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(11 Dec 2009) PETALING JAYA: He may be six but little Sarjit Singh already knows what he wants to be when he grows up.

"I want to be a lawyer. I want to be able to defend innocent people in court," declared the resident of the Gurpuri Foundation orphanage in Ulu Klang, Ampang.

Sarjit was one of 130 orphans feted by the Bar Council.

The dinner at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa, Bandar Sunway, was held in conjunction with the 61st International Human Rights Day celebration.

Bearing the theme 'Hope — Our Children, Our Hope, Our Future', the event saw the Bar Council raising more than RM150,000 for the seven orphanages.

Contributions were topped up by Umno, which donated RM69,000.

The orphanages that benefitted were Desa Amal Jireh, The Pure Life Society, Gurpuri Foundation, Rumah Solehah, Rumah An-Najjah, All Ethnic Group Refugee Children Education Centre and Rumah Sayangan.

Malaysian Bar president Ragunath Kesavan said this was the first time their celebration of International Human Rights Day was geared towards charity.

Last year, the Bar Council commemorated the day with a parliamentary debate.

"This year, we decided to give something back to those who need it. We aim to highlight the plight of children in these homes and that not enough is being done to help them," Kesavan said.

Human Rights Day organising committee chairman Siti Kasim said they want to show their compassion towards the children to let them know there is hope.

"By showing love to these kids, who receive none from their families, we can break the cycle of despair that drive so many into social problems, and reduce the number of kids who end up on the streets."