look forward to our monthly events where we will be working with ten different children each time and hope in time we will be able to weed out those really interested to provide more in-depth knowledge with a view for a career in equestrian". |
