Priceless

I delivered some gardening kits to a playschool in the city this morning. Standing at the school gate amongst happy kids of all nationalities brought back memories of the days when I sent my kids to playschool. How I miss the chatter and cheekiness of the little ones!

The teachers gathered around excitedly when they saw me. I have a soft spot for this school even though the order is a small one. Unlike the other schools, the teachers here are paying out of their own pockets to give the kids a fun experience in growing vegetables. How noble is that?

They showed genuine interest and listened attentively when I was dishing out some practical advice on vegetable growing. As I witnessed groups of little kids entering the school gate with big smiley faces, I knew I would be happy to send my little ones there if I had any.

It makes me proud that I've gone into a business that will enrich the lives of children in some way. Not in a big way, but at least I hope it encourages them to respect and appreciate mother nature.

When it comes to business, I've always maintained a policy that it mustn't involve keeping livestock (like rearing, breeding or trading of live animals in case they die under my care), killing of animals for food or anything that endangers the lives of animals or people, regardless of how profitable it is.

There are many other avenues to make money. If you can find one that helps to enrich the life of people, the reward is priceless. Like seeing the joy on a kid's face.