IF you're lucky enough to get a second chance at something, don't waste it. Just because you failed once doesn't mean that you're going to fail again.
These are profound statements for us to recover from failures or impediments.
Education is always key to transforming lives, like what one-time black civil rights leader Malcolm X said: "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."
Sometimes, we don't have access to the right tools to excel because of our mental or physical handicaps, or we may live too far away from where things are happening. In other words, we become marginalised.
Hope is often a powerful word in a world seemingly full of despair for some, as the world now has more structured help and opportunities from kind souls who want to help others to have better lives, be it in education, or for children with special needs or assisting marginalised communities.
One such kind soul is Sri Lankan-born Datin Sri Umayal Eswaran, whose RYTHM (Raise Yourself To Help Mankind) Foundation, part of the QI Group, not only raised funds for the underprivileged but also spurred fellow employees to be passionate about volunteering.
Through her Taarana School for Children with Special Learning Needs, Umayal hopes to raise awareness about the importance of special needs education and help change attitudes and practices associated with special needs children under the United National Sustainable Development Goal 4.
This goal strives to provide children with equal access and opportunity to knowledge and learning.
As for education for girls from disadvantaged families, she feels that there can only be upsides to enabling them to excel academically to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
Learning about gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, ethnicity and culture and the importance of physical and spiritual wellness will help to unleash their potential, says RYTHM chairwoman Umayal.
It will also build better lives for themselves and their communities by turning them into confident, skilful and knowledgeable civic-minded women, she adds.
Priya Sri Vijayan, Deepthi Nair Perabagaran and Elavarasi Thamil Thasan are good examples.
Having come from homes where tuition is a luxury, they received academic support at RYTHM's Maharani Learning Lab, a centre for disadvantaged adolescent girls in Sungai Siput, Perak.
Coupled with the havoc of school closures because of Covid-19 and unfamiliar online classes, they proved doubters wrong and scored half a dozen straight As and more in the delayed 2020 SPM exams.
They've set their aspirations higher than what their parents had as plantation and factory workers to be legal, accounting and teaching professionals.
Nurul Aswa Irwani Mohd Azizuddin, a teacher at SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Wahab, Sungai Siput, says the Maharani girls had shown progress in interpersonal, communication, leadership skills and time management.
They even volunteered to be masters of ceremony at school events, a task previously done by teachers, although that initiative is rarely demonstrated by the boys, she says.
She feels that the girls-only Maharani programme has put them more at ease and made them willing to try new things without fear of being laughed at by boys.
RYTHM also supports vocational training in cooking, sewing and other economically-viable pursuits.
Vanessa Yee, whose father is a taxi driver, has taken up a beautician course under the Maharani programme at the YWCA Vocational Training Opportunity Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
An independent girl since 13 when she worked as an hourly-paid helper at a day-care centre for kids, Yee now looks forward to better days ahead after she finishes her course.
Girls under RYTHM's tutelage learn about other important aspects, like taking care of their bodies and projecting a positive body image, and what's meant by good and bad touches, and the boundaries for relationships with boys.
Very important lessons in life that they'll not regret.
A key aspect of Umayal's vision is helping the marginalised.
In this, RYTHM has teamed up with Good Shepherd, a Sabah organisation, to uplift rural Kiulu residents through education and identifying opportunities for homegrown businesses.
One day, perhaps, these recipients can confidently say what American poet Maya Angelou once said: "I did then what I know how to do. Now that I know better, I do better."
The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief
