{"id":4939,"date":"2017-03-02T07:38:25","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T07:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/the-teacher-behind-adiwiraku-the-woman-who-empowered-her\/"},"modified":"2017-03-02T07:38:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T07:38:25","slug":"the-teacher-behind-adiwiraku-the-woman-who-empowered-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/the-teacher-behind-adiwiraku-the-woman-who-empowered-her\/","title":{"rendered":"The teacher behind Adiwiraku & the woman who empowered her"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honour of International Women\u2019s Day, we caught up with Cheryl Ann Fernando, one of the teachers behind the true story that inspired the film\u00a0Adiwiraku<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Cheryl<\/p>\n

1. Tell us about an important woman in your life, and how she\u2019s empowered you to be who you are today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My mother. She completed her degree when she was 55 years old! She\u2019s now working towards her master\u2019s in early childhood education.<\/p>\n

When my siblings and I were growing up, she placed a lot of emphasis on reading, writing and speaking confidently in public. Together with my father, they spent a lot of time and money buying us new books, and preparing us for storytelling competitions. Growing up, my mum allowed me to speak my mind, and be the person I wanted to be. Even if it meant making wrong decisions, she allowed me to grow and learn myself. She never stood in the way of my choices and very often, she supported and provided me with the confidence I needed to do what I had to do. For this reason, today, I can proudly say that I am who I am because I was empowered by my mother.<\/p>\n

\"CherylCheryl left her career in public relations and joined the\u00a0Teach For Malaysia<\/a>\u00a0Fellowship in 2013. She taught English at a high-need school in Sungai Petani, Kedah.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. #Adiwiraku has been an incredible journey. Why did you feel it was important to share this story with the world? What do you want people to take away from the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am fortunate to have my story selected and brought to life through Adiwiraku. Initially, I wrote columns for The Malaysian Insider because I felt it was important for people to know what goes on in a typical Malaysian classroom. My columns talked about students, teachers and the community at large, and how we can all work together to create a better Malaysia for our future generations.<\/p>\n