Many people do a little good and make a big fuss about it. Many people talk and preach to other people to do good, but he himself never does anything beneficial or contribute to the society. But there are some people who do a lot of good and bring a lot of benefits to the society without a single hint of wanting to boast or brag about what they do. And this post is to celebrate one such person.

Meet Mr JG (from his name, Jayaganapathy Eswarakrishnan). He was my IB Mathematics Higher Level teacher in Sri KDU for half a year in 2007, when his eye problem forced him to resign and return to his home country, India. He had undergone many eye surgeries to rectify the problem, but his eye worsens toward the middle of the second half of 2007. When he had to leave, one of his eyes was not capable of vision. Everybody was so sad to let him go, because he was so dear to us. After he returned to India, some of us continued to have occasional chat with him through Yahoo! Messenger, but none of us know anything about his noble acts in India.

Recently, I went to Sri KDU to visit my teachers before flying off to New Zealand this month. My Chemistry teacher, Mr Lawrence just came back from visiting Mr JG in India, and he shared with me and my two other friends who went to the school that day what Mr JG has been doing for the past 9 months.

Miraculously, Mr JG’s eye had completely recovered. And that is minuscule compared to what he decided to do with his life. He opened up a school for the poor kids in India, and give them a gift of education.

He hired a number of teachers to teach the kids and fill them with knowledge that should have been their basic right, but denied by poverty. He pays each of these teachers a salary of RM100 a month. He himself gets nothing. And every month, according to Mr Lawrence, the school runs on a deficit. A planned expansion of the school to accommodate more students has to be put on hold due to insufficient funds.

The school survives entirely on donation. There are a few smart whiteboards in the school, donated by some generous people. The school is also equipped with clean water, an important hygienic factor in India. At present, there were 100 kids at the school. 100 poor kids receiving a gift of education.

And through the previous 9 months the school has been operating, none of us from the IB community in Sri KDU knows about it. Not me, not the IB coordinator, not the teachers, not those of us who occasionally chat with him, not anyone. This is a man who does noble things and does not boast or brag about it. It’s little wonder Mr Lawrence calls him Father Teresa.

When I asked him how can we help, he told me to finish my studies first and only think of helping when I’m working. Not satisfied, I pushed him a little further and he told me that one way of helping is by sponsoring a poor child’s education. It is not much, only RM800 per year. Per year. That’s roughly RM67 per month. Heck, you can give a child a year of education simply from a fraction of the amount of living allowance you receive from your sponsorship. And that includes the cost of three sets of uniforms, two sets of shoes, school bag, all text books and note books, stationeries, snacks and milk , academic fees, accidental health insurance, fee for karate, dance, music, yoga, etc…

And still right here in Malaysia, many of us do not truly appreciate the education we get.

It is those people like Mr JG who really makes the world a better place to live. These selfless people contribute to the society without ever asking anything in return. And unlike many of us today, they don’t brag or boast about it. There are true generosity and goodness in their hearts, and if there’s anyone whose voice and opinion should be listened to and paid attention to, it is their voice and their opinions.

Hear them, help them, emulate them. And when we do that, realise that we have made this world that much a better place to live. Drop a comment or send me an email at khairulsyahir [at] gmail [dot] com if you’re interested.

The pictures and videos below are given to me by Mr Lawrence, from his visit to Mr JG’s school in India.

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