A Lifelong Family Legacy Inspired by S$300

When Mrs Lim Weng Sam’s husband passed away in July 2023, there were two doctors who turned up at the wake. They were not family members or friends, but beneficiaries of a scholarship that Mrs Lim, 73, set up in 2009, which fully paid for their medical education.

Besides the Gan Guat Ching Medical Scholarship (named using her maiden name), Mrs Lim established two other funds at the National University of Singapore (NUS) — the Gan Eng Teck and Maria Tan Ah Ho Bursary (named after her parents) in 2008, and the Mr and Mrs Lim Weng Sam Medical Scholarship, which was set up more recently in 2023. Mrs Lim’s kindness has benefitted over 150 students and her kindness will continue to live on with her legacy gift to NUS.

IMPACT OF A S$300 GIFT

The retired public servant and teacher’s motivation to give stems from her parents, who were extremely generous people. But there was also a gift that she never forgot. Mrs Lim was fresh out of St Anthony’s Convent, and her father’s business was not doing well at the time. As a consequence, her parents told her that they could not afford to send her to university. 

Hearing of her plight, Father Domingos Lam from St Joseph’s Church, whom she was acquainted with, gave her S$300. When the funds from a PSC Merit Bursary she applied for came in later and she tried to return the gift to Father Lam, he declined. “He moved my heart and I never forgot his kindness,” she said. “I want to return to society the blessings I received.”

Her husband, whom Mrs Lim called “a man of few words with a heart of gold” was also very generous. He, too, chose to leave a legacy via a scholarship.

SUPPORTING FUTURE DOCTORS

On why she chose to give to NUS, Mrs Lim, who graduated from the then-University of Singapore with an Economics degree with Honours, explained, “NUS is a very credible institution of higher learning and has a good global ranking and reputation.”

As to why her legacy gift is for medical education, Mrs Lim felt that medical scholarships were few and far between. “I wanted to give children from poor families who are capable of becoming doctors a chance to study medicine in a university,” she explained. “That has been my goal and I have been able to fulfil that.”

One of her greatest joys is sharing some personal values with the recipients. “I tell them: ‘I don’t want to subject you to a bond’,” she said. “However, do study hard, get a degree and be committed to your job. Also, remember to look after your parents because they brought you up.”

Clearly, paying forward the blessings she has received is Mrs Lim’s inspiration in her lifelong journey of giving. Knowing that education can be a life-changing experience, she believes that by making a gift to the University, it is “a good avenue to lift people out of the vicious cycle of poverty and that you can help generations of students long after you are gone”.

In light of Mr Lim’s recent passing, Mrs Lim’s words are a clarion reminder that generosity is not just a one-time gift, but a legacy with the power to echo through generations.