Thursday, May 22, 2008

My Sister, a kindergarten teacher


My sister today, sitting in front, second from left.




My elder brother's wedding in early '70s. Khatamul Quran were also held. My elder sister had completed her recital of the Quran.She is standing at the back on the right.
"Flying kick" ouchhh. Life in my kampung during the early '70s.


"Gotong Royong" in the kampung. Women prepared food while men helped to build the house of a kampung folk. My sister on the foreground on the left. Now only I realised that was the beautiful custom in the life of kampung folk.




It has been some time I have not written anything in English. My last posting was in early March this year. So I thought may be I just write something about the past. No particular topic just the past. Where to start?
May be I'll talk something about my elder sister, Hajah Sayara. She was five years older than me. I could not recall what is the reason for her not being send to school. Probably is my father's thinking that time, that a girl need not be in school but to stay at home and do kitchen work. Whatever the reason my sister did not go to school until she was 2o+ years old. In our kampung the government started adult education to eliminate illiteracy and my sister joined in. She was bright and able to pick up and manage to read and write in Romanised Malay and also Jawi.
At later stage she further her study at a religious school situated somewhere at Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar. After few years in the school she went to Johor to further her reliogious study and manage to attain certain standard.
When she came back from Johor she worked with one famous Islamic Kindergarten in Kuching ie Tadika Bina (now Tadika Hikmah). She stayed on until her retirement in 2005. After retirement she was reengaged on temporary basis until today.
Now what the moral of the story. Nothing big and nothing great. It is just a story of our will power and eagerness. That you could achieve your dream no matter how difficult it seem to be. Just imagine how she could improve herself from the status of someone who is illiterate and yet she was able to move on and change her life. Not a great life but definitely a great change. And for that I have my greatest respect towards her. Salam to you sis.