Welcome Desmond Ang, Manager

It is with much pleasure and privilege that I share a bit about myself. I know that I would never be able to be another Sr Margaret Mary but having known her for a month now I would certainly say that I would like to be much like her sharing the values and mission of the work of Compassion Centre.

I was born in Singapore in the year 1965 which was a good year I believe. My parents were fairly staunch Buddhists but I remember vividly that my paternal grandfather was the epitome of Buddhism as he not only taught us the precepts of Buddhism but he really lived the teachings of Buddha fervently. He was always patient with everyone and lived a life of compassion which was the basic philosophy of his life. Grandfather also believed that all religions were good and should be respected. As such, he had no qualms about sending my dad to a Catholic school run-by the Irish Christian Brothers who were of the De La Salle Order. I followed in his footsteps when it was my turn to be sent to school and I remained with the Christian Brothers from primary school right up to college.

I must say that I was thoroughly moved by the Catholic ethos that was present in the school but what impressed me most was one of the religious brothers whose name I will always remember, Bro. Vincent. He taught us religion and although I was not a baptised catholic at that time, I asked to remain in his classes together with my other catholic classmates.

When I was fifteen years old, I decided to get baptised as a Catholic. I guess I must have found a relationship with God which made me happy. It was not a difficult decision to make as I knew that my family would not be deeply against it. Dad knew that Christianity was good and that he thought highly of the Irish brothers. Grandfather (God rest his soul) passed away peacefully on Vesak Day (the day in which Buddha attained enlightenment) that same year when I decided to get baptised.

I grew up very quickly and started off as a primary school teacher and turned to social work after discovering that my heart was always with the marginalised in society. Some of the areas of social work which I had worked are:

Working with elderly people within the community
Providing counselling services in a family service centre
Working with the Deaf Association
Supporting people with mental health issues

I moved to New Zealand in 2005 after becoming a member of a lay movement which was part of the reason why I came to be in New Zealand. I remember my first time when we had a meeting at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay. I came across the grave of Mother Suzanne Aubert and said a short prayer of special intention about getting suitable employment in Wellington.

Within the couple of years here in Wellington, I got to meet with some of the sisters of compassion and when the opportunity came for this position at Compassion Centre I was probably moved by the Spirit to apply for it. I was told later that some of the sisters were also praying for a suitable person to fill the position and they actually prayed for me too.

I am slowly but surely learning more about the values and work of Compassion Centre and look forward to be of service to the people that I will be working with.

Desmond Ang