SHAH ALAM: The group of refugee children appeared wary of the tall, strange looking men and women standing before them, attempting to engage with them despite a language barrier.
Some of these men and women seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform, while others wore T-shirts with a logo on the left breast.
Little by little, though, the children started warming up to their visitors and soon, smiles began appearing on their faces.
The men and women were sailors from the USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the United States Navy's Seventh Fleet.
They had visited the Assembly Learning Centre as part of the USN's community service programme.
The USS Blue Ridge had made a port of call in Klang and it is a norm for crew members of any navy ship to perform outreach programmes in the local community.
Today's initiative, in collaboration with Assembly Soup Kitchen, was aimed at fostering positive interactions and saw 90 of the centre's refugee kids in attendance.
The children, aged 7 to 15, were serenaded by a quartet band made up of the sailors that brightened up the occasion.
For many of these children, it was their first live music experience.
Elsewhere, the children could be seen sharing their hobbies and interests through interactive activities.
Retail Specialist First Class Tommie Davis said he hoped the visit was able to leave a positive impact on the children.
Davis, who has been to Malaysia once in the past, said previous volunteering activities he had participated in were aimed at helping the local community "in any way that we can".
Machinist Mate First Class Stedroy Rose shared his passion for cooking, which he poured his heart into preparing food for the refugees.
"This isn't the first time I've participated in community engagement programmes since joining the military. In every country we visit, we always make it a point to interact with the community.
"We offer medical services, engage in humanitarian efforts, visit schools, do painting projects, and share our experiences with the kids," he added.
The sailors of the USS Blue Ridge had previously visited Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines before arriving in Malaysia.
This visit marks the ship's second to Malaysia, the last being in 2019, to Kota Kinabalu.