By Soraya Kee

In a half-hour chat with one of the children at the CCC, I learn a bit about an 11 year old boy- and a lot about how important the CCC is to children like him.

Jeevan is a tad shy when I first meet him at the WAO Child Care Centre – he returns my smile, but with some reservation. CCC Supervisor Mary Selina has told me that he’s made everyone at the centre proud because he’s become a prefect at his school, S.K. (2) Sultan Alam Shah, and he tells me he’s very “happy and proud” at his achievement.

He likes school, and his favourite subjects are Bahasa Melayu and English. “When I first went to school I didn’t know anything,” he admits, “but my teachers Cikgu Azlan and Cikgu Vhinotini helped me a lot.” His USPR is coming up, and he’s been doing revision, but manages to find time for hobbies like cycling and watching his favourite TV shows Tom and Jerry and Ben 10. When I ask if his friends respect him as a prefect, he laments, “Not at all!” They must be jealous, I theorise, and he agrees.

When we start talking about his interests, he brightens up considerably. An ordinary 11-year-old, he dreams of going to Sunway Lagoon and the funfair. He wants to be an astronaut because he loves “learning about the planets, stars and galaxies.” He also tells me Science is his least favourite subject, because of his long-winded teachers.

He gets even more excited when we talk about football, and starts enthusiastically expounding the merits of his favourite team Manchester United. His favourite player is Edwin VEN DER SAR. “I love the players from MU”, he explains. “They’re not like other players from other teams.”

Towards the end of our interview, he’s chatty and candid, and eager to share. “I’m the only boy in the family”, he tells me proudly. “I have 9 sisters. And my mom is a single mother.” I’m worried this might be a sensitive topic for him, but he tells me plainly that he hates his father for taking a second wife. “So when you grow up, are you going to be different?” I ask. “Yes”, he says vehemently, before I even finish my sentence. “I’m going to be a good person.”

I tell him I’d like to snap a photograph of him in the newsletter, and he impishly asks, “Can I pose in my prefect’s uniform?” He then runs off to carefully iron it before putting it on, complete with maroon tie. After, I’ve taken the picture and confessed shamefully that I still can’t tie a tie to save my life, he decides to teach me, and shows me how, step by step.

As I’m leaving, I think back to his vow. Despite the pain that his family has had to endure, he’s optimistic about the future. I’m suddenly enormously glad he has the CCC staff, who make sure he goes to school, finishes his homework and gets solid meals; the funds from sponsors of the Anak Angkat programme, and of course the volunteers who spend time with him and help mould his bright future. With so much support and love around him, I’m sure he’ll have no problem fulfilling his vow.