Ok, so I am currently enrolled in a Coursera module, Resilience in Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster and War: Global Perspectives.
One of the assignments was to watch an interview of Dr. Mike Maddaus, a physician, who had a troubled childhood. After watching the documentary, his interview and reading an article by him, I am left feeling awed by the potential of people but also saddened by how easily we tend to dismiss people that are late bloomers.
I got reminded of a tumblr post on how the cure for cancer may be in the minds of children deprived of a proper education. This module has extended that notion to how the cure for cancer may even be in the minds of juvenile delinquents or at-risk youths that society often dismisses or fails to give adequate support.
Aside from learning about the risks children experience, I've also been encouraged to reflect about my own society. The recent lecture was on Disasters and one of the forum discussion questions was on how my community responded to disasters.
This led me to a search on Singapore's emergency preparedness where I was immediately directed to the Emergency 101 website. I was pretty proud to mention the emergency procedures that we have despite the nation's lack of natural disasters.
This module has been quite eye-opening indeed. I realize now how we take for granted the relatively safe and secured geographical position of Singapore. We seem to be a nation of complainers whenever a flood, haze or heat wave causes an inconvenience for us. An inconvenience doesn't equate to trauma for us though, does it?
Likewise, I am also now more interested in the kind of initiatives available for at-risk youths in Singapore and how, as a society, can we help to raise children that come from families that may not have the means to provide a secure and stable life. And when I mean society, I really mean the public at large, and not just the NGOs or Government agencies.
Sometimes it really takes someone to see the good in a child. That very act of seeing can be redeeming and liberating for a child, especially in unleashing his or her potential. Having someone to believe in you can really go a long way.
