Page 24 - Stories_of_Older_Adults

I N S P I R I N G S T O R I E S O F T H E O L D E R G E N E R A T I O N

Since secondary school, Madam Goh has been quite fond of painting. This passion of hers compelled
her to become an Art teacher and she decided to pursue it more seriously as an optional subject in a
teachers’ training college. Thereafter, she applied to the Specialist Teachers’ Training Institute, Cheras,
Kuala Lumpur, to specialise in Art. Eventually, in the mid 1960’s she was appointed as Art lecturer in
the Regional Teacher Centre (RTC) in Batu Pahat.

Since retiring, she spends most of her time gardening,
harvesting vegetables that she grows in her garden and
painting. Her house is beautifully decorated with lots of her
paintings hanging on the wall. One of her paintings that caught
our eyes was the waterfall painting. Just looking at it gave us a
sense of peace and relaxation. When she was 60, she enjoyed her
life by travelling overseas to England, China, Europe and many
other places with her husband. What amazes us is that Madam
Goh has travelled to almost half of Europe since her student
days. Now at 85, she realises she cannot travel like in the past,
so she watches travelling channels on TV.

As the younger generation, we felt grateful that the older
generation has sacrificed in order to gain independence so that
we can live comfortably like this today. So, we must never take
them for granted and strive to maintain our country’s
independence.

Madam Goh's paintings Online interview session with Madam Goh
“

How lucky you are, life was very hard for us. People back then didn’t even have the chance to enter
university. So, fight for your own way, never give up and you’ll be okay.
- Madam Goh Ching Chin

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