I returned from Timor Leste (East Timor) 2 days ago. To me, these 2 weeks of my summer holidays were one of the best-spent holidays ever.
This has been my third trip to this former Portuguese colony, which was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. For more than 20 years, Timorese fighters struggled to free their country from Indonesian occupation, which ultimately resulted in a quarter of the population dying in those dreadful years.
Being able to offer my time and energy through humanitarian efforts in this young nation has certainly helped me catch a glimpse and understand the struggles of our founding Fathers first hand. As someone of the post independence generation, I always assumed that good governance was a given.
The paradigm of Timor Leste and Singapore as two South East Asian countries with many similarities has allowed to reflect a lot on the simple things such as basic education, healthcare, security, peace, water, electricity, which I so readily have and yet take for, granted.
Even after 7 years, East Timor still faces a challenge of governance and basic infrastructure.
Through continuing efforts that partner various NGOs, the UN, EU and other countries, I hope that East Timor will flourish just as Singapore did in a short span of 44 years.
As national day draws closer, I am once again reminded of how blessed I have been to be able to enjoy the privilege of being born and bred in Singapore (:
Julian is a student currently studying in the UK. At the age of 3, he came close to death due to a life threatening disease. Thankful for his second chance, Julian believes in making a positive difference with whatever he has been blessed with through various community opportunities both in Singapore and abroad. Someone who believes in the motto, "To heal sometimes, to relieve often but to comfort Always", he hope to share his musings and observations of daily life as a Singaporean student in the UK (: