A group of nuns were sent to set up a missionary school in Asia. They could only travel by sea and it took them very long. 1 died at sea, 1 disappeared, and when the remaining 3 sisters reached Singapore, the priest thought they were too young and inexperienced so they were sent back to France.
Another group of nuns were sent back to Asia, worried at first because of the previous failed voyage, but later thankful for the opportunity. Mother Mathilde (who'd be leading the mission), Sister Apollinaire, Sister Gaeton and Sister Connolly came to Singapore. They met Father Beurel, a Lasalle-ian brother, hence the relation. Then they went to the Caldwell House (still there but modernised, in CHIJMES), a place Mr Casette, a businessman they met on the ship, bought for them. The place was small though. There was only a 2 sofa, a pot to cook, boil drinking water and wash things in, and there were no doors. Should they need to cover anything, they'd use umbrellas. A photo of the room is now being hung on the wall at the staircase in CHIJMES Caldwell House.
With these, they first took in 18 students and orphans. Do you know the Gate of Hope? It's really a gate. Babies would be abandoned outside that gate in the middle of the night and every morning, the sisters would go out to the gate and take in the babies. And there were many at that time because of the standard of living, quality of living and the superstitions families held about baby girls borned in the year of the tiger. And you know, schools fees were very little back then. Soon CHIJ Victoria Street grew bigger. Oh, I heard Mr David Marshall was once an IJ boy in that school too.
When the Givernment had development plans on the Victoria Street site, the sisters were given 3 options to relocate. 1 is where MGS is now, the other I can't remember and the last one was Toa Payoh. They chose Toa Payoh because they wanted to reach out and give education to the needy ones living in Toa Payoh at that time. CHIJ was also given a chance to go Independant but the sisters chose not to so that school fees would be affordable.
There's so much more history and interesting things that happened in the past, including during WWII, that I could say and want to tell. But my point is, CHIJ's 153goingtobe154 years of history is ruined, or pushed into the shadows.