OVER 100 residents of the St Nicholas Home on Jalan Bagan Jermal in Penang gave Informa-tion Technology (IT) consultant Frankie Tan Ming Kiong a warm welcome at the end of his long cycling trip for charity recently.

Tan, 40, was on a trishaw ride mission from Malacca to Penang to raise funds and also to promote the two states as World Heritage Sites.

The home residents patiently lined up on both sides of the pathway leading to the home with 10 of them holding a sparkly bunga mawar each.

Upon Tan’s arrival, about 10 members of the home’s Recycle Contemporary team performed a lion dance while the rest of the residents held up their white canes as a sign of respect.

The home executive director Ooi Chee Khoon said they played music with recyclable items as well as pots and pans.

Tan thanked the residents who had worked hard for two weeks to prepare for his arrival and was touched to know that the lion dance was performed for the first time specially for him.

In his speech, he related his trishaw journey experience to the residents who kept giving him loud applause.

“Without my friends who gave me their endless support, it would be an even tougher journey for me.

“The trip was not meant to break any kind of record but to raise funds for charity,” he added.

He also said that he was not feeling well when he arrived on the island but fortunately, felt better when he rode to the home which is located 10km from the ferry terminal.

Tan will return to Malacca soon and has arranged for transpor-tation to send his trishaw back home.

He has raised RM151,730 for charity and the money will be given to four organisations — the National Council for the Blind, Women’s Aid Organisation, Malacca SPCA and Malacca’s Wings Early Intervention for Mentally Challenged Children.

Home chairman Rev Andrew Phang and National Council For the Blind (Malaysia) assistant executive director Moses Choo Siew Cheong were also present.

The home, which is the oldest organisation for the blind in the country, was founded in Malacca in 1926.

It relocated to Jalan Scotland in Penang in 1931 and moved to its current premises on Jalan Bagan Jermal in 1938.

 (News published in The Star on 07 July 2009.)