New school, new experience. What you expect to see if you go to new school? I thought about the students first. Well, here I am at SMU(A) Al-Yunusiah. A very small school with only 127 students, 10 teachers, 2 clerks and no more. Very poor...
The students came from poor family with many problems. One of them, the sadest one among them I think. well I still new, so I need time to know others. But since I'm here, I talk to her. She like to learn and very fast learner. She is shy, polite, have a very beautiful smile and very slim body or I should say thin. She came from Kemboja, it surprise me because I thought she look like other Kelantanese, with her beautiful face. She also among the cleaverest in the class.
One day, nothing to do when I had gap, so I took this class with me to the library. I asked them to read something in English if they like or maybe Malay. My purpose just to train them to love books like I do. This girl came to me with a thin english book like a year 1 student's book. I asked her to read, she is quite good in reading using Malay pronounciation so I corrected her. She kept reading with better pronounciation, no more mistakes when she said the words I corrected before. After finished one book, I ask her about her UPSR results.
A very surprise story I got! She never went to primary school before and didn't take UPSR. She told me she only had a chance to come to school when she was 13 years old. What a sad story for a bright girl like her. While the story flow from her mouth, I tried my best to hold my tears from falling. She is from Kemboja, her parents came to Malaysia illegally. She loves learning but she can't go to school because she didn't has passport. This year she will have one of important exam for Arabic stream PMRU but I'm not sure if she can take the exam. I think she can because this exam is under Yayasan Kelantan not a government examination.
My last day at school, she came to me with a sweet smile, thanked me for everything I taught her. What should I say to her? Still holding my tears whenever she came to me to ask or to thank me. I hug her like I hug my other students, tell her to study hard. I wish I can say good luck for your exam like I wish my other students.
Even now, whenever I think about her, my tears will easily spill.
How about other students? Hmm every human have their own story they carry with them behind their back. Maybe a nice story or maybe a suffering sad story. Here they are, in front of me they sat with a laugh and smile. They always happy to be with their friends. Well, a friend plays a very important role to them, support them while they suffer.
They came from a very poor family. I heard one of it my self. When one girl asking to borrow office phone to call her father at home. Tells the father that she doesn't has money to go home.
Teachers sometimes gave them money to buy food. If you want to know, the canteen only prepare 100 kuih everyday because they know the students don't have money to buy or support their short break with nice nasi ayam or a lot of kuih.
