Bittersweet

My heart broke when I watched the Stars For a Cause programme on Channel 8. Jeanette Aw blogged about her experience during the entire trip. It broadened my perspective of the hardships that these teenagers about the same age as me endure and they still carry on persevering in their studies. When compared to them, whatever hardships I have ever endured before become significantly minuscule. They survive on minimal amount of food/water to scrap through, treating their education as the 'only way out of the mountain', and here we are, blissfully born with an extensive education path laid out ahead for us to embark upon and we simply take it for granted.

One particular male student, being taken care of by his grandparents and they are super close knit because his father had passed away, leaving only his brother and mother behind. Both his brother and mom went out of town to work for a living, leaving only him and his grandparents to fend for themselves. He would scrimp and save if either of his grandparents fell sick in order to buy medicine for them, and he brings home supplements and vitamins to strengthen them. He even said he would give up the opportunity to pursue a higher education at a top University even if he could get in one, because he'd rather choose one that was nearer to his home. He couldn't bear to leave his grandparents all by themselves. It was particularly touching to me, how this bond and love amongst the 3 of them was more than sufficient to transform any hardship into sweetness. His family offered him the much needed emotional support to pursue higher in life despite the poverty they were in.

Then another girl's life story was shared as well. One part hit hard on me when she mentioned how her father had to go out to work extra hard during the Chinese New Year period because wages were higher, and so that they could all buy new clothes because it was a Chinese tradition for children to wear new clothes during the CNY celebrations. She broke into tears when she said even though they had new clothes to wear, nothing could ever replace the absence of her father due to his work during the CNY period. Jeanette reflected from these stories that joy and happiness start from the home.

And tears rolled down my face... because it was such a simple truth.