James Horsley looks remarkably sprightly and mentally alert despite bring an octogenarian. The Sydney resident and retired salesman is friendly, genial and is extremely talkative throughout the interview until he tells of the time when he was engaged to be married in his early-20s.
Suddenly, Horsley's eyes well up and the sudden flood of memories prove too much for him as he breaks down in tears. He explains that his fiance drowned before they married and he has never been married since and hence has no children of his own. A twist of fate though, made sure Horsley did find someone who he would treat as his own son much later on.
"I was visiting Laos about five years ago and met this young waiter at a restaurant I was dining in," said Horsley pointing affectionately towards Inthavong Angmatsa (or 'Air' as he is fondly known) who was seated next to him. "He very kindly offered to give me a ride back to my hotel after the meal and to also show me around town. I offered to pay him for his troubles but he took offence to that and said he merely wanted to do something for me and not for any financial reward."
"That got me thinking as I had seen much poverty in Laos and I wanted to give something back but I couldn't help everyone. I found out that Air was working to put himself through college. So I approached him with the idea that I sponsor his studies which he refused. But after some coaxing and explaining that I was very happy to do this for him, Air was somewhat overwhelmed but accepted my offer," smiles Horsley.
First stop was an English course in at a local college in Air's hometown of Phnom Penh. Horsley kept close watch from his home in Sydney and after a few months was dejected to find that Air's rudimentary English had not improved one iota. It was then Horsley came across Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) website and was impressed to see a wide array of programmes offered and more importantly, the syllabus was taught in English.
Horsley decided to enroll Air in the Business School but it did not work out well initially. "I still found it very difficult to cope with the English language and I failed my exams," said Air who was clearly choking back the tears at the memory of letting his benefactor down. "The Nilai UC counselors were extremely supportive and told me to switch to the Hotel Management diploma programme."
The move paid dividends as Air was already familiar with many of the modules and practical aspects of the programme having worked in the F'n'B industry prior to joining Nilai UC. This gave him an opportunity to concentrate on brushing up his language skills and much to the delight of father figure Horsley; Air now speaks immaculate English. Air said he was so pleased to have made his benefactor proud by succeeding in the programme and thanked the counselors for having the foresight to get him to change programmes and for the patience of the Nilai UC lecturers in guiding him. "They saw that I had many of the basic skills required so they got me to focus on the brushing up my English. The fact that Nilai UC's Hotel Management programme has quite a number of international students meant that I did not feel too out of place and it has also prepared me for working in a pressure cooker environment," said Air.
But the story does not end here. Horsley has really taken the young Laotian as the family he never had and now plans to take him back to Australia. "I am trying to get Air a job in one of the major city hotels and he will be staying with me. I have written Air into my will and he can stay at my house for as long as he needs," said Horsley revealing his long term plans for his protégé. As they posed for a picture on Nilai UC's campus, you could feel the bond between the two. For Horsley, it was a chance to give help someone make a better life for himself and to have a father-son relationship that fate had so cruelly denied him earlier in life. For Air, he still seems to be in daze over the fact that someone could be so generous as Horsley and how this Samaritan has utterly changed his life. "Now, all I need is to find him a nice Aussie girl to get married to," laughed Horsley mischievously, sounding every bit the typical parent.
James Horsley looks remarkably sprightly and mentally alert despite bring an octogenarian. The Sydney resident and retired salesman is friendly, genial and is extremely talkative throughout the interview until he tells of the time when he was engaged to be married in his early-20s.
Suddenly, Horsley's eyes well up and the sudden flood of memories prove too much for him as he breaks down in tears. He explains that his fiance drowned before they married and he has never been married since and hence has no children of his own.
A twist of fate though, made sure Horsley did find someone who he would treat as his own son much later on. "I was visiting Laos about five years ago and met this young waiter at a restaurant I was dining in," said Horsley pointing affectionately towards Inthavong Angmatsa (or 'Air' as he is fondly known) who was seated next to him. "He very kindly offered to give me a ride back to my hotel after the meal and to also show me around town. I offered to pay him for his troubles but he took offence to that and said he merely wanted to do something for me and not for any financial reward."
"That got me thinking as I had seen much poverty in Laos and I wanted to give something back but I couldn't help everyone. I found out that Air was working to put himself through college. So I approached him with the idea that I sponsor his studies which he refused. But after some coaxing and explaining that I was very happy to do this for him, Air was somewhat overwhelmed but accepted my offer," smiles Horsley.
First stop was an English course in at a local college in Air's hometown of Phnom Penh. Horsley kept close watch from his home in Sydney and after a few months was dejected to find that Air's rudimentary English had not improved one iota. It was then Horsley came across Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) website and was impressed to see a wide array of programmes offered and more importantly, the syllabus was taught in English.
Horsley decided to enroll Air in the Business School but it did not work out well initially. "I still found it very difficult to cope with the English language and I failed my exams," said Air who was clearly choking back the tears at the memory of letting his benefactor down. "The Nilai UC counselors were extremely supportive and told me to switch to the Hotel Management diploma programme."
The move paid dividends as Air was already familiar with many of the modules and practical aspects of the programme having worked in the F'n'B industry prior to joining Nilai UC. This gave him an opportunity to concentrate on brushing up his language skills and much to the delight of father figure Horsley; Air now speaks immaculate English. Air said he was so pleased to have made his benefactor proud by succeeding in the programme and thanked the counselors for having the foresight to get him to change programmes and for the patience of the Nilai UC lecturers in guiding him. "They saw that I had many of the basic skills required so they got me to focus on the brushing up my English. The fact that Nilai UC's Hotel Management programme has quite a number of international students meant that I did not feel too out of place and it has also prepared me for working in a pressure cooker environment," said Air.
But the story does not end here. Horsley has really taken the young Laotian as the family he never had and now plans to take him back to Australia. "I am trying to get Air a job in one of the major city hotels and he will be staying with me. I have written Air into my will and he can stay at my house for as long as he needs," said Horsley revealing his long term plans for his protégé. As they posed for a picture on Nilai UC's campus, you could feel the bond between the two. For Horsley, it was a chance to give help someone make a better life for himself and to have a father-son relationship that fate had so cruelly denied him earlier in life. For Air, he still seems to be in daze over the fact that someone could be so generous as Horsley and how this Samaritan has utterly changed his life. "Now, all I need is to find him a nice Aussie girl to get married to," laughed Horsley mischievously, sounding every bit the typical parent.
