'Support is there if you reach out': Ex-delinquent wept as social worker remained constant figure in his life
By the time he was 18, Mr Daren Kwang Poh Chun had slept for months at the school campus because he could barely afford food, let alone rent. Inspired by the care he received from his social worker, he is giving back as a successful professional in the same field.
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the time he was 18, he was discharged from a juvenile institution for the final time and for seven months, he could not afford rent, so the open spaces at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) where he was studying became his shelter.
He was studying to become a medical social worker, inspired to do so by his own social worker, who stuck with him through long and difficult years as an outsider and helped to turn the young man's life around.
As I chatted with Mr Kwang, it was hard to reconcile the accomplished healthcare professional before me with the boy who, two decades ago, featured in media reports as a runaway 10-year-old.
Back then, various news outlets including the print version of TODAY reported that the schoolboy who was in Primary 5 had been found in a Bedok North playground after he was missing for nine days. It was not his first disappearance, the reports added.
Looking back, Mr Kwang still feels frustrated about how his struggles were framed.
“At that point in time, the way (the newspapers) pictured it, it was like I had a good home and I wasn’t intending to return,” he said.
Knowing just the bare details of his background, I wondered how to delicately broach painful memories from his youth. To his credit, Mr Kwang took my probing into his past with a calm, matter-of-fact clarity.
His circumstances had led him to fend for himself on the streets as a child. And a singular, steadfast act of care would later become a turning point in his life.
Here is the full list of dancer Kameron Saunder’s lines at each concert of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, USA Today reported.
Singapore, March 7: "Alamak"
Singapore, March 4: "Walao, eh"
Singapore, March 3: "Siao, ah"
Singapore, March 2: "No, lah"
Sydney, Feb 26: "Rack off, mate"
Sydney, Feb 25: "Bugger off"
Sydney, Feb 24: "Tell him he’s dreamin'"
Sydney, Feb 23: "Yeah, nah"
Melbourne, Feb 18: "Naur, mate"
Melbourne, Feb 17: "Like, naur"
Melbourne, Feb 16: "Yeah, nah"
Tokyo, Feb 10: "Zettai nai"
Tokyo, Feb 9: "Maji muri"
Tokyo, Feb 8: "Zettai nai"
Tokyo, Feb 7: "Arienai"
São Paulo, Nov 26: "Nem fudendo"
São Paulo, Nov 25: "Nem fudendo"
São Paulo, Nov 24: "Nem fudendo"
Rio de Janiero, Nov 20: "Nem fudendo"
Rio de Janeiro, Nov 19: "Like nem fudendo"
Rio de Janeiro, Nov 17: "Nem fudendo"
Buenos Aires, Nov 12: "Ni a palos"
Buenos Aires, Nov 11: "Ni en pedo"
Buenos Aires, Nov 9: "Ni en pedo"
Mexico City, Aug 27: "Like nunca"
Mexico City, Aug 26: "Like nunca"
Mexico City, Aug 25: "Like nunca"
Mexico City, Aug 24: "Nunca"
