Today the director of Nongsa Resorts and Nongsa Digital Park pays it forward through her father-in-law Kris Wiluan's Citramas Foundation
Ginny Wiluan was familiar with bedtime stories even before she could read on her own.
Like most Asian parents, her parents—Chew Gian Moh, a doctor, and Christy Chew, who used to head a trust company—placed a lot of importance in their children’s education. But the way she tells it, they did not believe in rote learning.
“Before I learnt to read for myself, my mother diligently read to me every night,” she says. Aesop’s fables were a frequent bedtime pick. “Of these, one of our favourites was The Lion and the Mouse, which teaches the importance of kindness and how it does not matter if we are big or small, strong or weak; we can all offer help to those in need. Each night and tale would end with a lesson learnt.”
(Related: It’s Storytime: 8 Society Mums Share Their Favourite Bedtime Storybooks For Kids)
Similarly, her father “invented stories of adventure and valour, and enraptured us with myths and old wisdoms from Homer’s The Iliad and the Odyssey”, Ginny reminisces. “He would quiz us on the botanical names of plants that we passed in the park, give us the full anatomical terms for body parts with their associated medical conditions, and pepper our daily conversations with random brain‑teasers.” Before each family vacation, Ginny’s parents would also encourage her and her sisters to learn about the culture and history of the places they were about to visit.
By making learning fun and exciting, they helped to instill a deep love for learning in their children. “I believe my parents wanted to give me an appreciation of the world that was at a deeper level than that of a mere spectator, and ignite a personal desire within me to make it better.”
These are exactly the lessons that Ginny and her husband Richard Wiluan now strive to impart to their three children. “I hope they develop the same love for learning that is not confined to conventional academic spheres, but encompasses everything the world has to offer. If I can give them nothing else, I will give them a good education that will hopefully give them the intellectual and emotional depth to become the best versions of themselves.”
