PETALING JAYA: Growing up in a broken home and mixing with the wrong crowd could have sent Daniel Tan down a very different path than the one he took 24 years ago.
At the impressionable age of 14, Tan, who was born and raised in Teluk Intan, Perak, was already abandoned by two fathers.
His biological father ditched the family when Tan was just four months old, leaving his mother to provide for Tan and his two older siblings.
Working day and night at a salon, Tan’s mother had no choice but to leave him in the care of a nanny, while his siblings were taken care of by their grandmother.
His mother remarried when he was 12, but dreams of a lasting family were shattered when his stepfather abandoned the family as well less than two years later.
It was then that Tan got involved with gangsters, drinking and smoking when other teenagers his age were busy studying.
“That’s when people who cared for me saved my life. That is when I experienced hope and love,” he said, adding he met his mentors after going to a church in Teluk Intan with a relative.
“Of course people can find mentors everywhere. There are many people who are ready and willing to guide others, be it in mosques or temples or elsewhere. I just happened to meet mine in a church,” he said in an interview with FMT.
With guidance and love, Tan turned his life around, making up for lost time by studying while working odd jobs to help support his family.
Armed with a diploma in IT, he began working in Kuala Lumpur, while doing volunteer work where he could.
“Somehow, I kept feeling the need to volunteer and do more. Maybe, its because of my own childhood that I felt a strong need to reach out to youths who grew up in similar circumstances.”
It was this passion to help that gave birth to Generasi Gemilang, which Tan founded in 2010, with a handful of like-minded individuals.
Six years on, Generasi Gemilang has grown to become a foundation, powered by the time and energy of staff, volunteers, as well as the generosity of the public and corporate partners.
The foundation actively carries out a host of education programmes, primarily aimed at helping children and youth in underprivileged communities.
“Our goal is to give them love, hope and dignity. We want them to know that their destiny is in their hands, that even though they are born into difficult circumstances, there is a way out and we are there to support them.”