Man Gives Up Savings & Genting Retirement Home To Send 6 Boys To Australia
Would you give up your life savings — intended for a comfortable retirement — to a group of boys who aren’t even related to you?
That decision eventually became a no-brainer for Singaporean Frankie Yee, a 56-year-old freelance lecturer at various private educational institutions.
To send six boys to Australia for their university education, Mr Yee, a lecturer of 27 years, decided to forgo his retirement home in Genting and fund their studies to the tune of S$150,000.
Even though many questioned his true motives, Mr Yee asserted that he simply wishes to give the boys a better education and life.
He says he has no regrets despite losing his savings and going into debt.
Boys from Central Asia couldn’t afford school fees
The six boys arrived in Singapore two years ago from a Central Asian country, which Mr Yee described as “one of the poorest” in the world.
But the workload and having to study at the same time was taking its toll. One day, one of the boys approached Mr Yee and told him frankly about his struggles.
“He said he felt unhappy because he had to work so hard,” Mr Yee recalled.
Furthermore, the boys struggled financially and sometimes had just one meal a day because they could not pay their school fees.
Thus, their plan was to find a university that offered free schooling, but Mr Yee saw potential in them and thought they could aim much higher.
Lecturer forgoes retirement home in Genting & gives up savings
Over time, Mr Yee became close to the boys and learned more about their hopes and aspirations.
He learnt they wanted to build a better life for themselves that they could not back home.
Seeing their determination and wanting to give the boys a chance to pursue their dreams, he decided to raise funds for them so they could go to a university in Australia.
Mr Yee initially sought help from family and friends, but none were willing to help.
He also encountered countless snide comments — many questioned why he would help these strangers and even cast aspersions about his true motives.
“The constant rejection was very hurtful,” Mr Yee admitted. Not only was he unable to raise any funds, his efforts were further met with resistance, backlash, and gossip.
“Some people asked, ‘Frankie, are you crazy?’” But he felt he could not give up.
If I were to give up, these six boys would have no chance at all.
In the end, Mr Yee boldly decided to forgo his retirement home — which he had already put his down payment on — to fund the boys’ first year in university.
He had to do so because he had to take out loans and could not afford to pay for both the home and the loans.
The plan, for now, is to fund their first year in school while they work to save up for their second year and beyond.
“Only the six boys know what I’ve gone through for them,” Mr Yee mused.
Happily, he shared that two of them were eventually admitted to the University of Sydney. The other four are still awaiting their visas to study in Australia.
Helped many students over the years
While this is perhaps the biggest undertaking Mr Yee has done for his students over the years, such deeds aren’t unusual for him.
For instance, he has helped pay part of his students’ school fees, brought them out to eat so they wouldn’t go hungry, and driven them to work so they could have more time to sleep.
And everything is done out of his pocket.
Indeed, Mr Yee considers teaching a special calling, having taught in various institutions for 27 years.
He forged strong relationships with many of his students during his decades-long tenure.
He recalled a particularly memorable meeting with one of them, who came up to say to him after more than 20 years.
Back when the boy was in the Normal (Academic) stream in Secondary 4, he was a problem child whom even the principal was on the verge of giving up on.
Nearly every week, the boy would be involved in a police case.
He was told, “You wouldn’t be allowed to continue to Secondary 5 and take your O-Levels. You’re not interested in studying, anyway.”
But Mr Yee, who was a teacher in the boy’s class, decided — after several failed counselling sessions — to utilise a different approach.
He’d deliberately ostracise the boy and not invite him to events outside school.
It turns out that being left out was the catalyst for the boy to study his butt off and become the top student of the year.
Of course, the boy eventually moved on to Secondary 5. He told Mr Yee after his preliminary exams that he was motivated to study because of what Mr Yee did.
Decades later, Mr Yee was sitting somewhere and waiting for a colleague when the boy, now grown up, approached him.
“He asked, ‘Do you remember me?’ and I didn’t. But he still recognised me after all these years,” Mr Yee chuckled.
Thinks students like unconventional teaching approach
This encounter stuck with Mr Yee and remains a key reason why he’s continued to teach over the years.
In his words, students like that boy appear to enjoy his unconventional approach to teaching.
Mr Yee is always game to make his lessons more interesting by cracking jokes, which he feels makes him more personable.
He’s even willing to sing and dance for or with his students. “I like to create memories in my class,” he explained.
Once, he even went to Marina Barrage with his students and filmed a TikTok dance with them.
As a result of their close bond, he has kept in touch with many of his students over the years – a stark contrast from other lecturers who may prefer to keep a distance.
Can’t help everyone — just everyone he can
Even though Mr Yee has to continue teaching to fund his retirement after giving up his savings, he looks forward to attending the boys’ graduation ceremonies in Australia.
He only hopes to pay things forward and give the boys a better chance at life after seeing their determination and potential.
Despite his generosity, Mr Yee doesn’t believe he’s a saint – he believes if he can help someone, he should, even if that means enduring snide remarks and comments from naysayers.
Mr Yee encapsulates his philosophy in life with the following poem:
Great it is to dream the dream.
As we stand in youth by the starry stream.
But what is greater in life is to fight, and fight life through.
And then say at the end, the dream is true.
And now, the six boys’ dreams are within reach. All thanks to him.
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Featured image by MS News. Photography by Iskandar Rossali.
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