A friend in need

GLENN Lim spiralled downwards
from rebellious youth to drug user. It did not look like he was about to stop,
until he was busted by the police for drug trafficking.

The day in court
12 years ago – faced with likely life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane
for trafficking – proved to be a turning point.

Fast foward to November
last year. Lim, now 36, is awarded the Asean Youth Award. Nominees for the
award, from the 10 Asean countries, are chosen for their regional contributions,
leadership skills and length of voluntary service.

In February, Lim’s
book, titled Wake Up Call, became available in Singapore bookstores. It details
his journey from delinquent to a man with a mission. It was officially launched
last November by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development,
Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information, Communications and the
Arts, Singapore.

Lim said: “I never thought I’d come this far. When I
accepted that I am meant to use my experience to transform others, I found my
life purpose.”

On the day he was charged with trafficking, counsellors
from Teen Challenge vouched for his good character. He had been sent to the
youth organisation, which counsels young offenders, while on bail.


Turning over a new leaf: Busted for drug trafficking, Glenn Lim
turned his life around and now helps troubled youths.
His father, a
photographer, and his mother, a teacher, got him a lawyer. Lim, then 24, managed
to get off with a six-month jail term.

His first encounter with Teen
Challenge was when he was 16, after his parents reported he was beyond parental
control.

But he came to appreciate its staff’s dedication only as he
stood before the court on that fateful day.

After his release from jail,
Lim joined the staff at Teen Challenge.

He is still with the
organisation as its anti-drug ambassador and adviser.

He said: “Youths
express themselves differently these days but their issues of self-doubt and why
they stray remain the same.”

He delved quietly into his own past – how
he strayed even after his first stint at the Teen Challenge hostel. After
national service, he had left home to become a full-time musician.

“During that time, I was sucked into a hedonistic world of music and
drugs,” he recalled.

On his trips to Malaysia for his music gigs, he
began trafficking drugs to make extra money until he got busted.

“That
was my wake-up call. I asked myself why I had to come to this point when there
were people who cared for me, like my parents.”

In jail, he wrote to his
former girlfriend, Suelynn, a staunch Christian. “My greatest setback was losing
the trust of my loved ones, strangers and even in myself.”

Even after he
became a social worker, there were times he felt “condemned” – like when he had
to take a urine test at the Causeway checkpoint, holding back a busload of
fellow church members who were going for a camp in Malaysia.

But he
stayed on course, and regained Suelynn’s love, marrying her in 2000. Lim, now a
full-time youth pastor at the Church of Our Saviour, is also the founder of
Awakening Productions, a youth outreach events organisation.

Said
executive director of Teen Challenge, Reverend Sam Kuna, 51: “When I met Glenn
20 years ago, he was a nasty, obnoxious, confused boy. He has come a very long
way.”

Lim was appointed Youth Rehabilitation Ambassador for the Yellow
Ribbon Project in 2005, and has spoken to thousands – in more than 60 schools
and 40 churches.

Said Lim: “I am here today because someone believed in
me, invested time and trust in me before I got my act together.” – The Straits
Times Singapore/Asian News Network

credits

He produced a book called "Wake up call", writing about his life and a movie as well, "green grass", an interesting video that compresses the vital 20 years of his life into a 20 minute movie.

Chapter 1 of the book can be found here.

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Have a fantastic day!