3J Bernard Chua (03)

When I was younger, as a spoilt city boy with a very modern way of life, I was indifferent to all other people in need out there and did not bother to help them since it did not concern me in anyway. The concept in my head was, like majority of the youths and teenagers in Singapore have is - 'why should I care?'. 

However, after this visit to the old folk's home, they have reached out to my heart and it has definitely changed my concept of life. There is always this warm feeling in my heart whenever I see people in need like the disabled elderly or the poor people receiving help from people who are more well-to-do than them. These people in need have come a long way to the stage they are currently, and if we should definitely give them a hand since we are still young. We should never forget that when we grow up, life circumstances are always unforeseen and we could end up the same way as them too.

I was one of the lucky ones who had the chance to have a conversation with a few of the elderly folks living in the Home. Often reprimanded by my grandparents for not speaking good and fluent Hokkien and Cantonese, I did not let this get in the way of interacting and I spoke to them using the little dialect that I could speak. As our conversation grew more interesting, I found out more of the daily life of the elderly women who lived there, and their days when they were young and were with their family. This made me realise what a hard life they led.

One should never take anything for granted. A person may be rich now, but when they grow up, unexpected things could happen, and they could possibly lose their fortune, and end up as one of those people who are in need of help. Though we can not prevent those kind of things from happening, we should ease other people from their misery. We lead a luxurious life, unlike those poor people who live in squalor, therefore we should help them, to make their plight better off. Even the smallest things, like having a conversation with them or treating them to a meal can make a very huge difference in their lives. Bigger things should be done too, such as donating daily necessities like rice and helping them to find a job. No matter what we do to them, as long as its good, it will make their lives better.

When I grow up, I will make it a point for me to give back to the community each week, such as visiting an old folk's home or an orphanage. Going there and donating things to them, making their lives better means a lot to me. Thus reiterates the point of 'service learning', learning how to contribute and give back to the community through a service that we can provide - voluntarily.