Rev Don Cheang This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Newsletter - Special Features

   www.sbaqi.com/newsletter_speci - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/2/2004   Last Visited: 1/8/2006

   Don Cheang
   ...
   DON CHEANG - Educator, Lawyer, Gentleman, Pastor, Friend to the Poor and Needy
   
   SBA is proud to acknowledge the important contributions of an outstanding Singaporean, Rev Don Cheang, in alleviating poverty and improving the lot of the underprivileged in the Queensland community.
   
   An Educated Man A successful Barrister in Singapore and Queensland, Don emigrated to Brisbane in 1989 because he had a love for Australians and wanted to minister to Australians at large. An Honours Law graduate from London's prestigious Inner Temple, where he studied under such luminaries as Lord Denning, Don was much loved wherever he went. He always had a heart for the poor and the underprivileged in Singapore and Queensland.
   
   A Babar Born of a Peranakan (Straits Born) family in Singapore, Don spent a few years working for Singapore Airlines before departing for England to pursue his Law Degree. He returned to Singapore in the mid-1980's, started his own law firm and later moved to Brisbane with his wife and two children. Don was a lawyer of substance. It is said that Don has never lost a case in his entire career as a Barrister. In Brisbane, Don was a Barrister at Barker Gosling before starting his own legal cost consulting business in the early 1990's.
   
   A Champion of the Poor and Needy However, his love for people went beyond law. He was constantly opening his house to street people and giving employment to the down and out in Brisbane. 1994 saw him starting a church in scenic Samford. He always wanted to be a country pastor. He also started a charitable organisation called "Just People" which saw him and a group of volunteers gathering fruits and vegetables every Saturday from farmers in the Laidley area and packing bread and pies which he will distribute to the poor and needy in Brisbane every weekend. He even procured a trailer and turned it into a soup kitchen so that the homeless would have something decent to eat on a cold night. It was quite common for Don to return home without a cent in his pocket because he has given all his money to the poor that day.
   
   His work brought food, comfort and respect to the poor and needy as far west as Wacol and as far north as Caboolture.
   
   An Overcomer Don contracted cancer of the stomach in the late 1990's and after a lengthy and painful battle he passed away in February 2001 in Perth, where his wife Amy, daughter Sarah and son Timothy now live. The pain from the cancer which eventually took over his liver would have been excruciating, yet Don never complained. He was always encouraging and generous to the end. It was said that he passed on with a smile on his face.
   
   The extent of Don's contribution was not apparent until his Memorial Service when mourner after mourner gave accounts of how they benefited from Don's selfless generosity.
   
   An Inspiration SBA would like to dedicate its Community Programme to Don Cheang for the inspiration he has given us in sharing himself and his blessings with the less fortunate. May we never forget that we can't really bring any of our possession with us when we meet our maker. So why not share and share abundantly. As Don always says, "We can't outlive God".