READY TO HELP: Missionary Jeffrey Png, his wife Lilian and daughter Cassandra, are one with the local crowd. -- ST PHOTO: GOH CHIN LIAN

Polio-stricken childhood inspires missionary to do social work in Uganda

POLIO victim Jeffrey Png, 44, needs a walking stick to get around.

The handicap in his right leg, supported by callipers, did not stop him from packing his bags for Uganda in 1992 to be a missionary with his wife, just nine months into their marriage.

Having handled the information technology work in his Singapore church, Mr Png was tasked with training Ugandans in computer skills for all the Assembly of God churches in the country.

But a container with over 20 computers never arrived from Singapore. It was found six months later.

The following year, he taught computer skills to three Ugandans, who then got jobs that paid them two to five times more.

One woman making the equivalent of $40 a month joined a United Nations unit that paid her $200 a month and gave her rice and cooking oil. She later went to London to do social work.

'I realised that by the little things they learnt, they improved their living standard.'

He went on to run mobile clinics for villagers, who would sell the medicine he gave them.

'They said they didn't have food for their children,' said Mr Png, who then had them take their tablets in front of him.

Besides social work, Mr Png also helps new missionaries to settle in the country. He recalled a young and gung-ho Singaporean who refused to wait a few months in the capital before going to a village.

The man wanted to use a pit latrine in the village. Before he entered, he sprayed it with insecticide to get rid of the flies.

'But after two, three minutes, he realised the flies came back and they were from the pit. So as he was squatting, he sprayed downwards, and, guess what, all the flies came up,' said Mr Png with a laugh.

Like him, his wife Lillian, 46, and daughter Cassandra, nine, speak the local lingo. 'When my daughter visits Singapore, she says the toys are so high-end. She also appreciates that there are no power outages.'

Today, he is principal of a Bible school and handles the administration work for Assembly of God churches. He hopes to hand the work to locals soon, and head to other parts of Africa.

His desire to do social work stems from a tough childhood and making good after that. Mr Png spent his first nine years in hospital with other polio-stricken children.

'I believe God gave me a chance despite my handicap, to be born in Singapore, and raised by good doctors and nurses, and an education system that has trained me well and paved the way for my success.

'What these people need is a chance. I tell them I came here to create that opportunity.'

GOH CHIN LIAN