Written by Pei Ling, Partner Relations
It was just before a youth programme at the office. Two boys sat in the pantry, quietly waiting for it to start.
I asked, casually, “What are you up to these days? Studying or working?”
A simple question. But one that opened the door to something deeper.
The first youth, Adam*, shared that he had missed his N-level exams not once, but twice. The first time, he was hospitalised. The second time, he fell ill again, but didn’t seek medical attention. His younger siblings were unwell too, and his mother – a single parent – was already stretched thin.
“I didn’t want to trouble her with another MC,” he said.
Without the medical certificate, he couldn’t get a deferment. He just didn’t sit for the papers. Again.
Now, Adam works part-time and studies in the evenings. He gives half his salary to his family. “I still want the cert,” he said. “But if something needs to give way, it’s school. Not my family.”
The second youth, Darren*, had a different journey.
His school attendance has been irregular. His parents, who didn’t receive formal education themselves, left decisions about schooling up to him.
Earlier this year, with encouragement from his school counsellor, Darren attended classes daily for a full month. “It felt good lah,” he said. “Like, I could actually do it.”
But when a personal relationship ended, he stopped going again.
Asked if he planned to return, he shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.” Then, after a pause, he added, “I want to study sports management.”
That one line gave us a glimpse of what mattered to him.
These weren’t formal interviews. They were conversations over lunch. But they revealed choices shaped by care, pressure, hurt, and hope.
At Beyond, we often speak about walking alongside the youths we serve. But that journey only begins when we take the time to understand. Not to fix or judge, but to listen.
Because once we understand, we know how to support.
Adam is retaking his exams as a private candidate. With this knowledge, we can explore tutoring options, flexible study support, or simply check in to see how he’s holding up.
For Darren, just knowing his interest in sports helps us hold space for possibility. Maybe school. Maybe something else. But now, we have a direction to walk in, together.
A conversation is never just a conversation. Sometimes, it’s the opening line of a longer story we’re invited to be part of.
And sometimes, it begins over lunch.