I teach I learn

I've always wanted to volunteer. Give back to society. Now that I have the time, I've made the first move. Fortunately, I was offered a slot to teach English to a group of troubled teenagers who are placed in a shelter home about 50 minutes away from my house. Distance doesn't matter. Where there is a will, there is a way. I decided to teach them how to speak simple English.

My first class started last week where I was greeted by 14 sweet girls with all kinds of history. I was taken by surprise when I saw a teenager taking care of her beautiful baby girl waiting to be taken away by a foster parent while another three girls told me shyly that they'll give birth in few months time.

I've entered into a new territory. I thought about my daughter. Her future, her dream….

Breaking the ice session was successful as most of them could speak English. Only a few had difficulties in pronouncing words. I asked them to introduce themselves and answer a question – What makes you different from other people. We had fun. One girl introduced herself and told me that what makes her different is she lies to everybody. I was taken aback but quickly recovered by giving them some homework.

The first session was a quick one as I don't want to pressure them. I bid them goodbye and prayed that they'll have the strength to live and be a new person. As I drove back, I kept thinking of them, their parents, their stories and the sadness in their eyes as they saw me leave. I heard one of them yelling for me to come back the next week….

Till then, MM signs off.