Lesson from Little Miss M

Meet Little Miss M. It was in one of CreaTee’s earlier dates out doing t-shirt design workshop with the kids and the underserved community. She was one from round twenty five children that attended the workshop at a low cost government housing block.

Walks in this cute little lady, sheepish looking like she was going to break down and cry. She looked terrified. We greeted her with a smile but that was not going to be enough. We found out that she did not speak Bahasa or English. She only spoke Tamil. Now I admit that our Tamil… well… is not that great. As an adult we get anxious when we can’t communicate with others, so imagine how an 8 year old girl was feeling.

We spoke to each other through hand gestures, pointing and moving our hands around. She needed some extra help but despite everything, it went well. She understood and came up with her one of a kind t-shirt design which was beautiful and more importantly she was happy with what she achieved. The beauty of art is that it is universal.

After the session, we got the children to clean up. Little Miss M tugged my pants while smiling. Holding a broom in her hand, she gestured that she wants to help me and sweep the floor. She gladly volunteered herself. I also will never forget at the end when all the children including her, rushed to put their t-shirt on. She smiled a huge smile as pointed at her t-shirt when we took her picture. That look in her eyes and face was worth it and said it all. She lost her sadness, she lost her fear. She was just happy. 

The journey of life is a combination of small and big events through learning and discovery. Little Miss M and I still did not share the same language by the end of the workshop. We understood each other in wanting to learn from one other. Every kid given the time and opportunity is willing to try something new, and I learned that however difficult things may seem, look it through a child’s eyes and just do it.