masterwordsmith-unplugged

This afternoon, I spent some time with the nephew of my hairdresser to give him some tips on how to write better essays. As his uncle was away, another lady dropped him at my house after school.

Chor Ding is his name. I had long known that my hairdresser, Reo, was the one who brought him up. Reo and I used to train at the Clark Hatch Fitness Centre before he left for Fitness First and I ventured into the blogging world. For years, Reo had always told me about his nephew. Although I had never met Chor Ding, it was almost as though I knew him for Reo had been talking about him for years.

Casually, I asked him how often he saw his mom and it was then he poured out his heart to me. His mom lives in KL and he sees her once a year for only four days - during the Chinese New Year. He has never seen his father and all he knows is his father's name - Ku Seng Wan. Very sadly, he shared with me his childhood and how his mom struggled to bring him up on her own. When he was three, his babysitter did not keep an eye on him properly and while talking him for a walk, he had a minor accident - he walked right into the exhaust pipe of a huge motorcycle and his face was badly scarred. After that incident, his mom sent him to Penang and he was brought up by an aunt in a temple and later on, by his uncle. Fortunately, it healed through the years and his face looks just fine now.

Chor Ding related to me how he was brought up in the temple and how the teachings of Buddhism helped him to have peace in his heart regardless of his circumstances.

Honestly, Chor Ding is such a lovely boy. My heart broke into many pieces and I was filled with so much compassion for him. He is such a diligent boy and tries his best to follow my guidelines and to meet my expectations. With much determination, he shared how he wants to win the King Scout award and has been working very hard, not just in his studies but also in his extra-curricular activities.

Despite not having his mom or dad with him, I believe Chor Ding has been brought up very well. There is much joy, happiness in his face and he remains focused about doing well in his SPM, getting a scholarship and moving on in his life.

I take my hats off to Reo for his self-sacrificing act of single-handedly bringing up his nephew. As a single person with his own business and commitment to fitness, he has gone beyond the call of duty.

With much compassion in my heart, I asked Chor Ding if he had ever looked for his dad and he said, "Of course, but I have not been able to find anything. Can you help me?"


Naturally, I tried to find him in cyberspace but to no avail. Then Chor Ding asked me if I could write something about this in my blog and I happily agreed after I confirmed with him if I could use his real name and he said ok.

So here goes.

If you know of a certain Ku Seng Wan from Malaysia, could you kindly leave a comment in this blog? Better still, if you are Ku Seng Wan, do contact me urgently.

Chor Ding would like to meet you. All he wants is to meet his father, see his face and know who is his father.

As for the rest of us who still have our dads/moms with us, may you always spend time with your parents. As for parents, let's treasure our moments with our kids. They grow up far too quickly.

Take care and have a lovely evening. Next post will be up after dinner at about 8p.m.