What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made to help others?
Reader: Well, once my grandfather asked me to help him unlock his Ipad, which required me to get out of bed and walk downstairs to where he was and swipe my thumb, so yeah, I felt pretty good about myself that day.
Uh… okay I guess that’s somethi-
Another Reader: I used to drink five bubble teas a day but cut it down to four when my doctor told me I would die if I continued.
Ok, but how does that even help other peo-
Reader: Yeah, it was quite a sacrifice. I’m very proud of myself.
Humanity is screwed.
But one doctor is trying to change all that, by doing something most of us wouldn’t even dream of.
S’pore Doctor Gave Up Cushy Life Here To Help Orphans in Afganistan
In 2002, Singaporean doctor Wee Teck Young had it pretty good. He was a doctor and had practiced medicine locally for a decade in what was definitely a successful career.
But then he did something completely unexpected.
After hearing about a non-governmental organisation (NGO) helping Afghan refugees in Quetta, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Wee decided to give up his cushy life in Singapore and decided to move to Afghanistan to help out.
He moved there despite it being a country ravaged with conflict triggered by the September 11 attacks in America.
As MS News reports, this was Wee’s first encounter with Afghan victims of war.
Lived in the mountains
After living in Quetta for two and a half years, Dr Wee moved to the Bamiyan province in Afghanistan to work for an international development organisation as a doctor.
It’s here that he earned the title Hakim, meaning “Doctor” from the people whose lives he had touched. He lived in the mountainous village for 7 years.
Founded an NGO
Wee also founded an NGO named Afghan Peace Volunteers (APV), a non-governmental and non-profit organisation.
According to SCMP, APV aims to eliminate inequality, promote non-violence and a green earth.
For many children, APV is like a second home. One 14-year-old boy, Inaam, used to be a street-side shoe shiner before his life in the organisation.
His drug-addicted father was mostly absent, so the teenager had to work and study to contribute to the survival of the family, reported SCMP.
But now, Inaam is studying in eighth grade in a public high school and is not a shoe shiner anymore. During the winter holidays, the 14-year-old spends most of his time with APV and Wee, who treats him like a son.
APV, which has 70 active members, has launched a number of initiatives, from social enterprises to schools to help vulnerable communities, including women, the illiterate, the poor, and street kids, according to The Straits Times.
The NGO even started a school for local kids in 2015.
Borderfree Afghan Street Kids School
The Borderfree Afghan Street Kids School has 117 kids enrolled and largely runs on donations from locals and international aid organisations.
This helps many families survive, as half the country’s population lives below the poverty line.
“We can rely on the food items we receive monthly,” said one student’s grandmother in her one-bedroom rental home. “We are grateful for this.”
Forgoes Salary
Not only did Wee give up his life in Singapore to move to Afghanistan, but he has also worked voluntarily without a salary for over a decade.
But for Wee, it’s worth it.
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“The programme I get the most energy from is the Street Kids School,” he said in Dari. “I love to see smiles on the faces of Afghan children.”
Won Humanitarian Award
In 2012, Wee was recognised for his humanitarian work and was given the International Pfeffer Peace Award.
You, like me, probably admire the hell out of Wee for what he did but can’t even imagine giving up our comfortable lives here like he did.
But maybe that’s because we’re too obsessed with material things.
Wee told The Straits Times, “I don’t need much. My funds come from the kindness of my medical friends and strangers”.
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Wee believes in spending more time on relationships and people, and healing the world with love.
If we all had just a sliver of the compassion and humanity that Wee exhibits, the world would surely be a better place.
