Lance Corporal Anders Yew

"My journey in the Boys’ Brigade started in 2016 when I was enrolled in Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International). During the orientation program I was told that it was compulsory to join the Boys’ Brigade and I wasn’t glad that I had to spend my Saturday

mornings in school. I was then showed a promotion video of the Boys Brigade and I saw video clips of boys doing push ups and chills ran down my spine. I was decently good at sports but push ups was not what I had in mind. I thought to myself, “Will I survive this tough activity?” Not long after I was informed that I had to participate in the annual boot camp that the company organises. I was reluctant to participate and even requested a fake letter from my parents to excuse me from this camp. Despite my constant begging, my mother refused and encouraged me to try new things and in a blink of an eye, the orientation week has ended and I was in boot camp.

It was here that my best memories in the brigade were created and I found the reason I fell in love with BB. The camp was filled with activities and the most memorable one I had was the mystery night. My squad and I were having lots of fun and right at that moment I told myself: “I want to be part of this!”

Fast forward to the year 2017. Enrolment day came and I was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. The promotion gave me a really rewarding experience. For example, I learned that parade is no easy task as I thought it was something easy and can be done without much planning, but once I was given the opportunity to look into the logistics it takes to pull it off, it was an eye-opener.

The Boys’ Brigade taught me skills that I thought I will never learn, for example: first aid, fire and rescue, and camping. These activities were memorable and fascinating but nothing tops last year’s trip to Hong Kong! We went to Disneyland, hunted for desserts and the famous roast duck on the streets, not to mention the highlight of the trip: the annual Founder’s Day parade. We marched in front of brigadiers from all around the globe, representing our country, Malaysia. It had the most BB members I had ever seen in one place. We also had the chance to exchange our uniforms parts with members from other countries. I ended up going home shoeless because I traded my boots for an officer's shoulder sash! That was one crazy story to tell and I definitely recommend our Boys to experience this for themselves!

Not only were experiences created, many friendships were formed too! Lance Corporal Ethan Bin and I became best friends through the Boys’ Brigade. We met in boot camp and become friends till this day. Furthermore, I made a lot of new friends after my promotion such as Lance Corporal Chris Wong, and Lance Corporal Aaron Leong. Even more memories were created with different people and this is one of the reason I am still in the brigade as the possibilities are endless.

Joining the Boys’ Brigade was a life transforming experience and no words can describe how thankful I am to the brigade. It has been already a crazy journey and I’m only in my third year in the brigade. I have no regrets joining the Boys’ Brigade and I will treasure these memories forever.

Oh, and Happy 12th Anniversary 12th KL!"

-Lance Corporal Anders Yew, 2018

Sure and Stedfast

#12is12 #ourBoysstories