His Story

His parents separated when he was still only a toddler. Thereupon, his mother raised him and his younger sister all by herself. He never met/known his father since.

His mother succumbed to advanced stage leukaemia and passed away in 2001. Since then, the two orphans turned to and depended on their maternal grandmother for love, care and support.

Early June 2007, they lost their grandmother to pneumonia.

An aunt holds access to their late mother’s EPF, a fact I found strange as he is already above 21 years of age. He told me he doesn’t like to ask about access to his late mother’s EPF and would only ask for money from his aunt when he is really desperate.

He now survives on his JPA scholarship for his university tuition fees, books, lodging, transportation, meals and other sundry expenses. He once took up a part-time job to make ends meet but quit when it affected his studies.

As I listened to his story, my throat tightened and my eyes burned as I fought to hold back my tears. I almost choked and it was all I could do to keep myself from crying. But I was already weeping in my heart and my voice shook as we talked.

This young man has faced so much adversity in his young life, more than I could possibly imagine. Oh, I know there are a lot of similar such stories, lest you think me naïve – I cry many a time watching human sufferings in various forms and various countries – so I really can’t explain why his story affected me so.

So the next time I think my life sucks, I will remember his story and I will think of those less fortunate than me and know I have more.