12 LUMEN | JOSEPHIANS
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It was the year 1945 in colonial Singapore . A young boy , barely five years of age lived in a camp for prisoners of war . He led a tough and hard life , if you could call that life – one that would break a mother ’ s heart .
By Lim Boon Siang
As if life was not cruel enough , Lawrence Da Silva had also lost his father , a volunteer machine gunner who fought valiantly in defence of Singapore ; and later on became a war orphan too . Yet , despite the tenderness in his age , the child gritted his teeth and pressed on , nourished constantly by his unwavering love for God and his staunch faith in Him . He survived the ordeal .
When the war ended , the youngster who started school late , enrolled in St . Joseph ’ s Institution . Having lost his father in the war , it was not difficult to imagine the difficult financial circumstances he was in . He would have had to bear with the feeling of coldness and hunger from an empty stomach and agonise over the payment of his school fees if not for the school which took care of his financial needs and cared for him as a person . This much-appreciated gesture and support of the school did more than finance him through his Pre-University education in SJI for it also sowed the seed of kindness and philanthropy in a blossoming young man who was determined to reciprocate the humanity he received . Later , blessed with a government scholarship , the young man went on to pursue a university education and returned to serve a government bond at the Customs Department . His career in the field of education began at Singapore Polytechnic where he was the Assistant Registrar before he started United World