Gaining wisdom from stories of the past
My mother shared two stories about the value and importance of education. The first was about her grandfather who ran a business but was illiterate. He often waited outside government offices to beg people to help fill in forms and write letters for him. Humiliated, he vowed that all his children would be educated so that they never have to go through the same thing.
The other story is of my maternal great grandmother, who was also illiterate but a crusader for educating her daughter and granddaughters. Each time the girls in the family were ready to go to school, my great grandmother would plead with her mother-in-law to allow them to go. At the time, girls got little or no education, so my great-grandmother lamented that being illiterate was akin to being like “blind cows”. After she had obtained her mother-in-law’s blessings, she had to beg the convent sisters for an place in the school. After hearing these stories, I learnt that education is precious and not to take it for granted.
I believe that there are important lessons to be learnt from history that we can apply them to our everyday lives and that they must be passed down to the generations that come.”
On volunteering for the Singapore Bicentennial
I hope to honour the work of our forefathers in my own little way by not only documenting stories of heroes from the past, but of past events that may help shape our lives. The Singapore Bicentennial gives me that invaluable opportunity. Furthermore, the training workshop has provided me with useful tips and practical pointers for carrying out my projects.
