Love
is not always about boy-girl relationships, it has to be much more than that.
This
Valentine’s Day, I will put a spin to the love celebration by giving unconditional
love to several groups who include children, those with special needs and the
lonely elderly?
In
many parts of the world, millions of people face severe financial problems and
encounter natural disasters that causes havoc where lives and property are lost
–in such a cruel way.
I
have learnt so much about compassion, empathy and kindness through my family, especially
my late mother, Mr Pearl Fernando late wife, Doris Lau youngest brother –
Terence; and through the wonderful support of a few kind friends who not only
support my books, but give me lots of encouragement.
As
caring citizens, we need to look out for one another and if we have a skill –
share it.
For
myself, in particular, I use the ‘power of the pen’ to help those in need and
those who struggle with illnesses, and especially those who have life-threatening
illnesses. The key word is INVOLVEMENT.
It’s
not possible for me to save the whole world, but just imagine if every one of
us do our part to give love and support to one another, we can score up there
as God is the ‘Silent Listener.’
It
takes 30 days to build a tank, but 30 years is needed to build a man.
Recently,
I bumped into a neighbor of mine and was shocked to see him looking so thin and
haggard. He was totally despondent and discouraged as life has been very hard
on him. I gave him lots of encouragement,
got some details of his plight and assured him that I would write to our Member
of Parliament (MP) and his compassionate Constituency Director.
Within
a jiffy my neighbour received a phone call from the Constituency
Director assuring him that help will be rendered. My neighbour was so uplifted
as a ‘Ray of Hope’ was on the horizon!
Education
is foundational: That is what my parents instilled in all their 6 children. My
mother loved all her children and when dad lost his job through a near fatal
accident, mom worked tirelessly as a washerwoman to put ‘food on our table.’ These
are just one of the memories of mom that so often brings tears to my eyes.
As
a staunch advocate for the needy, inspired by the nourishment and love which I
received from my late wife for 40 years, I now focus on reaching out to the
poor and needy in and out of Singapore.
As I celebrate my 69th birthday come 14th
February 2019, I would like to make every effort to improve the lives of people
across many lands.
Some of the goals I would like to accomplish during
my twilight years include:
♦ Teaching poetry to children in the orphanages within
Singapore and abroad – such as in Calapan City, one of the provinces in the
Philippines.
♦ I would be more than happy to train people such as
drug addicts, prisoners serving time and Filipinos to write their own stories
so that these citizens too will be able to build a writing career for
themselves. I believe everyone of us has a book inside of us, especially those
who are going through challenges in life.
Book writing
cannot bring tons of money, but once you have a writing skill, you can slowly
but surely build a career and contribute to the literary culture of the country
you live in.
♦ Give motivational
talks on mental illness, specifically on schizophrenia and depression all over
Singapore, and in some ASEAN countries, such as Malaysia, Philippines and
Indonesia where mental illness is growing – by leaps and bounds.
I hope that Voluntary Welfare Organizations (VWOs)
will partner me to works towards this goal.
These somewhat ambitious
plans of mine will not be easy to achieve, but it’s still possible given the “never-day
die” attitude in me, coupled with Divine Inspiration from the Good Lord.
Happy Valentine’s Day 2019 folks!
Sincerely,
Raymond Anthony Fernando
No comments:
Post a Comment