Trading suits for smiles

Text: Foo Jie Ying

Gabriel Teo had it all worked out. He would read accountancy at Nanyang Technological Institute, NTU’s predecessor, then join a big accounting firm.

“I was very ambitious. My life goal then was to be the youngest ever partner in an accounting firm in the shortest time ever,” says the 58-year-old with a chuckle.

Everything went according to plan. The former Asean scholar carved out a career as a tax manager. Outside of work, he had an active social life.

Yet a “feeling of not enough” persisted. “I still remember the year I got a promotion. It felt like any other ordinary day,” he says.

In 1995, after five years in the corporate world, Gabriel packed up, withdrew all his savings, and bought a one-way ticket to Kenya, Africa.

He had first witnessed the challenges faced by the locals, from water scarcity to public health during a graduation trip, and wanted to see how he could help the people there lead a better life.

That was how the accountancy graduate became a full-time social worker. In 2005, Gabriel started the Tana River Life Foundation (TRLF), named after the province off the eastern coast of Kenya.

The non-profit organisation builds schools, offers scholarships, and works to improve the lives of people in remote areas of the country. His efforts in setting up TRLF earned him the Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award at the Nanyang Alumni Awards 2023.

Gabriel's wishes to instill a sense of integrity, gratitude, compassion, and heart in these young people, and empower them to create opportunities for more children in the future.

The first few years in Kenya were tough. “I had a lot of ego to work on. Mine was about what people would say about my decision, and whether they could see that I was really doing something good out here,” he says.

Then, there was the language barrier – he didn’t know a single word of Swahili.

“I constantly asked myself, ‘Are you crazy?’ I was fighting against myself a lot,” he concedes. “That first year broke me and brought me down to zero. But from there, it became much easier.”

Gabriel moved in with the local community to understand their way of life and how best to help them while being mindful of their culture and social norms. Within a year, he picked up Swahili.

A decision to sponsor a 13-year-old boy’s studies led him to dig deeper into the needs and challenges of the local education system.

One thing led to another. Soon, Gabriel was supplying textbooks, stationery, and even school furniture.

This wiped out his savings of S$20,000, and later, another five-figure sum from his savings in the Central Provident Fund account. With no funds left, Gabriel thought that was it and returned to his parents’ home in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Serendipity stepped in. At a reunion with fellow A sean scholars, he received a donation from his former hostel roommate’s wife to keep TRLF going. A string of donations later followed from his friends and friends of friends.

“I ran out of excuses to give up and come home to Malaysia permanently,” he jokes.

Today, TRLF works with Kenya’s Ministry of Education in several initiatives. The Delta Mustard Seed Academy, set up by TRLF, runs pre-primary and primary education, with a strong emphasis on character development. TRLF also sponsors over 60 secondary school students, teaching them practical life skills. Before sponsoring a student at the tertiary level, students must volunteer with TRLF for two years, acquiring soft skills along the way.

He says: “My vision is for these young people, who will be successful in the future, to have a sense of integrity, gratitude, compassion, and heart. These are the people who can create opportunities for more children in the future.”

The organisation relies on donations to keep the programmes running. Gabriel makes annual trips to Malaysia and Singapore to meet donors.

“Being trained in accountancy made me meticulous and helped me develop a keen eye for numbers. Some accounting knowledge is very helpful when we are putting numbers together for reports on the programmes we are running.”

The salary he draws now – about S$200 a month – may be a far cry from his days in the corporate world, but Gabriel’s life is richer than ever. “There is nothing to shop for here, no restaurants to dine at,” he quips. “I have enough.”

 

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• Shining light on a chequered path
• A flair for fixing problems
• A global citizen
• Making masterpieces from moments

 

This article first appeared in issue 4 of U, the NTU alumni magazine.