MyStory

I can still remember my great-grandmother:

She woke up before daylight

and worked till late at night.

She struggled through life

to be a virtuous and faithful wife!

She loved little children

and was missed and remembered

by numerous descendants!

My great-grandfather passed away at an early age in China.  He was beaten to death by a group of gangsters. He left behind a faithful wife and three young daughters. After my great-grandfather’s death, my great-grandmother decided to come to Nanyang (Singapore) to start a new life. When her neighbours knew about it, they started to gossip. One of them said, “I believe she is going to Singapore to look for another man. She does not have any son.” My great–grandmother overheard them gossiping and she was very upset. In those days, it was considered bad for a woman to marry again so she decided to strive to be a faithful wife.

When she reached Singapore, she had nowhere to go so she sought help at a Buddhist nunnery. She worked very hard as a cook and by weaving baskets to sell. Later, she built an *attap house in a kampung near Serangoon Gardens. She was very resourceful. Clay was used to make a smooth and hard floor. She used wood which she got from the nearby rubber plantations to make some stools, benches and tables. The leaves of coconut leaves were used to make brooms.

The years passed by. My grandmother got married and my great-grandmother was a great help. She helped my grandparents to look after nine children while they went out to work. She also helped to grow fruit trees and vegetables on the vegetable patch so that there would be sufficient food.

Then, in 1942, the Japanese invaded Singapore. The three years and eight months of Japanese Occupation had brought great suffering to the people.  My great-grandmother found some old and dirty clothes and they disguised as old, ugly and undesirable women so that the Japanese soldiers would not pay much attention to them as they were not interested in “old women.”