International Relationship Day 2017 - Issue 14: Pro bono Publico

On the 7^th of April 2017, the Leo Club of Wesley Methodist School held its 14th annual International Relationship Day. The theme for this year’s I.R. Day is ‘Pro bono Publico’ which basically means in Latin, “for the public good”. The objective of this purpose driven event was to remind the audience that no one should be defined by their fear as everyone has their own super powers, which was the power to make a difference; thus encouraging the audience to acknowledge this power within themselves, know their self-worth and understand that they are able to overcome their fears. The event was also aimed to deepen the friendship between Leo club members of our school and members of other clubs who attended the event. All proceeds from this event will be donated to charitable organisations such as World Vision. This year, about 450 people attended our I.R. Day, including the Lions, school’s board, teachers, students and Leos.

At 3.15 pm, registration was officially opened. Our ushers, who were either dressed as superheroes from famous movies, or in colourful button-down shirts of different designs, were sent to their respective stations to welcome the guests into the school hall. This year, the guest of honour for our event was the vice principal of Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International), Mr Amaranathan. The hall was decorated splendidly by the decoration team, with 4 banners portraying different comic strips along with silhouette backgrounds of a city skyline were lined at each corner. A giant spider web was hung across the hall as well, with hand-drawn painted cut-outs of famous superheroes placed on the sides of the hall. The spotlight stands were also decorated with a hand-made headquarters logo adorned with fairy lights, which was related to our theme. In addition to that, the front of the hall was laced with superhero memorabilia such as Captain America’s shield. Outside, skyscrapers and building blocks crafted by the Leo members themselves were placed. Along the stairs, we had included a photo booth for guests, including colourful and eye-catching posters displaying facts and information about superheroes.

After all the VIPs, ushered by the club President and the I.R. Director, had arrived, the hall was dimmed and the show started at 4.00 pm with an opening performance, with members dressed up as various characters such as Wolverine, Black Widow, Wonder Woman and Batman surprising the audience from the gallery, as if they had emerged from the comic strips. Immediately after that, the emcees, Leo Peh Shennie, portraying Wesley Woman; and Leo Khor Jia Shin, portraying Wesley Man, introduced themselves and addressed the guests accordingly. Our Presiding Officer, President of Lions Club of Ampang Lion Sek Jin Han was then invited up on stage to call the meeting to order, and the singing of the national anthem as well as the recitation of the Leo Pledge were carried out according to protocol. A speech was given by the Presiding Officer, Lion Sek Jin Han, which was followed by a session of roll call to acknowledge the guests present that day.

The event continued with a dance performance by our Leo juniors, who were all dressed up as happy citizens in a comic. It was an astounding performance, and certainly caught the crowd’s attention with their lively music and vibrant dance movements. It was followed by a speech made by the guest of honour and vice principal of Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International), Mr Amaranathan. Soon after, a sketch was presented by the sketch team, which portrays the tale of a boy named George, who was constantly bullied but ended up meeting his favourite superheroes in a dream. The audience was hugely entertained by the charming actors and humorous jokes throughout the sketch as George enrolled on his adventures with his hero friends, defeating evil villains and eventually saving his friends. As the sketch ended, it was time for the organising chairperson, our I.R. Director, Leo Isabelle Yap to give her speech. The audience later enjoyed an amusing video presentation put together by our members which displays our emcees, Wesley Man and Wesley Woman, interviewing students from our school about their views and opinions on superheroes. After that, it soon continued with a dance by the Leo members, which was related to the villains in the movie ‘Suicide Squad’ breaking out of jail. The meeting was then adjourned by the Presiding Officer, Lion Sek Jin Han.

Next, it was time for the presentation of the token of appreciations to our VIPs by our club faculty advisor, Ms Jillian Goh, along with the presentation of souvenirs to the clubs which attended our event by our club President, Leo Soma Sivashankar. The whole event finally came to an end with our finale, which was a dance performance where the heroes and villains were engaging in a fight, only for the villains to eventually realise that they were on the wrong side, thus resulting in them joining the heroes and uniting as one.

All the guests were then welcomed to the canteen to enjoy some light refreshments, generously sponsored by a number of food sponsors, which included delicious brownies, and mouth-watering mini tarts. There was also a wide variety of appetizing food such as salted caramel cakes, cupcakes, muffins, macaroons, cookies and blondies. An exquisite strawberry tower sponsored by With Love was served to the VIPs. A huge thank you goes out to all our sponsors, which includes Dreamz Bakery, Gula Home Bakery, Cake Jalan Tiung, Crumbs Cottage KL, Sam’s Bakery, Impianqu Cakes and Cuppadoodledoo. All the Leo members then cleaned up the areas used such as the hall and the canteen, followed by a debriefing session carried out at the canteen. After a group photo was taken, the Leo members were dismissed, symbolising the end of a joyous and fulfilling event which we had worked hard on for so many months and countless sleepless nights, but also, bringing along fun and unforgettable moments as well. It was a job well done by all of our Leo members, whose striving effort made this event a huge success.