Philatrophists: A Lesson To Learn

As I was scanning through the papers today, an interesting article caught my eye: 'Madam Tan's Mighty Heart', in page 4 of the mypaper. The article is about a 62 year-old senior teacher , Madam Tan Lee Siang,of Anderson Primary School. Of course, as age comes, so do unfortunate things like illnesses and ailments. No prizes for guessing, indeed Madam Tan was diagnosed with cancer. About the cancer, she quoted :"The cancer actually gave me strength, because everyday is a bonus to me," And, maintaining a positive attitude throughout, she still is battling bone cancer; and an arduous six years have passed and yet, this cancer has yet to be overcome. However, instead of getting daunted by this cancer, she still perseveres and strives to inculcate traditional Chinese values in today's society. How? Through the means of setting a good example. Madam Tan has contributed selflessly, such as her donation of $40,000 towards the contruction of Hope Primary School in China 2 years ago. Other commendable acts include: donating a month's salary to the victims of last year's Sichuan earthquake disaster, giving about $20,000 to charities nationwide, donating $56,000 to both local and overseas charities, publishing 1000 copies of CD's and books that educate people on Chinese moral values -a point that she stresses very painstakingly on- and giving these educational materials to schools of China. Inevitably, her children have learned from her example, as when they were young, they would follow their mother to donate their pocket money. Such generousity and kindness deserves a hearty round of applause. After reading this article, I hope you readers and me myself can learn to be kind-hearted and practice the value of generousity and selflessness.