I was born in the early 1970’s and grew up in 9th miles, Cheras.  Our neighbours then were different from the neighbours I have now.  My parents knew most of our neighbours by name and profession.  They even knew their children, their extended families and their pet dogs and cats.  It was a great community made up of Indians, Malays, Chinese and Eurasians, practising different religions, speaking different dialects and languages yet, it did not divide us because we shared the same heart that are filled with love, care and trust. 

All these have changed.  It is different now.  People are too busy to communicate with one another.  Everyone lacks time to love and care.  People no longer trust each other.  Oh! How I miss that community we once had.   This is why Zee, Ooi Keong, Lee  and I created OneHeart.  We need to bring that wonderful community back, a community which wholeheartedly promotes the common good in our society.  

Back in 2001 when I first started my career as an engineer in a multi-national company, I constantly asked myself ‘What is the purpose of my life?’

I thought life was about achieving my ambition.  My ambition was to work hard, earn more money to sustain the lifestyle I want.  As time went by, I met new friends and people from all walks of life. I realized there are more important things to life such as family ties and lasting friendships.  It is not about me.  It is about us.  It is about living in a loving, caring and trusting community.

Only through cultivating meaningful relationships with people, I learned about the gifts of giving and sharing. I wish I can spread this gift to more people but I did not know how until Kelly approached me with an idea to build a community filled with love, care and trust.   The idea quickly becomes something meaningful.  I hope through OneHeart, I will live a life filled with a meaningful purpose which is to encourage and convince others to lead a purposeful life.

My parents were government servants and based in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.  Throughout their active service, they found many great friends of similar age and interests. When they retired, together with their friends, they formed a small community and got together weekly to have fun.  I think this is something we don’t get to do very often in KL.  Besides, I don’t agree we should form a community of our own when we are aged in order to have fun.  I believe if we start building one now, I can be assured my children can enjoy the fun as well. Fun is not about thrills and excitement.  Fun should also be filled with love, care and trust among people!

I grew up in a large family in a kampung (village) in Tanjung Malim. I’m the youngest child but also the most talkative one.  Although I talked a lot, I did have my quiet moments alone when I spent time with nature. I remembered clearly at the age of 7, I came home crying one day with bee stings all over my little body just because I went to the bushes across the field to pluck the ‘buah letup-letup’ (a kind of wild berry). The berries were really sweet.  The bee sting incident did not deter me from doing it again. It showed that I was a determined girl.   This trait did not leave me as I grew up.

Some months back, Kelly and I had a serious talk about how we could make a difference in our society. Instead of asking questions on ‘what if… this’ and ‘what if… that’, now we want to take on the responsibilities of working together and without singling out our racial, religious, cultural and language differences, I believe we can build a better community for the generations to come.  It seems like an impossible goal to achieve now but with determination and the eagerness to taste the sweet fruit of success, I know that one day it will become a reality.

With careers beginning in a UN Aid Programme and later in a multi-national organization,  the dichotomy of experiences, achievements and satisfaction had been most fulfilling for me.  However, I could not give a pass to the opportunity to be part of OneHeart after realizing its Vision and Mission.  Building an intellectual community through reading, being the larger part of the Organisation’s projects is a blessing.

I love and treasure my good books! Give me a John Steinbeck,  P.G.Wodehouse or R.K.Narayan book and it will start me on an endless journey of imagination! Like the man said,”To say Wait, is like saying Never.”

Come join us now and…..Give!!