The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.114).

TZU CHI 114 13 Love will lead the way Many years have since passed, yet Quee Wah could still vividly recall the ups and downs she had weathered in the early days of the tuition programme. Despite the obstacles faced throughout her time with the tuition programme, her enthusiasm for lifting up the children of the local Indian community has never wavered. She is never alone in her pursuit either, for she is backed by a supportive and resilient team capable of bouncing back stronger with toughened resolve after every setback. “The tuition programme has now entered its 5th year. Initially, the volunteers were startled to discover that some of the students have never received any formal preschool education. A number of them could not even recite the alphabet. Moreover, most of them are only conversant in Tamil. These unforeseen hurdles posed a challenge to our efforts to reach out to the students,” she recounted. Quee Wah admitted that managing the tuition programme is by far themost challenging undertaking since she started volunteering for Tzu Chi’s education mission. This is largely because she had never anticipated the appalling gap between the students’ academic performance, regardless of level. Furthermore, some of the parents were doubtful of Tzu Chi’s intentions when the tuition programme was first implemented. Nevertheless, the volunteer team remained steadfast in their mission. They tirelessly conducted visits to the students’ homes to convince the parents of the volunteers’ sincere intentions and enlighten them on the aims of the tuition programme, the core of which is to encourage children from disadvantaged families to make use of their spare time after school to catch up on their studies in order to pave the way for a better future. “Through the home visits, our team noticed that the parents barely gave much thought to their children’s future. The household income of families living below the poverty line is only enough to cover their daily expenditure. Additional tuition classes are a luxury. Children surrounded by an insecure home environment are vulnerable to emotional neglect. The lack of family warmth and affection could potentially result in impaired psychological development, causing the children to give up on themselves and give in to despair, eventually falling through the cracks of society,” Quee Wah asserted. She also expressed her hope that the volunteer team would receive ample support in their efforts to restore the students’ interest in learning – an uphill task considering the students’ short attention spans and lackadaisical attitude. The students are likely to have a slow head start in their studies, hence they are required to invest more time and effort to compensate for their shortcomings. “Whenever any of the students fail to turn up for class, the volunteers and tutors would either contact them over the phone or visit their homes out of concern,” offered Quee Wah, who is responsible for the attendance register. The usual excuses for the students’ absences, she divulged, are none other than oversleeping and dreading lessons. The tuition programme is unique in its informal approach in conducting lessons to dispel the students’ reservations towards a conventional classroom setting. In addition to the customary two 1.5-hour sessions weekly that combine coaching in academic subjects and interactive activities, the volunteers and tutors Our Classroom, Our Second Home, Our Sanctuary