“The sewing machine was a wedding dowry given by my aunt. It has been with me for over 50 years. It has been very useful over the years. I sewed the kindergarten uniforms of my children and mended their primary school uniforms.”

I am 70 years old and lived in Whampoa for 40 over years. I moved here from Owen Road. I left school when I was 13 years old and started working since. I worked until 26 years old and got married. I have 3 children from my marriage. When my eldest daughter was 5 years old, my husband passed away. I was 38 years old at that time. My husband and his relatives used to own a provision shop. I stayed there with my children and looked after the shop. After it closed, I worked elsewhere and brought up my 3 children. My son and eldest daughter are married. My youngest daughter is single and living on her own. I spent my time looking after my eldest grandson when he was born. Now he’s studying overseas. I like living in Whampoa. It is convenient. I also travelled to Bukit Batok to visit my younger brothers. Or to Potong Pasir to visit my cousin. I also take part in the community centre’s activities and was in the morning exercise group before it stopped because of the virus in March. The sewing machine was a wedding dowry given by my aunt. It has been with me for over 50 years. It has been very useful over the years. I sewed the kindergarten uniforms of my children and mended their primary school uniforms. The machine has not broken down so far. Sometimes I would make simple repairs here and there. I clean the house and 5 table fans on my own. I don’t ask my daughters. I’d like to continue using the sewing machine until I’m no longer around. I’m not sure how my children will deal with it. They don’t know how to use it. They asked me to sell the sewing machine. They said it’s too big and takes up space in the flat but I wanted to keep it.