WHEN a bus they were travelling in careened off the road and hurtled down an embankment in Malaysia, two Singapore Scouts sprang into action to help passengers.
For their selfless act, Scout volunteers Edieusdi Ahmad, 22, and Jason Lim Yu, 25, were yesterday conferred the Medal of Courage by the Singapore Scout Association - the first time these medals, a newly created category, have been awarded.
They got the medals from President Tony Tan Keng Yam - Chief Scout of Singapore - at a ceremony in the Istana, along with 94 other individuals and corporations recognised for their contributions to the movement here.
BACKGROUND STORY
STRENGTH OF CHARACTER
To us, what matters is that we saved someone else's life, not so much the recognition.
- Scout volunteer Edieusdi Ahmad
The duo were part of a troop of nine Scouts returning from Terengganu to Singapore in July last year after finishing a turtle conservation project when the accident occurred before dawn.
'Everyone was panicking, especially since it happened when the passengers were all asleep,' said Mr Edieusdi, who has just finished national service.
The bus had flipped onto its side and was lying precariously on a steep slope, but the duo worked in darkness to lead passengers to safety before tending to those injured.
Mr Lim, an auditor with accounting firm KPMG, carried an injured woman up the slope to the road, where the Scout team gave first aid to the hurt.
Both Scouts then scrambled back down to the bus - despite the danger of it becoming dislodged - to check that no one had been left behind.
The accolades are secondary, said Mr Edieusdi. 'To us, what matters is that we saved someone else's life, not so much the recognition.'
It is this strength of character fostered by Scout training that led retired couple John and Lydia Ewing-Chow to donate $50,000 to the Singapore Scout Foundation, despite neither of them having been Scouts in their youth. Recognised for their contribution yesterday, the couple praised the Scout movement for nurturing young people with initiative and resourcefulness. 'You name it, the Scouts have it,' said Mr Ewing-Chow, 69.
DAVID EE
Taken verbatim from:
No comments:
Post a Comment