Children Should Be Nurtured, Not Abused!

 

I was sitting at the Food Court, having my breakfast on April Fool's Day when I read the above headlines in our tabloid, the New Paper. An April Fool Day's joke? By golly, no! I was fighting my tears as I read how the poor kids were brutally abused by the adults who were supposedly placed to take care of them! The Home that was created to house, guide and reform these unfortunate kids had turned out to be no better than a Concentration Camp!!

Being the youngest in the family, I was brought up, loved and pampered by everyone.
Papa never had to use the cane on any of his children. His intense love was enough for us to want to do our best for him. He only had to raise his voice or frown and I would burst into tears. How could the abuser think he could get the best of his charge by torturing them! Worse, subsequent investigations revealed that the higher authorities in the Home were not even aware of the happenings. Or they were just merely indifferent.? Even if my pet dog, Chelsea, were naughty, I could never bring myself to spank her. I only had to raise my voice and she would behave. Even as a teacher, I had never punished my students. I asked them to write and reflect over what had gone wrong and how they could have behaved otherwise. Once I was so angry with the class that I walked out of the lessons. I did not want to utter words that were negative and demoralising. The monitor of the class later came to see me in the Staff Room with 35 signatures from the students petitioning me to come back to teach them, and promising they would not misbehave.

Some of these children come from broken homes, and no one need to add more damage and abuse to their lives that have already been broken and damaged. I am greatly in favour that our civil servants should be more than adequately paid for they are worth their salt. It is even more imperative that homes for these unfortunate kids should spare no savings in salary to employ the best of the best.... people who have vocations, are well trained in child psychology and who have the hearts and minds to see these children transformed and nurtured. All these boys need is a loving touch, an encouraging hand and an unwavering faith that despite their past, they have a hope and a future. After all these boys are the leaders of tomorrow, and who knows, out of these boys, we could produce another in the likes of our beloved leader, Lee Kuan Yew!

Gan Chau