ITE student walks lost elderly man home at night, wins praise: 'Thank you for bringing humanity back'

Lost in Jurong East for hours with no way to contact his family, an elderly man was at last helped home by an Institute of Technical Education (ITE) student who noticed his plight.

Naira Maisara Abdullah was lauded for her actions in a Facebook post published by the educational institution on Thursday (Oct 22).

According to the post, Naira had noticed the 77-year-old senior requesting help at the bicycle parking area near the mall JEM at 8pm on an unknown date.

The student then explained the directions to the elderly man, but he appeared uncertain.

So even though Naira had intended to cycle home, she decided to accompany the man to his address, revealed ITE.

"She felt bad leaving him alone and thought about how she would feel if her own parents or grandparents were in the same situation," the post wrote.

The duo walked for about 30 minutes to the address listed on the senior's NRIC.

Meanwhile, the man reportedly shared with Naira that he had been in the area to renew his passport, and had no phone to contact his family.

As it turns out, his family had been searching for him throughout the afternoon.

Following the reunion, the man's family submitted a commendation for Naira to ITE.

She said: "The elderly man told me he was proud of my parents for raising me to be helpful, and he was grateful I was there to help him. I felt really appreciated and touched by his words."

Netizens joined in on the applause, many praising Naira for ensuring the senior's safe return home.

"Keep up! You were a brave girl who took extra steps to send the uncle back to where he was residing," a Facebook user said, while urging her to be mindful of safety.

"Your family raised a fine lady with a good and compassionate heart. It will be good to also alert the police so that they can also help," another opined.

A netizen also added:"These are the youths we should recognise and commend! Thank you for bringing humanity back to where it should be Naira!"

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

一位老人在裕廊东迷路数小时，无法联系家人，最终被一名工艺教育学院 (ITE) 的学生发现并帮助回家。

周四（10 月 22 日），该教育机构在 Facebook 上发布帖子，表扬了 Naira Maisara Abdullah 的行为。

根据帖子内容，奈拉在某个未知日期的晚上 8 点，在 JEM 购物中心附近的自行车停车场注意到这位 77 岁的老人正在寻求帮助。

然后，学生向老人解释了路线，但老人似乎不太确定。

据 ITE 透露，尽管奈拉原本打算骑自行车回家，但她还是决定陪同这名男子前往他的住处。

帖子中写道：“她觉得把他一个人留下很不好意思，并想到如果自己的父母或祖父母处于同样的境地，她会作何感想。”

两人步行约 30 分钟到达老人身份证上登记的地址。

与此同时，据报道，该男子告诉奈拉，他来这里是为了更新护照，而且没有手机可以联系家人。

原来，他的家人整个下午都在寻找他。

重聚之后，该男子的家人向ITE提交了一份对Naira的表扬信。

她说：“那位老人告诉我，他为我的父母感到骄傲，因为我把我培养成了一个乐于助人的人，他也感谢我能帮助他。他的话让我感到非常感激和感动。”

网友们纷纷鼓掌，许多人称赞奈拉确保了老人安全回家。

“加油！你是个勇敢的女孩，采取了额外的措施将叔叔送回了他居住的地方，”一位 Facebook 用户说道，同时敦促她注意安全。

“你的家人培养了一位心地善良、富有同情心的优秀女性。最好也通知警方，让他们也能提供帮助。”另一位网友评论道。

一位网友也补充道：“这才是我们应该认可和表扬的年轻人！感谢奈拉让人类回归正轨！”

lim.kewei@asiaone.com