Thursday, April 08, 2010

Had a good evening out! Dr Nair brought the bunch of us to the Subordinate Courts, Family Court, and Juvenile Court to take a look-see. We were split into three groups and shown around by three ladies to the different places - the mediation rooms, counselling rooms, and Courts. Very nice place! And very cold. After that, we converged at a meeting room for a question-and-answer session with District Judge Lim Keng Yeow. In front of each place at the table sat a nice file with a nicely bound stack of brochures with information that will most definitely be very relevant to us in future. Topped with a few useful gifts. Awesome.

The dialogue session began on an awkward note.. As typical of sessions in which NUS students participate, hahaa. One by one, questions were raised, and the Judge tried to answer them to the best of his ability. He actually did a superb job, in my opinion.. Covered quite a lot during that brief half hour to 45 minutes with us. We learnt more about how the child's best interest is being taken into account in Court.. And how the voices of these kids are being heard. What I loved most about his answers was how honest he was with the limitations he faces, and the difficulties which comes about when trying to weigh conflicting factors.. He even shared about the pain he faces when he tries his best to make out the familial situation based on the contradictory statements given by parents, and from there make an educated guess which will undoubtedly have a huge bearing on the child's life. As the session went on, all of us loosened up, and the questions got better. His personality shone through, and I was so moved. Standing in front of us was a man who truly believes in what he does, and who lives his life with love and passion.

What I most definitely did not expect were his parting words. He spoke of his hopes for us:

"I hope for you to be able to learn to serve with a heart of royalty, and to exercise authority with a heart of a servant."

"And I hope that in the near future, sooner rather than later, you will stand face-to-face with situations which you can do nothing about, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. I hope that you will be brought to your knees, and wonder what you're doing in social work.. But eventually you learn how to deal, and find strength. It's how we deal with discouragement that makes or breaks us. And I hope that you find enough purpose in what you do, and enough reason to continue, choosing to persevere, even if you don't know how much impact you're making, and whether you're really making lives better.."

And the warm, compassionate aura which surrounded him told me that he was not preaching.. He was sharing his life with us. And I felt so inspired, and so comforted to know that these children in need are in such safe, safe hands.

(Special hello to SBF JOYCE ONG who visits my blog without leaving a trace HAHA! I had a good dinner out with you, happy to be able to catch up! Enjoy Bintan and SEE YOU SOON. :D)

@1.39am