Coupons of goodness

 

Coming down the escalator, I met a teenager with wholesome 

goodness

Many people walk into our lives. While some make us laugh or cry, a few leave lasting impressions in our mind. Recently, I met a young girl whose honesty and sincerity touched my heart.  

It was a hot afternoon. I was in the cool comfort of the top floor of a supermarket. Browsing through the car accessories section, I found a special mat with lumbar support. It could be placed on a car seat or on a chair. “I wonder whether it would be good for my aching back,” I mused.   

As I pondered on the item, a girl in school uniform, Ping Ping (not her real name), approached me. She greeted me in Mandarin. From her badge, I noticed that she came from a school nearby.  

Waving a piece of blue paper in front of me, she proceeded to talk about an event in her school.   

Now, as a former teacher, I have a soft spot for children in uniform. But my Mandarin vocabulary is limited to simple greetings and shopping terms. I could not make head or tail of what she was saying. I requested Ping Ping to speak in English, asking her what Form she was in, to get her started. She looked worried and nervous, but she gritted her teeth and tried her best.   

“Standard One ? no, no, Form One,” she corrected herself. I listened patiently as Ping Ping spoke in halting English, spiced with some Mandarin and Malay. A friend, who accompanied her, giggled and prompted her whenever she struggled for words. After about 10 minutes of explanation, I gathered that her school was holding a fun fair, with lots of activities and many items for sale. It was to raise funds to build more classrooms.  

I looked at the blue paper, all printed with Chinese characters. It had a picture of a building in the centre and detachable portions (of pictures of diamonds) at the sides. “Each diamond is equivalent to one ringgit,” Ping Ping explained. “The centre portion qualifies for a lucky draw.”  

Finally, I understood – Ping Ping was trying to sell me a RM20 coupon!  

“Is your friend selling her coupon too?” I asked Ping Ping.   

“Every pupil has to sell two coupons. My friend sold her coupons to her parents. My parents are not with me. They are living in another state, Pahang, so I’m selling my coupon to the public here,” elaborated Ping Ping.  

Ping Ping reminded me of my schooldays in the 1950s. I had to sell little flags for the Red Cross Society. The flags were 20 cents apiece and when the tin, used to collect the coins, started to fill up, I was overjoyed. It was tough work approaching total strangers along the roads in the hot sun. I had to swallow my pride every time someone declined.   

That flash from the past helped me make up my mind. I purchased the coupon from Ping Ping. Then nonchalantly, I told her to keep the coupon and buy something for herself.  

Incidentally, my friends and I often do that. Whenever we are offered tickets for charity, we would purchase one and then give the ticket back to the seller to buy something for the needy.   

However, I was totally unprepared for Ping Ping’s reaction. She was aghast at my suggestion.  

“No, no, you must keep the coupon yourself,” she said in perfect English this time. “You can buy many things in my school. Please come and visit my school,” she pleaded.  

“I’m sorry, I cannot. On that day, I have to send someone to the airport,” I told her. “Instead of wasting the coupon, you make use of it to buy something for yourself.”  

“No, no, I cannot keep it,” reiterated Ping Ping. Then she added: “Why don’t you give it to one of your friends?”   

It was getting late and I had no time to argue. I needed to finish my shopping before the evening rush hour. I pressed the coupon into her hands and hastily walked away.  

An hour had passed when I finished shopping. As I descended three floors via the escalators, all thoughts of Ping Ping were forgotten. However, as I came down the escalator to the ground floor, there she was, at the foot – with the coupon in her outstretched hand!   

Determined to catch me at the exit point, the decent girl had waited one solid hour. She insisted vehemently that I keep the coupon.  

I was impressed – such honesty and maturity in a young mind. Was it pride or her sense of righteousness that made her wait so long for a total stranger?   

It is refreshing to note that in these times of snatch thefts and armed robbery, a girl could have such integrity. Credit also goes to her school for instilling such good values in its pupils.  

While many children of Ping Ping’s age are having fun (playing computer games, watching movies or “lepak-ing”) at their parents’ expense, here is a role model who not only saves money for her parents, but spends her time wisely to help raise funds for her school.   

As I drove home, I kept thinking of Ping Ping. Her sense of righteousness would have pleased our Prime Minister who advocates such moral virtues in our daily life. Ping Ping’s action has restored my faith in the young generation.  

Her wholesome goodness still resonates in me.

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This article was published in the Star (Malysian newspaper) on September 23, 2004. This teenager’s act of integrity renews my faith in the young generation.