Senior volunteers: 76-year-old is 'grandpa' to the pupils he mentors

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SINGAPORE - Retired bank officer Morni Sulaiman has two grandchildren but they are not the only ones who call him grandpa.

A group of pupils at Naval Base Primary School and Marsiling Primary School also address him by that term - a sign of the rapport built over the many hours he has spent mentoring them.

Mr Morni, 76, said: "I have two grandchildren of my own, but when I go to school, I have many more adopted ones."

He volunteers in a mentoring programme run by non-profit organisation RSVP Singapore. It brings back memories of his time as a teacher from 1963 to 1973, before he joined the financial sector.

Mr Morni has volunteered with many organisations since he retired in 2003, including the Singapore Baweanese Association, Tsao Organisation, Health Promotion Board and grassroots bodies.

"I wanted to make sure I continue to be active physically and mentally, so I decided to spend more of my available time doing something for the community."

In 2011, he started volunteering at RSVP Singapore, where one of his roles was to mentor primary school children. The mentoring programme, started in 1998, now has nearly 300 children from 10 schools and 67 volunteers. Its activities include storytelling, arts and crafts, as well as role-playing to impart moral values.

The sessions are now held over Zoom due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Said Mr Morni: "When I was a teacher, I learnt about some of the problems faced by children who come from problematic backgrounds. If we leave them behind, they will grow up aimlessly.

"I felt I needed to help these children become responsible citizens. We can provide the help and give them the confidence to believe they are capable of doing better."

He added: "I will volunteer for as long as my health permits me. When I help the children succeed in their journeys, I feel happy."

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

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