As with all our children and youth, we will always encourage and push them to go for extracurricular activities or to join  Clubs at school. Before Desmond* joined us in our Home, he was actively playing Badminton. He joined the Badminton Club in his school when he was 8 and would play 4 times a week. His parents were really involved in his badminton activity. His Badminton aspirations started taking flight from here. By age 9, he was already competing at the district level. By age 10, he won second place in the Singles competition (MSSD). He soared high at age 11 and 12 as he was the champion in the Doubles competition (MSSD) consecutively in those two years.

However things took a turn when his family ran into problems, resulting in him being sent to us. We can’t imagine how his world must have turned upside down. We did our best to help stabilize his life and to journey with him through this difficult phase.  Thankfully, he eventually joined the Badminton Club in Form 3 but he was inactive as he was only required to attend Badminton sessions only once in two weeks. Encik Azrul, the Badminton Coach of the Club, spotted his outstanding performance and pushed him to start competing once again.

Last year, he won second place in the Doubles competition in his school. This year, he got back into competing at the MSSD level and has reached the quarter finals before bowing out from the competition. We’re so proud of how he is picking up on his Badminton aspirations once again. Desmond has no plans to aim for MSSS level for now, as he wants to take it one step a time. To us, it’s already a huge step forward for him, as this would really help with his self-esteem and well-being. Encik Azrul, we thank you for believing in him and pushing him hard during his training!

*Name has been changed