Had a conversation with one of my closest friends, who also happens to be the oldest friend i have (i knew him since i was 7), and it reminded me of Dr. Tan Lai Yong's sharing a couple of months back.
It is a curriculum for students in Singapore to fulfill the requirements of the CIP, or in laymen terms, Community Involvement Programme. It is through the CIP that students are exposed to and made aware of the more needy people in Singapore, and also gives students a chance to "give back and contribute to society". Many people i've observed believe that they've sort of fulfilled their moral obligations to the less fortunate in their society through the four hours spent cutting vegetables or singing songs at an old folks home, which is sad thing really, but not what i intend to expound on today.
The main topic pertains to Dr. Tan's sharing: About short-term trips to third world countries and the likes of them. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) provides a wonderful opportunity for its IB students to take part in a Window of the World programme to such countries, and many of us encounter the poor - the really poor - and how they live. We are forced to think; forced to reflect, and many jump to a similar conclusion that goes along the lines of: It is touching to see how contented and happy they are despite having so little. Unfortunately, and i say this on the account of Dr. Tan, that this is not true. What we see are the peoples' forceful acts to maintain a generous hospitality to strangers from foreign places, which is engraved in their culture. Truth be told, they are suffering - through hardships; through tears; through emotional turmoil. It is just invisible to us. Why is this so? It is simply due to the fact that the one night spent in the village, or the one week spent in these countries, is just not enough to truly know how these villagers' lives are.
And this brings me to my post-IB plans for next year. i really want to learn about how these villagers live - not just to read about them, but to actually live like them, while trying my best to help make their lives more comfortable in whatever little way i can contribute. So, i'm set on going to China for two months months next year (Praise God for late enlistment), just to assist several doctors during their interactions with the patients in the village, and to learn, to really really learn, how and what it is like to live humbly. i'm not going to make a claim saying it'll be easy for me, but i'm more than willing to try.
i can confidently bet it'll be a good and an extremely meaningful experience for me, anyhow.
No comments:
Post a Comment