Photos provided by Belinda Lee
a beautiful heart
B
elinda Lee is no
stranger to most of
us. She’s pretty, smart,
chatty, sincere, and
extremely gracious. She’s
also refreshingly down
to earth! Her candid and
compassionate nature, seen
in her hosting of “RenovAID”
Season 2 and 3, and “Find
Me a Singaporean” Season
1-3, have touched many
hearts. Earlier this year, she
took six months of no-pay
leave from MediaCorp to
go to Bible School, and
graduated in September.
We were delighted to meet
the vivacious star in person
during her study break, and
enjoyed a heart-warming
chat with her.
So, we hear you are back
in school! What has that
been like for you?
I tell you, the workload I’ve
handled these past few
months makes my shooting
schedule feel like a walk in
the park! (Laughs heartily.)
But I’m enjoying it very
much. Going to Bible School
is a whole new experience
for me – like entering
the Promised Land! It is
something I’m certain God
had intended for me, and I
am experiencing so much of
His blessing by being here.
In the Bible it says, “But
seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness, and all
these things will be given
to you as well.” (Matthew
6:33) The wonderful thing
about going back to school,
choosing to seek God and
His kingdom first, was
that shortly thereafter, He
blessed me with three Star
Awards (in April this year)!
Thank God. I still receive
work in filming but I have had
to say no to quite a number
of jobs.
That’s amazing! Before this
study break, you’ve been
involved in many hosting
gigs, from early days as an
MTV VJ to later works like
“RenovAID.” What is one
show that stands out for
you, and why?
“Find me a Singaporean”
(FMAS) brought my career
to a whole different level.
We are done with the third
season, and it has been an
incredible experience for
me. No one expected the
show to become what it
became, and many people
started recognizing who
I was. I must give God
the glory because it was
obviously His favor that
made the show a success.
You know, for years, I
asked God why I kept
getting hosting jobs when
I preferred to act. Now, I
understand. I sense God
telling me, “Bel, I want you to
be a mouthpiece for Me, to
be a voice for the voiceless,
poor, abandoned and
wounded.” Time and again,
when I was filming, God
gave me the words to say to
the people we were helping.
Perhaps that’s the reason
why I’ve received many
emails from people who felt
touched by the program.
I think the best part about
hosting a show like FMAS is
the chance to meet all these
ordinary people with such
extra-ordinary lives… lives
that inspire you in such a
great and powerful way. You
can’t help but want to be a
better person yourself.
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You must have had many
life-changing experiences in
your years as a host. Could
you share one with us?
On my first season of FMAS,
I had the chance to interview
Fang Fang, a beautiful
young Christian lady who
is a psychotherapist based
in China. Every two to three
days, she travels high up to
the mountains to visit her
patients. This is an extremely
dangerous journey, as she
has to literally zip-line (flyingfox) over a river from one
mountain to another, just
to get to her patients; one
tiny slip and it’s a plunge to
certain death!
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I have so much respect for
Fang Fang. She could have
had a very comfortable life
in Singapore and earned lots
of money, so why did she
choose to do this? All out of
one thing: Love for people.
We visited a guy, called
A-ji, who was locked up in
a wooden cage outside his
family’s house. His family was
very poor. He had been left
there, naked, for eight years,
rain or shine. The cage was
so low that he even couldn’t
stand up. He was twenty-six
when I met him.
The villagers believed that
he was mentally unsound,
but I think that he was
driven to insanity. A-ji was
born normal, but his mother
remarried when he was
young. His stepfather abused
him to the point that it drove
him crazy. How, I don’t
really know. When he was
eighteen years old, he burned
down his family’s home. The
villagers insisted he was
crazy and built this cage
around him.
It didn’t make any sense to
me when I heard that. At
eighteen years old, surely he
would have had the strength
to resist or to run away,
right? But Fang Fang told me
he didn’t resist at all. He actually sat down on that spot and
allowed them to build the cage around him because he had
lost all hope in life, believing that he was really crazy, that this
was his ‘fate’. When I heard that, oh my goodness, I burst
into tears, and I wept and wept like a baby. Then I called out
his name, “A-ji”, and you know, he looked at me and smiled.
Before I left, I told him
(A-ji,
you must remember me ok? I will come back to see you.)
Again, he looked at me and smiled. I went down to the village,
and bought him a pair of shoes, which we had promised him. I
also bought a similar pair for myself.
Miraculously, a few months after we featured him, he was
let out of his cage. Unfortunately, months later, he died of a
medical complication. Till this day, the shoes that I bought are
still with me. Every time I look at them, I remember him. He’s
so special in my eyes, and in God’s eyes.
We are so saddened by the story of A-ji too. Thanks for
sharing it with us. What are some things you have learnt
through your time with the poor?
We are no different in His eyes. The poor, they are God’s
children too. We are all someone’s son or daughter.
Whenever I have the chance to meet the poor and the
homeless, I just look at them as another human being who is
so, so loved by God.
You know, what gives us the
right to stand on a pedestal,
look down at these people
and say, “You deserve it.
You did nothing for yourself.”
Who are we to judge? Some
of them are desperate, and
they don’t know how to get
out of poverty. We’ve got to
help them.
It is more blessed to give than to receive. And Christmas is
the best time to give. Sometimes you don’t help because it’s
inconvenient, or you have no time. But you don’t really have
to go to an old folks home or orphanage to help. Just look
around you, engage and connect with people, and you’ll find
lots of needs out there you can help meet.
Give, in big or small ways - you can never out-give God. Little
things make a difference—one day and one life at a time. Give,
and you’ll find yourself receiving so much more. 
But sometimes, the poor are
not willing to be helped. They
have this poverty mindset—a
‘victim’ mindset. Even though
it can be very frustrating at
times, all the more then we
need more of God’s grace
and compassion to not give
up on these people.
Are you involved in any
humanitarian work on a
personal basis?
To be honest, my schedule
is really packed and I don’t
have a lot of time on hand
outside of work. I do what
I can in my own personal
time. Occasionally, I help
my friends to collect clothes
and toys for orphanages
overseas. In the pipeline
are plans to visit DaySpring
Residential Treatment Centre
for abused teenage girls.
I’ve been asked to share
some dance tips, based
on my dance background.
I also hope to share my
experiences as an artiste,
and hopefully it will inspire
these girls in some way.
Every year, on the first day
of the Lunar New Year, my
family will cater food, pack
ang pows (red packets
containing a money gift) and
go down to a particular old
folks home to bless them.
We have been doing this
ever since my grandparents
passed away.
What a lovely family
tradition! Bless you for
that. Before we end, is
there any message you’d
like to leave with our
readers?
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Read about Belinda’s personal journey
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