The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.106)

2019 • 01 34 pecial Feature My future is no longer a dream By Tan Kim Hion Translated by Lim Wen Xin Photograph by Ong Siew Geok “W hen I was in primary school, I was rejected by my classmates, and without encouragement from my teachers, I was disinterested in learning. I had no friends, hence was very lonely,” admitted 17-year-old Tan Lai Ho, a student of SMK Danau Kota, Kuala Lumpur. In the past, her performance was bad, and her exams averaged around 40%. After going to secondary school, she had to enter preparatory class, but the results remained unsatisfactory. Then, at the year-end holiday of Form 1, her disinterest in learning took a different turn. It turned out that her father, Tan Kar Chai, had to ride a motorcycle to carry the buns for sale, come rain or shine. The filial girl could not bear to see her dad working so hard every day just to raise her, let her eat and dress well, have money to study and for tuition. She said, “My father had a heart surgery. I really can’t bear to see him working so hard. But our family is poor; even the money for my father’s surgery was paid by Tzu Chi. If my father stops working, our life will be a problem.” Although Kar Chai is not her biological father, he loves her as his own; and she grows up “Perseverance, determination, faith” these are Lai Ho’s favourite and self-reminding motivational words. Despite the uneasy road to learning, she deeply believes that as long as she progresses forward, her future is no longer an impossible dream.