Kind NTU student befriends tissue auntie at Bishan Bus Interchange when others just ignore her

The New Paper
26 December 2016

Their friendship began three years ago, when he decided to offer a ride home to a stranger.

Mr Huang Zhiwei, 24, had walked past a woman who was selling tissue paper from her wheelchair at Bishan Bus Interchange.

The undergraduate from Nanyang Technological University saw that most people just ignored and walked past Ms Xu Wei Ling, 46.

He told Lianhe Wanbao: "I approached her and asked if I could give her a lift home."

Ms Xu, who has weak legs and has been selling tissue paper for four years, recounted how she was taken aback by Mr Huang's offer.

She told him she wanted to wait for her friend and expected him to change his mind.

But Mr Huang readily agreed and it was a good two hours before Ms Xu's friend, Ms Wang Cai Ling, finished work.

The trio have become friends.

Ms Xu said: "He takes me home whenever he is free.

"We also have dinner together and sometimes, he invites us on outings with his girlfriend."

Mr Huang said he decided to contribute more to the less fortunate after a mission trip with his church to Cambodia.

"I realised how fortunate I am," he said.

"You don't have to do anything great to be kind, but little acts of kindness can also bring joy to others."

WILLING

He added: "It is not how much money you donate, but how much time you are willing to spend with them."

Mr Huang picked Happy People Helping People Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that hopes to bring joy and hope to the less fortunate, especially the poor elderly who collect cardboard for a living, as his preferred charity.