Light moment for 6,000 orphans

JAKARTA (JP): The McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants provided meals for more than 6,000 orphans at a breaking of the fast gathering at the Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium, Central Jakarta on Sunday.

"Actually, we only planned the gathering for some 5,000 orphans but there are more than 6,000 orphans here today. We expect more than 13,000 orphans to benefit from the program nationwide," director of marketing and communications Dharma said.

"We started the program in Yogyakarta on Dec. 12. The other cities involved are Surakarta, Batam, Semarang, Cilegon, Medan, Lampung, Bandung, and Malang. The program will end in Surabaya and Denpasar on Dec. 20," he added.

"This centralized gathering is the third of its kind organized at the corporate level. Each restaurant also has its own separate program," he continued.

The highlight of the program, called Muhibah Ramadhan, was performances by young artists and celebrities. Comedians Topan and Lesus also shared light moments with the orphans.

Currently, McDonald's has 71 restaurants in Indonesia and expects to open some 10 to 20 more restaurants next year throughout the country. (nvn)