"Sister Serena, we missed you so much! Also, thank you for the Christmas presents! I love the… what do you call them again? Ah!!!!! Macaroons!!! I love them so much! I have never tasted anything more delicious! Also, the dress, it fits me most beautifully!" Eli greeted enthusiastically when Serena entered the room with Geoffrey, Emily and Kylo.

"Sister Serena, me too. Also… thank you for getting my size right…" Sarah said as she blushed.

"Yes, sister Serena, I was so touched… your presents are one of the best I have ever received..." another girl said. It meant a lot to them, because although they get clothes from time to time, they were usually randomly sized and were not new nor as beautiful as what Serena sent them. It felt wonderful that the gifts they received felt so personal.

Serena smiled. She felt happy that her effort was appreciated. "You're all welcome. I'm glad you all liked what you received and that they all fit."

Geoffrey was surprised. Who wouldn't be? Serena was not only able to memorize the names of all the children they met only a number of times, but also their physical appearances. He now felt a little embarrassed with his less thoughtful gifts.

Emily wanted to roll her eyes. Was gift giving a contest? Of course, Serena can give better gifts. She can afford it. If it were her, she would've given them more useful gifts rather than dresses though.

Kylo, well he had nothing to say. He was just observing Serena from the corner of his eyes. He can't deny that she was indeed impressive. She had it all. However, he still didn't like her that much. How could he? She was messing with the hearts of those important to him. He understood that he was partially wrong for pushing Charlton to her, however, she was the one who started it all.

Unlike Charlton who seems do be down and out, Serena was acting like nothing happened. She was smiling and all happy. She even interacts with Geoffrey like she was some virginal maiden who did not commit him any sin. Did she have no conscience? Anyway, he can just shrug his shoulders. Thankfully, he can just wash his hands clean of their matter.

For the rest of the morning, the children just shared their stories and experiences last Christmas and New year.

--

After lunch, the student volunteers all gathered in the room designated to them. They all took a seat in front of the long tables combined to make a U-shape.

"Good afternoon everyone. Right now, we have about an hour or two to discuss matters regarding the fundraising. I haven't informed the facilitators of the matter because I don't want to raise their hopes up. However, I wish to know what you guys think. Anyway, I think one of the most important matter to discuss right now should be the target amount we wish to achieve and how we will be using that money later on." Timothy began.

"treasurer Mary, can you kindly inform the body of our current finances for this outreach?" Geoffrey asked.

Mary nodded her head and started to explain, "At the beginning, we allocated 30,000 for this outreach. It may not seem much, but according to our rough estimate, it should have been enough. This amount was supposed to cover the meals and materials we will be using for the 16 days of visitations, and also for the souvenirs we will hand later after the program. Right now, we're only on our 5th visit and sad to say, we only have less than a third left. Largely, it was due to the numbers of children here that put a large dent on the budget."

After Mary gave that explanation, Artemis raised his hand. "I think that that is not only the concern here. Another factor I wish to raise is that of the older children. We, the seniors, decided to equip them with skills necessary to earn a living after they leave this orphanage. Last time, we were able to gather some speakers to give them inspiration. Moving forward, we can not just leave them with the inspiration, we need to help them get masters to learn from. The thing is, that is not something that can just end after we're done with our commitment here."

"I see. Based on what Mary reported, I estimate that we spend around 5 grand each visit. If we were to compute it that way and we still have roughly 11 visits to go plus the souvenirs later, then I think we will need to raise around 60 grand. Artemis, do you have an estimated cost on your end?" Geoffrey asked.

"Last time, when I invited the speakers, they did not charge us. However, if we were to hire masters to teach the children, we should compute the expenses by the wages we will pay to those we will hire. Of course, the amount should competitive as they will choose to work rather than teach here if they were to earn not even a fraction of what they usually do. Secretary Diana was the one to do the survey for this one."

"Thanks Vice president Artemis. On my end, I found out that the occupations do not really earn the same amount of money. Last time, we invited a seamstress, a baker, and a blacksmith. From my understanding, these occupations do not represent just a certain individual as a worker. For instance, a baker may be a worker in a bakery, or they may be the business owner themselves. The disparity of the income between individuals with the same occupation can be huge. So, I don't know which one we should we base it from."

"I have my own opinion on this matter, but I want to hear your thoughts first. Anyone who wishes to share theirs?" Timothy asked.

Seeing no one taking the lead to speak, Douglas raised his hand. "May I ask how huge the gap on their income is?"

"Again, that also depends on how successful the businessmen are. However, just to give an idea, the poorest of bakers earn just enough to feed themselves. From the survey it is estimated to be about 1 grand a month. While the businessmen on average garners about 10 grand as net income. Though they are of course facing more risks." Diana explained.

Douglas nodded his head while Leonard raised his hand. "Don't we have institutions or workshops that teaches those skills? If so, which would be more practical? Enrolling them there of hiring special teachers?

"Actually, that is another problem. We found out that these sectors have been quite secretive with their trade. But, given the competition, I guess that is very much needed for them to be successful. In this regard, we can't just say, we can enroll them somewhere. Also, the skills of these occupations are mostly passed from one generation to the next." Diether interjected.

Serena felt that the conversation is already dragging too long just for that. She was about to raise her hand, when Emily beat her to it. 'well, let's hear what she thinks first.' She thought.

--

TBC