My Mum passed away from cancer when I was 7, when I was in Primary 1. I had two younger siblings. So out of necessity, I had to 'grow up fast'; responsibility was thrust on me from a young age. I looked after my siblings, handled chores and groceries...
In school, my teacher made me the class monitor, and eventually became the assistant head prefect. In secondary school and junior college, I became a scout, was part of the chinese cultural society, did rock climbing, swimming and played the guitar. Through it, I nurtured different skills - design, facilitating, leading, project management..and kept my mind and body active.
I was influenced by Leonardo Da Vinci, a polymath (someone skilled in multiple disciplines). He was skilled in painting, sculpting, science, engineering, music, and many other things. I told myself, if he can do it, why not I? It reminds me...the story we tell our young shapes their future quite significantly.
And one significant influence was my Mum’s wish for me. I drew pretty well, so before she passed, she told me to aspire to be an architect. And I’ve always held that thought in my mind.
Ms Eilizabeth Poey is a name I’ll always remember. She was my JC teacher.. more than a teacher...she literally shaped the course of my life.
She loved mountain climbing, and was the first to conceive the idea of outdoor education in the form of mountain climbing expeditions with students. She convinced MOE to take it up. I eagerly signed up, but there was a problem - the medical board deemed me unfit to climb, too scrawny and weak. But Ms Poey fought for me. She challenged the board, challenged authority. She felt she knew me better than the medical board, that the tests were not reflective of my ability. Eventually, I went to the NJC Himalayan Expedition in Nepal in 1984. And it was then I fell in love with the mountains, and was drawn deeply to third world societies. I saw how poor people were and the need to serve them, which would drive my work in social entrepreneurship much later.
All these was made possible because a teacher cared, because she stood up for me even when she didn’t have to. She passed away recently, and her life was celebrated by her family and friends. To her I am eternally grateful.
After JC, I wanted to read architecture as my Mum suggested, but taking our family's finances into account, I took an army scholarship instead and studied physics and computer science in London. I served for several years, and am grateful for the training they provided me. But I felt restricted - I felt ‘constipated’ with ideas. So I eventually left and started work in running events. Yet, in my 40s, I remembered my calling to do social projects.
The first major one was called ‘Project A-Day-in-a-Wheelchair’, in 1999. My friend, an avid mountain climber, was temporarily wheelchair bound from a disease. He was outraged at the poor wheelchair accessibility in Singapore, and wrote to the media to complain. This created a huge debate and justifications from both sides. So I thought, instead of talking, why not do something about it?
A crazy idea came to my mind - to put 200 people in wheelchairs for a day to raise awareness, spark empathy and drive change. I approached my friends from the Singapore Adventurers’ Club to pitch the idea - 10 people said I was crazy, too risky, too many liabilities and roadblocks. But the other 10 said “Alvin, we believe in you, tell us how we can help”.
I knew the then Swiss Ambassador who was a supporter of mountaineering in Singapore. I told him my crazy idea. He paused for a while, smiled, and told me to draft a letter. I took 3 days to do it, and he sent it to Swiss companies. For a while nothing happened, but one day Credit Swiss (the bank) called me. They said “Alvin, we love your idea, here’s $2000 for you”. Wow, I was stunned. Then other companies started calling in. Ricola told me they couldn't provide cash, but could have all the sweets I want. Great! Movenpick (the restaurant) offered to provide me food and refreshments.
So eventually, we pulled together sponsors, partners, volunteers, guests of honor and put 200 people on the streets. It also involved a public exhibition to raise awareness, and many media outlets covered the event too.
I learnt one major lesson from this experience. If you have a vision, be brave. Most might think you’re nuts and ridiculous, but a few will believe in your vision. And that’s all you need to begin, just like how it only takes a spark to light a forest.
In the 10 years that followed, I started a business and other social initiatives. Yet, I yearned to go back to 3rd world societies to serve. I believe in order to fully experience who we are, we have to experience contrast, evolve new ideas and serve one another. Words do not teach, it is life experience that teaches. So when my daughter completed her PSLE, our family took a year long trip around the world. We called it Seva 2011, which translates to ‘selfless service’, performed without expectation of return.
We travelled to numerous cities, but became most involved in 2 communities in Jharkhand (India) and Nairobi (Kenya).
In Kenya, we were introduced to Children’s Garden Home (CGH), run by Moses Ndung'u. CGH has grown from helping 5 kids to 150 live-in kids plus 100 kids who come daily for school from the nearby slums. Every child who lives in CGH has a heartbreaking story; most were abandoned or abused, and rescued from the street. Having so many little souls to care for is an astronomical responsibility, and we were deeply touched my Moses dedication. As such, we decided to live there for 3 months, and co-created many initiatives to help them. Some of them included a chicken farm, setting up a website for donations, brochure design, and classroom upgrading.
Another special place was Jharkhand, India. A landlocked place, far from urban civilization. We met Chawlaji, a director of 13 tribal schools. It was magical to experience the bond and warmth shared here. Every morning before 7am, you'll see the students enthusiastically cleaning up the school compound, watering the plants, and even sweeping the main road. The sense of belongingness is so strong that children cherish the school like their home, and care for one another like brothers and sisters. Again, we stayed and worked together with Chawlaji to create projects that will benefit the students, like digital media competitions and learning basic technology. The kids were so excited because they have never seen themselves on a screen. A major project was the sponsoring of 2 solar classrooms, which provided resources for better learning. When I came back to visit 6 years later in 2017, I was overjoyed to notice that the neighbouring tribal schools had solar classrooms too. It shows that good ideas have power to permeate and spread, and impact communities for good.
We ended our Seva on a high, and it has transformed us deeply. I’m still closely connected to those communities, and continue to support them. We give selflessly, but the person that benefits most is me. These people taught me lessons my education or expertise can never provide. I am humbled. They live with so little, and yet they are joyful. They find simple solutions to problems. They teach you gratitude and love in the purest essence. They can sit under the trees and talk passionately about the moon and stars (for us, we only do it during eclipses to take pictures/selfies and post it). Once, a farmer (TigerlandRiceFarm.com) told me they stopped fishing in a certain stretch of river because they noticed that “the river was tired”. Wow, I cannot describe that moment, how he personified the river and described it like his own child. It invokes in you a social consciousness and enlightenment that no amount of textbooks will.
Dream BIG! It takes the same amount of energy to dream small, so why not dream BIG!
Everyone of us is a seed to a mighty oak tree - it is our potential. Whether you actualize it is another thing. When you do something, you must have some sense that it’s worth it, that its worth to stake your life on it. And when you get into it with complete intensity, the absoluteness is felt by others! But more importantly, by yourself.
To grow that seed, you must be curious and hungry, try everything. Only when you know what you don’t like, then you know what you’ll like. Only when you know what doesn’t work, then you know what works. In school, we only see red marks, no one marks you for your brilliance, so we start out with negative programming. But be brave, there is no failure, only ‘affordable lessons’. If you’re brave, the dots will connect eventually. Not immediately, but it will when you look back.
My whole life was full of twists and turns, and each experience eventually shaped what I do. I may not have had money to take architecture, but it led me to what I call myself: an ‘experiential architect’. I love to create, to imagine, to dream of ways to create positive experiences for people, and then gather the tools to make it come alive. So in a way, I fulfilled my Mum’s dream for me to be an ‘architect’. I hope I’ve done her proud.
