Recession Hero.

I still remember, he was like a bright spark on my gloomy days to work. When I first started work at the previous hospital I was working at, there he would be, faithfully, day after day with his guitar singing English songs of joy, hope and promise. The first time I heard him sing about God, I gave him a smile, to which he smiled back with a twinkle in his eye. Later, when he knew my name, he would interrupt his song with a “Have a good day, Wai Jia” over his microphone.

I was often rushing to work in the mornings. But whenever I could, I would smile at him. There was something beautiful in his voice, a languid musicality about it that bounced around the cold underground tunnel and brought life to those rushing past. He would sing of God, beautiful skies and his random musings. There was genuine passion and soulfulness  in his songs, tinted with the kind of depth only purified through what must have been hardship before. At least two or three times, he stopped me to give me his home-baked cupcakes, bread pudding or cookies. They were delightful. Over many months, we became friends and he attended Cliff’s and my wedding.

After I got transferred to a different hospital as part of my training, we hardly saw each other. But we exchanged emails and wrote regularly. He still sings at the train station, as long as his asthma doesn’t act up. Recently, he was proud to share with me a television programme he had been featured in called “Recession Heroes” on Channel  5. You may watch the inspiring video here.

Beautifully woven, it is a story of resilience of how through the financial crises, multiple asthma attacks, heart problems, several job changes, suicide contemplation and a divorce, he returned to his love for music which he discovered as a teen and decided to earn a living through busking and teaching guitar lessons on Saturdays.

“When I busk, I see the frail and the sick going to the hospital and I see the look of worry on their faces about whether they can pay the bills. If I can find a soul that is lost, my wish is to free that soul from distress by inspiring them with a song, to life their spirits and make their day…  Singing makes me happy and I hope it will bring joy to someone feeling low.”

I remember on those days I went to work with heaviness, his songs were like a salve to my broken spirit. Today, Cliff and I had lunch with Dennis as he needs some help to tide him through a rough time. A recent spate of events had set him back financially, forcing him into challenging circumstances.

Through listening to his life, we saw how though objectively and financially speaking, he was no where in a “heroic” state, his spirit and resilience was definitely heroically valiant. It is easy to judge, easy to point fingers, easy to turn a blind eye to those who ask for help, but when we see how clearly God calls us to give generously, and how we, too, are undeserved recipients of His priceless love, grace and mercy, then the call to action becomes crystal clear.

So when you next see a busker, or even a couple of them all lined up together, don’t turn a blind eye, rush past, or mark a tick next to your “conscience box” after dropping change into just one out of three buskers’ boxes. Stop to listen, savour his music, and send a verbal or written note  or nod of encouragement and appreciation to make his day. “Your music put a smile to my face.”

And if you’d like some guitar lessons from Dennis, please let us know.

 

“When I’m contented, I have everything.

The less material things you have, the more time you have for the more important things in life…

I don’t see busking as a job, I see it as something I enjoy and that gets me by through the day.

I get satisfaction from people who come up to tell me how lovely my song is.”

– Dennis Rozario,

Busker and Recession Hero

 

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not refuse the one who wants to borrow from you.”

–          Matthew 5:42

 

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.”

–          Deuteronomy 15:7-8

“And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’ “

–          Luke 3:11,

 

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”

–          Proverbs 19:17