At the age of 39, I found myself at a crossroads. Approaching my 40th birthday, it was one of those periods of pondering the meaning of my life. I was inspired by author and blogger Seth Godin, who used his birthdays as an opportunity for philanthropy. Rather than just another party, I wanted to do something meaningful.
I had already been a passionate supporter of youth projects and had volunteered my time and expertise to help young people advance their careers in the UK and abroad. During my experiences, I encountered young people, particularly young women, in developing countries who struggled due to a lack of access to education.
The turning point came when I saw my young niece, Rhianna, excited about reading a whole book in a morning before I’d eaten breakfast (she was an early riser!). It made me realize how different her life would be simply because she could read.
I was drawn to the work of Room To Read, an organization that builds schools and libraries in the developing world and runs programs to help girls complete their education. I learned about their Girls Education Program, which identifies girls at risk of dropping out of school and ensures they have the opportunity to complete secondary education.
I set myself a challenge for my 40th birthday: to raise funds to educate 10 girls in India for the next 10 years.
But this wasn’t a challenge I took on alone; it was a community effort. With family and friends, we organized fundraising events including a charity poker tournament, skydiving from 12,000 feet, charity walks, and a 24 mountain trekking challenge to climb the 3 highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales (the “3 Peaks Challenge”). In the end, we surpassed our goal, raising enough to support 13 girls for the next decade.
This challenge was just the beginning. It marked the start of my long-term commitment to girls’ education.
After moving to Singapore in 2012, along with friends, we visited Room To Read schools in Asia during International Women’s Day – in Cambodia in 2014 and then in Sri Lanka in 2016.
Travelling to rural villages and firsthand seeing the impact of education and mentorship on young girls and their families was both fascinating and inspiring.
Subsequently I’ve been involved in helping to organise various fundraisers in partnership with Room To Read team in Singapore for Girls Education.
Fast forward to the Covid-19 pandemic when my mother from the UK was stuck in Singapore during her annual vacation when the borders closed. Over the next two years that stayed in Singapore, I enjoyed some amazing Indian food (!) – but I also learned lots more about mum’s childhood and upbringing, Much of which was new learning for me.
She grew up in rural India at a time when only the boys in the family were permitted to go to school. The role of the girls was to learn to cook and become homemakers so they could be good wives. Mum had a very happy childhood and didn’t question this – those were just the gender-based roles in those days. But as the youngest girl in the family – she was actually allowed to attend school for four years as the thinking around girls and education became more modern when she reached school age. Which meant she can read and write. Her elder sisters were not so fortunate. It was surreal to hear these stories from the 1940’s and 1950s – being the very same stores I’d seen and heard in the rural districts of Cambodia and Sri Lanka 70 years later. It brought home to me the subconscious connection I’ve had to help fight for Girl’s literacy and gender quality in rural Asia.
When I started on this crazy journey in 2010, people would often say, “it’s amazing what you’re doing; you’re so inspiring to change their lives.”
It was actually the other way around. These inspiring girls and their families were striving for a better tomorrow against the odds. Witnessing that journey has been life-changing for me. It’s been humbling and just such a privilege to witness.
From the crossroads at the age of 40 in search of meaning – to now in my 50s, where I have a bunch of causes I now support for differing reasons. None of this was really planned – it’s kind of unraveled as life often does! I’ve just learned to listen to myself, drown out the external noise, stop worrying about what others think, and take things one step at a time while enjoying the journey and having a lot of fun along the way!
