by Eric Lim
I was reading a local daily when I was attracted by something at the corner of my eye – “Want to be a Museum Volunteer”. It was December 2016 and I was recently made redundant in the workforce and the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” may not ring true this time. I may have reached the end of the lawn.
Then drawing inspiration from the late John F. Kennedy who once said “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”, it was time for my humble self to make a little contribution to my beloved country by becoming a Museum Volunteer. A total of 30 newbies registered for the training programme that was conducted from February to June of 2017. Right after, to continue the learning development, we were put through the mentorship programme. Another few more months went by and l finally completed the programme in November 2017.
I can still remember vividly that at the end of my last tour with my mentor, I said “With that, I have come to the end of the tour” and my mentor immediately replied “ With that, you have completed the mentorship programme”. Yes, I have completed the full programme and now eagerly looking forward to taking my first tour.
The day of reckoning came soon enough, it was on Tuesday 19 December 2017. I had arrived early and managed to assemble a small group of visitors for the tour. And at exactly 10.00 am, I started my maiden tour. In keeping with the time limit, I had brought the group to the end of Gallery D and it was time for my signature line “With that, it’s the end of the tour”. I was very satisfied with the result and truly happy seeing the smiling faces as they head toward the exit. I took another three tours the very same month to wrap up for the year 2017.
For 2018, I had planned to take in more tours to coincide with my motto in life. When the Portuguese captured Melaka, it can be summed up in 3G – Glory, Gold and God. For me, it is 3D – Determination, Dedication and Discipline, plus the expression “the harder you practice, the luckier you get”.
The group showed up unexpectedly and requested for guides. Since no tourists showed up, Josianne together with Eric helped to guide this group. The actual group was more than 40, but we only took on 25.
So the numbers just added up. I recall taking the morning and afternoon tours on a Thursday; and numerous occasions where I took tours on consecutive days. For the record, I took a total of 55 tours in 2018. And for that, I was recently awarded by JMM for my outstanding service as a Museum Volunteer. Also, getting compliments from the TripAdvisor website really made it all worthwhile and special.
Moving forward to 2019, the figures for the first quarter are still very much intact, averaging one tour per week. Here’s looking forward to my next tour tomorrow, wanna join my tour?
Museum Volunteers, JMM 