Jacinta Ong has been a small business owner running Tea Ideas for the last 6 years, but this didn’t stop her from dreaming bigger than many corporations. More than half of her employees are senior mature workers, and she has set her sights on hiring employees with special needs in the future. But let’s learn…
Author: jules
The Girl Who Lost Her Mother
I don’t remember my mother much. She died when I was just 3 years old. I was left behind with a 6-month-old sister. Our dad didn’t want us. When my mum was pregnant with a second child, my dad hit her until she miscarried. But then he made her pregnant again with my younger sister,…
This Job Pays You To Drink Wine With People
Kishok, 22, is one of many F&B staff working in Holland Village. But what sets him apart from the rest is that he doesn’t have to wait on customers. His job title is Service Ambassador, which is basically to host customers and make them feel at home at The Nook, the bistro he works for….
Why A Mother Spends 15 Hours To Travel & Work in Singapore
I’ve been in Singapore’s F&B industry for 15 years, progressing from a waitress to a manager today. 6 days a week, I wake up at 8am, but only reach home at 12 midnight. I hardly get to put my son to sleep, and I worry about him when I’m not close by. This is because…
The Girl Who Loved To Bake
My name is Gitu. It was my childhood dream to be a professional chef. But I didn’t start out knowing that I wanted to become one. I’m the youngest of three girls. My two sisters are 8 and 6 years older than me. When I was a young girl, they were already teenagers and had…
Who Made The Trump-Kim Summit Possible (Besides The Politicians Obviously)?
So much exposure has been given to Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un for their historic Trump-Kim summit in Singapore. The Trump-Kim summit was announced only on 10th May 2018, and materialised just over a month later How did Singapore pull off the Trump-Kim summit in a month? Whether or not Singaporeans agree that we should…
The Day I Took Cash From A MiniMart (Legally!)
One day, I walked into a minimart and took $30 cash from the cashier. I didn’t need to threaten, steal surreptitiously or swindle. I didn’t have to point a gun or a knife, but my mobile phone. And the cashier even asked me for help on how to take the money from him. Welcome to…
Five Problems With CareShield Life
When CareShield Life burst onto the news on what was supposed to be a quiet Sunday, it created quite a bit of a stir. Did you think “WLE another sudden announcement by gahmen, spoil my Sunday night, super no mood liao”? Having had a few days to sit and think about CareShield Life, before deciding…
Private Hire Driver Shows Us The Difference One Man Can Make
How often do we wonder: what difference can one person make? I was impressed by the readiness of Mr Peter Tung at making an effort to be ready to help others, after reading an article about him in The New Paper. This man not only learnt first-aid, but is also a first-aid instructor. He also…
How Singapore Society Punishes Families of Inmates and Ex-Offenders
In 2016, there were 11,229 local inmates held in prisons, penal institutions or correctional institutions in Singapore according to data.gov.sg. A Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy report showed that of the 9,502 total convicted penal population in 2016, 6,666 (or 70%) were convicted for drug-related offences. When an inmate isn’t the only one punished…