Perspectives – Pandemic through the eyes of a 13 year old

With the Covid 19 situation in Singapore worsening once again, and schools unfortunately moving back to home-based learning, it gave me time to reflect on what I did in this situation exactly a year earlier.

 

Moving into our first circuit breaker was an interesting experience. Covid-19 had affected all of us. Many businesses were shut, our school was shut! Our lives had changed quite dramatically. I used to spend mornings and afternoons and even weekends in competitions – mainly swimming as I am part of the school swim team. I love sports – I play badminton, golf and even soccer on weekends. With the lockdown, all these activities stopped and our school has moved to home based learning. It was an entirely new adventure as my mum would optimistically put it.

We have a mum who believes in being productive in whatever situation we are in and I agree with her! She quoted Theodore Roosevelt to my brother and I! For those who do not know Teddy – he was the 26th president of the US and has a wide range of interests. He once said “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” So we embraced this philosophy during the 2 months circuit breaker in Singapore. My brother and I were also grateful for living in such good conditions compared to many others out there in the world, suffering greatly as a result of the virus. But as kids stuck at home, we thought, how could we help?

In the year of 2019, we had organised a musical concert called “ A Musical Promise” which raised money for Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organisation which builds schools in Laos, Guatemala and other developing countries. We raised more than $5000 from that concert. Prior to that, I had built a website for my 10th birthday, giving up birthday gifts in exchange of donations, and raising $7500. All together, we raised $12-13K for Pencils of Promise.

 

I was looking to do something similar in 2020, but with the Covid-19 limitations it wasn’t as simple. The idea then came to me: We could still host a concert, but with a twist: it would be online. So in May 2020, my brother and I organised “ Music For Hope”, an online concert with 17 of our friends which would be a tribute to the frontliners and to raise funds for the vulnerable families affected by the pandemic through the Courage Fund. Through the generosity of many, we raised $7,400 for the cause on the GiveAsia website. However, none of this would have been possible without the continuous help and support of one person – my mum. My mum has taught me many important life values and virtues, and was always there to support me in whatever I was doing. From helping me organise charity events, to cheering me on in swim competitions, she would always be there. So this round, I would like to support her. Over last year during the lockdown, she started a passion project – putting together a collection of parenting stories. She said that the idea for the book came from all the mummy breakfast, lunches, dinners and drinks that she has been on. These were where she would hear the best parenting stories. So she decided to pen down her own story with us and she also asked her friends to share their stories. She called the book “Raising Parents”.

 

My mum published the book at the end of last year as she did not want 2020 to just be remembered for Covid. So she agreed when I suggested to her that we could donate part of the proceeds from sales of this book to Pencils of Promise (PoP).

In my mum’s own words, “I hope that the stories from these amazing women will make us feel less alone in our parenting pursuit of excellence. I hope you laugh along with me when I realised that no matter how much I tried to dissuade my little girl from wanting to wear only dresses – she would look at me and say “Why mummy? You do that all the time?” I hope you understand my angst when my sons have a more active social life than I do and I become their unwitting PA arranging playdates. I hope the struggle of balancing between the focus on academics and the need to preserve our kids’ childhood will resonate. And lastly, the hope we feel for our children be the bond that ties us together in our parenting journeys.”

Do support Zachary and his family by purchasing the book written by his mother – Louisa Ch’ng. The book comes from the heart of a few women sharing their parenting experience. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the book goes to Pencils of Promise (PoP). Pencils of Promise is a for-purpose organisation that works across the world to build schools and create programs to make education accessible to all.

 

Click here to buy the book — Raising Parents: Myth of the Perfect Parent (Paperback) by Louisa Ch’ng

Please also find my personal plea and a short video on POP here.

You can also donate on this link: https://fundraise.pencilsofpromise.org/team/263570