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SINGAPORE: Driven from her home village after World War 2, Quak Luan Kiang watched infants, including her brother, die of starvation. She survived to womanhood only to enter into loveless marriages that left her suicidal. Her sole reason for living was her children.
As the feisty woman in her seventies shared her story of hardship and her strength of living, tears welled up in her eyes. There were also tears in the eyes of the students of Nanyang Technological University (NTU)listening to her.
The story of Mdm Quak is one of 17 stories that make up the book "Patchwork of Reminiscences”, published by students of NTU’s Welfare Services Club.
"It took 20 months to get the book done," said Chua Jingyi Alister, the Vice President of Patchworks, a division of NTU’s Welfare Services Club that was founded by student volunteers in 2005.
Drawn from the various schools at the university, the patchwork of students who adopted the name "Patchwork" for their project decided to weave the experiences of different people for their first effort, which was a compilation of 38 recipes.
After "Patchwork of Flavours", the undergrads were inspired to continue working with older Singaporeans to produce “Patchwork of Reminiscences”.
"You never know that publishing a book can be so much effort until you yourself are involved in it", said Cheryl Quek Fang Ying, one of the writers of the book.
Finding 17 seniors who were willing to talk didn’t seem as much of a challenge as capturing the essence of the person with the story, while making sure the details were correct.
"We had to prompt for the right answers as some elders will tend to go in another direction" said Alister, who also recalled: "There were some elders who could only speak Hokkien, so we had to get our Liaison Officer, who is able to speak dialect to act as a translator".
While "Patchwork of Reminiscences" runs from the serious to sad, the personalities are far from how most would imagine.
"Some elders were hard to contact as they were also busy with their daily lives" remarked Alister, while Cheryl added: "My elder requested to have some parts be of a certain way, (for example) the poem must be together, not printed in two pages."
Few could forget ‘Aunty Seeni’ either whose short interviews would last up to four hours and end with a song or tune from the woman with a love for life and music, while Cheryl laughs over recordings that never played back.
As they gamely recounted sessions with their different subjects, referred as ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’, it’s clear that the project has left an indelible mark on the undergrads.
At the same time, the young writers did not impose any sentimentality in the pieces they wrote.
Thumbing through well-titled stories such as "Thirty Cents for Love" and "A Pocketful of Sunshine", you get a reality check while being served up reminders to count your blessings as you marvel at the human spirit, just as the students did during their encounters.
A trip to the St.Theresa’s home introduced the 20-somethings to Bertha, who lost her limbs to but not her hope, moving around happily and efficiently, helping out with chores and motivating those around her. "I have no hands, no legs! If I can do it, so can they" says Bertha.
The student-writers learnt that they too, could do so much more with hope and perseverance. So would you, after reading Bertha’s story along with others in "Patchwork of Reminiscences".
The sale of the book will fund two charities as the students hope to create a trend in social entrepreneurship in Singapore, while also saving a collection of memories that will bridge the gap between the young and old.
"Patchwork of Reminiscences" which is available at selected Kinokuniya and Popular bookstores will have its sales proceeds go towards the Asian Women’s Welfare Association’s centralized kitchen for elderly residents and the Kheng Chiu Loke Tin Kee Home.
-CNA/ht
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