Founders` Profile and Core Team
TESTIMONIES |
I appreciate with all my heart the opportunity to share what I experienced concerning the good services offered by GGP. I also thank Edmund and Pauline for being there for me in my time of bereavement. Life has not been easy since 6 June 2007 when I lost my beloved husband of 10 years. He died of cancer, leaving behind 3 lovely young children.
I believe it was divine intervention that I was referred to Edmund and Pauline to help me in my grieving process. Their commitment and dedication brought me understanding and hope. For me to accept my great loss as something that only happened with divine permission is already a miracle for me. It was this wonderful couple who taught and guided me through my many emotional issues and struggles.
Grieving over the loss of a loved one is an intensely painful journey and I feel that without some mature people like Edmund and Pauline walking alongside me, such a storm in life will be too terrible to bear. They also spent time with my 3 children. Learning from GGP, I feel that I will be able to reach out to other widows who are in need of comfort and encouragement.
Teoh I. N.
I lost my husband through cancer five and a half years ago. We were both married in Dec 2001 and it has been a pleasant marriage until he started to fall sick. On Sept 2002, the doctor told us that there were some lesions spotted on his backbone and one week after he had his test done, it was confirmed that he had cancer. I was at that time into my sixth month of pregnancy. My hope and my dreams were shattered when he passed away in January 2003.
After the funeral, I begin to experience the cold sense of loneliness. In a quiet room together with my 2-month old son, I wished it was a dream. But it wasn’t. I wept and cried. I felt lost and confused. It was frightening.
Eventually, I picked up myself again and decided not to be seen as drowning in my own grief. I chose to be busy with work so that I do not have time to brood over the past. I put on a strong shield to show that ‘I am Ok’ but deep inside me, there were a lot of fears and uncertainties. My life became more trying as I had to be responsible as a mother and also to provide for the family.
When I heard the announcement of a Support Group for the Bereaved, I decided to join. The teaching and discussion sessions had helped me journey back in time to deal with my unresolved grief and emotions. I learnt to re-embrace the grief which I had suppressed for a long time. I began to be honest with myself and with others about my pain. As I share, I gain perspective of the reality and began to cope with my loss. I am now able to accept my new identity as a widow.
I urged those of you who are still grieving or in some ways have not properly dealt with your grief but thought you have overcome it, I advise that you come to join the weekly Support Group meetings for the Bereaved.
Z. Chow
My husband died in a car accident on 25 Sept 2006 and Edmund and Pauline came to comfort me and my two children. I praise and thank God for their support and practical help during my time of grief.
I often question God why he had allowed my husband to die even though I am still young. It is very painful for me to loose my husband all in a sudden. I don’t know what to do. I cried all the time as I was hurting and fearful inside. I could not sleep at night and I called out to God to help me.
God sent me this wonderful couple to encourage and teach me. They are always praying for me. I have learned so much from them and I am beginning to trust God more and more. Now I firmly believe that despite all that has happened, God has plans to prosper me and my children, not to harm us but to give us hope and a future.
L. Chua
I am very appreciative of the Grief Support Group because I was a
very difficult case.
My daughter died from leukaemia at age 26 after battling the disease
for only six months. At the time of her death, I have not even got
over the shock of the news to deal with it. This was still not easy.
I came from a very dysfunctional family. So after her death, it was
not easy for me to come to terms with the loss. I did not care about
my life. As a single parent to my only daughter, I gave up on life
and tried to commit suicide. But it was not my time to die and so I
am writing this now.
I am part of the Buddhist Soka Gakkai group together with my
daughter and our lives revolved around their activities. But shortly
after my daughter's death, everyone including my family expected me
to snap out of it after a certain period of time. After only one
month, everyone I knew expected me to stop crying. But even after
one year, I still could not function. In my depressed state, I did
not feel hungry nor want to eat. I was like a zombie and people were
even afraid to look at me. My pain and shock was so great. I
actually did not know how to eat or live for 3 years.
Since I could not move on in life, I actually sought for any kind of counsel or help. God must have been kind to me because I had the opportunity to attend the Grief Support Group conducted by Edmund and Pauline. They and their core team had always been so sensitive and comforting to me. You know, just sharing their sincere concern to me is not something we easily find anywhere.
The Grief Support Group was very important in helping me move on. I met new friends who were also in grief and along with them, we learned how to live again. I had to deal with a lot of my bitterness from the past. I got answers to many of my questions. I had blamed myself on my daughter's death and I was in extreme depression. I had even gone for psychological therapy and medication but this had not helped me the way Support Group did.
The Group’s core team was always there for me, always checking on my
well-being. They were with me in my most difficult times. I regained
the strength to live from them. I could call them whenever I need to
share my pain. I also had one-to-one counselling with Pauline and
Edmund. They invited me to dinners, parties and seminars to cheer me
up and educate me on the grieving process.
Today I am in America because my brother asked me to try out living
there. Even though it is not easy, I have managed to get along
pretty well in the US. My appreciation and thanks to all who are
involved in the Grief Support Group.
Janice G.