When she was a CCF volunteer tutor, Rachel Li, recalls a secondary three student who had stopped school for a year and a half for cancer treatment and was struggling to catch up with his studies.
The boy particularly disliked geography. So Rachel wove the contents of his textbook into a story, bringing to life how volcanoes were formed. Suddenly, she had his attention.
“Then what happens to the lava?” he asked, but Rachel refused to continue.
“I don’t know,” she feigned, “If you want to find out, you’ll have to read your textbook.”
That was how the student came to understand the natural phenomena that had baffled and frustrated him for so long.
“Once you get the kids interested in a topic, they are very excited to learn,” says Rachel, who first volunteered with CCF in 2005.
The 33-year-old has been giving tuition since her undergraduate days at the National University of Singapore. She wanted to volunteer in an area she was confident in. A quick Google search using key words ‘Volunteer tuition’ led her to CCF.
Rachel went on to tutor patients either awaiting their return to school, or who have already gone back to school. She helps them catch up with work they have missed during the treatment and recovery phases.
The best part for Rachel is working with students who are keen in learning. “They are very motivated and knows that the tuition is to help them catch up with their schoolwork. Sometimes, they do so much homework that I cannot even finish marking on the spot to go through with them!” she says.
“Individuals can never match the donations that corporations can afford,” adds Rachel, “but we can make a difference and help in a way that money cannot buy.”