Soft-Spoken Iron Girl

Finally spoke with Ng Nan See day before yesterday. Turns out she's just 26, Class of '99.

Told her I'm from Class of '80.

"I wasn't born yet" came back, matter-of-factly.

Ouches aside, there was instant fellowship and Nan See did not hesitate to share her fund-raising story. How she began is best told, I believe, with this excerpt from her email to friends:

"...I understand that everyone is wondering how I come to know about our school needing help. Here's how the story goes...my department manager, Mr Ong Ah Sun, is the President of PIBG St George. He is very successful in collecting donations for St George school. A lot of improvement have been done to the school ... A PIBG committee member of St George, Pn Maznah (if I'm not mistaken), is also in the PIBG committee member of Treacher Methodist. Therefore, she and the school (Pn Noriza-pengetua, Pn Sharifah, and others) asked the help of Mr Ong. And now is our time in Actionnnn......"

Action indeed from this soft-spoken young OG. Networking through email, she collected RM3,828 in a month plus, beginning from late February!

"I emailed my friends, and they emailed their friends. I feel very happy. My friends are so generous. They didn't ask any questions. When they got to know of the school's problem, they called me and they just gave. Some people who don't know me did query. I answered them. When they're comfortable, they gave."

OGs from years 1996 to 2003 and some non-OGs gave to the school through Nan See, and the collection was handed over during the May 3 fund-raising dinner (hmm, was kind of hoping to add to our "Raised To-date" figure!). She had compiled the list of donors so the school could mail them receipts.

Did it take a lot of effort on your part, I asked.

"Not much. If we feel we want to do, it's very easy. When I receive donations, I feel worth it and I get to help the school," came the answer.

What a girl! Old Girl, Iron Girl.

Nan See, Taiping born and bred, first schooled at Convent Klian Pau, went to TMGS for Secondary 1-5. Has been away from Taiping for only 4 years, when studying at UTM Johor. Been back in Taiping since 2004, working at Public Bank. Transferring soon to Penang. We wish her well in her new posting!

Her personal message to OGs all over:

"For those who have donated, I really appreciate what you have done. For those who have not donated, I hope you will help back the school."

Message to Tyng Yee Chen; Could you email me at sweebin@gmail.com for Ms Lim Lay Hoon's contact? Thank you for signing in the Guestbook. Unfortunately, it doesn't show the visitor's email id unless that's typed out in the message. Hope get this message. I'm sure Ms Lim would like to hear from you!

20,831

That's the number of lives which have passed through our alma mater (nourishing mother) since 1889.

20,831. Some would have passed on, certainly. Can't help doing some simple math here. Approximately half of total admissions yields 10,000. Multiply that by RM50 each and we'd have RM500,000. There!

(Of course, those who are capable of giving more, by all means do so...it'll help make up for any shortfall in the reach of this SOS.)

Since our school's appeal for help came through, old bonds have been re-asserting themselves, very much helped along by the Net. I've been in contact with seniors and juniors, living here and overseas...people I don't know at all but who speak to me warmly simply because we all share roots that time and distance cannot erase.

Through Lean See, I've come to know Jarinah and Odi, all Class of '81. Jarinah has been marvellous in ferreting out email contacts to circulate the message. Through her efforts, we got to know Jacyln Chiew, Class of '86 and living in California, who said she'd try to get aid from the charity foundation she serves in. Jarinah sent me another email today about the fund-raising effort by Nan See who lives still in Taiping and demonstrates the power of a can-do spirit. I've contacted Nan See and hope to share her story here soon.

Currently, 859 girls are at TMGS. They know many of us are rising to the school's distress call. Suddenly, our school motto, Live Worthily, takes on real meaning and is no longer merely two words strung together.

So, back to all of us Old Girls, send in your contributions and keep reaching out. Remember the math -- it is very possible! (Nothing is impossible...or as Adidas would have it, impossible is nothing.)

Let us hear from you too! Share your thoughts and sign in the Guestbook? My apologies to those who tried to leave comments earlier; the setting is now opened up. For a trip back to school, just click on the link to the school website.

Today -- Cheque Day!

Let's get down to serious business....have you mailed your contribution? Shall we make it a point today to do just that? Put daily life aside for a couple of minutes and get it done, alright? Let's move the "Raised to-date" figure, just like the hit counter for this blog!!!

I'm thinking I won't post anything new for the next week or two. Already lots to read; keep the comments and guestbook sign-ins flowing, though. For the week ahead, shall we all concentrate on circulating the appeal? Keep up the spirit, girls!

Radiah, Class of '81, visited the school on May 13 and has lots to say on what she saw -- check out her blog, the 4th link!

Lean See in action

It was exciting to find Restoring TMGS by Lean See, Class of '81, who, like me, started blogging for this reason. We've emailed each other and are linking up our two blogs --- see the third link?

It takes you to Pn Noriza's letter to Lean See. I hope you will be touched by Pn Noriza's sincerity and concern for our alma mater and the scope and urgency of the situation (please, send your cheque soonest and keep circulating this appeal).

Below is an account from Lean See of her gang's initial actions:

"My friends and I started emailing the Sejarah TMGS to girls from other batches via their sisters, cousins and people they know who attended TMGS. One of the girls I emailed was Su See. She is my cousin who is currently residing in Australia. So I was pleasantly surprised that you got your initial email from her - so our mass emailing has worked!!"

Also from Lean See's blog - 3 MORE DISREPAIR PICTURES (see below right).

Learning all the time

Just three weeks ago, before all this came up, I chatted with an old gentleman, a retired teacher, who actively promotes the interests of mission schools. He shared with me their serious lack of funds among other problems.

I have since learned that mission schools are not fully government-funded. They come under the category of Sekolah Bantuan Modal or "government-aided school" and have to come up with own funds to maintain themselves. To my knowledge, TMGS has received maintenance aid only once in recent years, ie, RM30,000 in 2006.

If you wish to learn more about the funds situation of mission schools, please click on the "assuntaalumni" link.

Ready for something different, something worthwhile, something out of the blue?

All of her is still there - all seven blocks of her. Even the old, old trees are still there. But, the old lady is in poor state. You see her as she is now (more pictures on the right).

She is sagging.
She is peeling.
She is cracking.
She needs help!

Ex-classmate from Std 1 and good friend, Seong Chooi, forwarded me on May 29 an email from a "suseelim" which highlighted the plight of our dear old alma mater. Something moved in me, and the memories came flooding back. Scenes which have not played for decades poured forth -- sports days, teachers days, pranks, tricks, jokes, friendships, yawns, teachers' quirks, exam days, good days, blue days, conversations, impromptu dramas, speech days - and I simply felt called to the message of Su See's email.

Since I was due to visit home this week, I took the opportunity to meet up on June 4, Wed with Principal Pn Noriza, who had Senior Asst Mrs Ng and Humanities Dept Head Ms Lim Lay Hoon with her (in this picture, left to right with me in jeans). We had an open chat about what could be done, and I promised to help in publicity.

So here I am, starting this blog to reach out to old girls, wherever you may be.

Pn Noriza, ex-Convent girl who came in as school head only in October last year, and team held a fund-raising dinner on May 3 which raised RM18,000. They are now appealing for our help. They wish to give the old lady a fresh coat of paint, repair her leaks, cracks and rotted parts, and do up the teachers' room which has only wire-mesh windows that let the rain in, ancient furniture and cement flooring. My personal wish is for the library, under warm-hearted Mrs Peri, to have many fresh titles!

With a little help from each of us, the hope is to raise RM500,000 and spruce up the old lady in time for her grand old 120th birthday next year. As Pn Noriza upholds, "If we want to dream, let's dream big!"

So, old girls across the nation, across the Web, throughout the world, shall we put our hearts together and give generously to our school, which has taught us to Live Worthily?

Note: Thank you to Lay Hoon (also ex-Convent girl) who alerted Su See (they were varsity mates) who did her email which Seong Chooi forwarded. This is just the start. There'll be more stories. As contibutions come in, we will keep everyone posted via this blog.

Free Counter

My Revisit

In trips home to Taiping, I'd sometimes drive past our school but have never stopped. I'd look at the sports field, the buildings, the front yard, and wonder at the goings-on within. Who is the principal now? What is she like (somehow I always picture a woman)?

I've not been that way for some years now, and was quite curious. I had seen the pictures in the "Sejarah TMGS" file that Su See had forwarded and didn't know what to expect. I believe I was rather relieved as I drove up to the gate. The buildings were still intact. The front lawn, where we used to have assemblies, is immaculate and overseen by the national and state flags. Overall, I sensed love and pride at work, to upkeep the old lady as best as can be. And so, she forges on and even manages to look stately while wearing a fading, peeling and cracking coat. I was glad to see our alma mater retaining her character.

"Why don't you come over to the school and meet us?"

That was the invitation which brought me there last Wed. On Tues, I had googled TMGS for the telephone contact. I was struck by the warmth of first Farah, who answered my call, and then Shima who said I should talk to Pn Noriza, the school head, I was surprised, to say the least. I had not expected such openness.

"My staff told me an old girl has volunteered to help."

I was surprised again.

"Shall we meet at 5.30pm today?"

I was simply bowled over by Pn Noriza. Wow. She asked me where I was at that point, Tues, slightly after noon. Told her I was still in KL. Her relatives had taken six hours due to construction work at the Jelapang toll. We agreed it'd be best to meet the next day.

So 9.30am it was. I took my time walking to the office. This was the first time I was stepping on this ground since leaving in 1980. Laughter from a time past pealed through the corridors of my mind and I saw again our fresh young faces. And, those of our dear teachers, albeit with a different set of expressions. As I stood at the doorway and looked up the grand staircase, I saw again my gang and I scrambling up the stairs, shrieking and laughing.

I was standing there with a nostalgic grin on my face at the foot of the stairs, when a lady greeted me with a smile.

"You must be Swee Bin."

Will surprises never end? She turned out to be Lay Hoon. Ex-Convent girl, mind you. The mood that I was in, everything transported me back to school days, and I made the cliched joke. We shared a light-hearted moment of schoolgirl rivalries.

"Puan Noriza is also from Convent."

"Puan Haslina (English teacher) is ex-Convent."

Gosh, it's an army of ex-Convent girls serving at TMGS!

And doing a good job at that. Since coming onboard last Oct, Pn Noriza has used the very limited funds available to address the urgent problem of termite infestation in the resource room and reorganizing rooms. Teachers and the school's general maintenace workers pooled their effots to clear clutter, repair and refurbish furniture, re-arrange rooms, lay on linoleum and repaint. Through resourcefulness, the resource room, coursework room, operations room, surau, counselling room, male teachers' toilet and foyer have been spruced up and functioning properly once again. When I was there, a teacher and two students were painting a container designated to house text-books under the Skim Bantuan Buku Teks.

What needs to be done next will need more funds.

I had asked her again and again - what is the budget needed by the school? They have applied to the Ministry of Education for a special allocation under the newly announced fund for missions school. At the same time, they wished to find their own ways to raise funds. Pn Noriza initially shied away from naming a target figure.

At my prodding, she burst out with, "Why don't we make it RM500,000?" to the astonished looks of Lay Hoon and Mrs Ng. "If we want to dream, let's dream big," she bolstered her two loyal soldiers.

Maybe, I was looking astonished too because she went on to say:

"I'll be very happy if, as a first target, this old girls' fund-raising raises enough for us to do up the teachers' room. Proper windows, airconditioning, proper flooring, proper furniture...I'll love to give my teachers partitions so they have some privacy."

And gave her reassuring yet determined smile again.