🔗 Share this article

Back in 2006, I traveled to the Australian capital for a medical school interview. I assumed to book lodging after getting there, however when I arrived, a big convention was happening and every single budget hostels and cheap hotels were completely sold out.

Hailing from Singapore, the idea crossed my mind perhaps I could spend the night at the terminal – but soon learned the local airport, in contrast to Changi Airport, closes around the clock. Unsure of what my next move should be and feeling increasingly desperate, I boarded public transport and found myself drifting in the direction of a gaming venue, thinking I might spend those hours in an establishment that stayed open through the night. This was not ideal in the ideal condition for acing a crucial interview the next day, but as a cash-strapped student, I couldn’t afford.

We could all use more people like that woman.

It seems I seemed lost because a young woman saw me wandering around the city center and wondered if I was OK. I recounted my situation and without hesitation she suggested I was welcome to sleep on a spare mattress at her university residence at the local university – a perfect solution, given that my my interview was the following day. Generously, she also provided some food: one filled rolls she had from her evening job. This gave me the bathroom and a protected spot and safe to sleep.

With hindsight, it’s clear to me the significant risk she undertook being a woman allowing a male stranger she’d just met sleep on her floor. Back then I existed within a bubble of male privilege and did not consider to the potential danger. As a dad now, I am astonished she offered that help – and remain incredibly thankful.

I didn’t end up study at that university, and I didn’t meet her again, but her act remains etched in my mind her amazing act of human compassion. It is my wish karma has returned her good deed tenfold. Our society requires more individuals with such compassion.