'My work teaches me to empathise
with disadvantaged children'
Ms Elin Poh in a one-to-one session with a pupil. - Methodist Welfare Services picture.
MY NAME is Elin Poh Su-Ching
and I have been working at the Learning Centre of Kampong Kapor
Family Service Centre as an executive officer and teacher for
the past nine years. Besides doing administrative work, I teach
children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ours is a special programme with individual teaching goals; I
plan the module for each child based on the psychologist's screening
tests.
Our students, aged six to 10, attend mainstream schools. Most
of them come from non-English speaking homes and others have learning
disorders, such as dyslexia, autism and attention deficit disorder,
that prevent them from keeping up with the learning pace in school,
especially when it comes to the English language. These children
stay in our programme for up to two to two-and-a-half years.
Despite having been in this ministry for close to a decade, I
have never found it boring as each student is unique. My work
has taught me to empathise with children and to be precise in
my instructions and communication so that they have a clear understanding
of my expectations. I have also learnt to garner their parents'
support to help instil good study habits at home.
Being in close contact with the parents, I fully understand their
hopes and love for their children. I, too, regard children as
precious individuals with special talents, and they are to be
nourished with love and care.
'Extremely
rewarding
to see boy
overcome
his problem
of expression'
Let me share an experience with one of my students. I will call
him Ming. Ming had difficulty expressing himself. Each time I
gave him a challenging task, he would tear his hair vigorously.
He would resort to scratching and pinching me or throwing a tantrum
when he was overly frustrated. His mother, who often waited for
him during the lesson, would scold him harshly as she felt he
was wasting time and hard-earned money. This upset him even more.
I spoke to his mother about this and suggested that she could
go grocery shopping while her son was having lessons. I explained
that Ming needed time to learn how to communicate properly. The
initial few weeks were the hardest. Later, whenever he had any
difficulty, Ming managed to indicate the problem either through
pointing or gesturing. Towards the end of his 2½ years
at the Learning Centre, he had learnt to express himself and his
difficulties.
It was extremely rewarding to hear him talk about his interest
in Pokémon trading cards. When he could not manage in English,
he would ask me if he could speak in Mandarin and he would ask
me to translate.
I mentioned earlier that most of the families we serve in this
area are non-English speaking. As a result, my spoken Mandarin
and Malay have improved tremendously - after countless hilarious
mispronunciations and awkward grammatical structure. The students'
parents in turn have learnt some basic English too.
My favourite Bible verse is Psalm 121: "I have done what
is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors." I pray
that God will always teach me what is good and right for my students
so that they can move on with their lives and be the best they
can be.
MWS needs your support to help Ming and other disadvantaged
children. In financial year ended March 31, 2007, some 5,500 at-risk
children and youth, families, frail elderly, terminally ill and
destitute persons were served by the MWS.
Kampong Kapor Family Service Centre is a community outreach
of the Methodist Welfare Services and Kampong Kapor Methodist
Church.
Address: Blk 2 Kitchener Road, #03-89 Singapore 200002
Tel: 6299-7662 Fax: 6294-2116
Email: admin@kampongkapor.mws.org.sg
