In our very first episode of A Singapore Story, we find out from non-profit ‘Hey, You Got Mail!’ why it was important for them to send personalised, handwritten letters to the elderly in Singapore’s nursing homes.
People of Legends | “I think that if you can face a stranger head on, take punches and be able to hug it out after that, everything else you do on a daily basis is going to be so much easier.”
Inspiring Creatives of Workbuddy | “In these past two years, I’ve had days where I genuinely thought ‘this is the end’. But what I’ve learnt is that being an entrepreneur requires persistence, resilience and never giving up. You learn to cope. You have to.”
“Art tells people who we are, and represents what’s important to us. It is a visual language that cuts across cultures and languages.”
“A Greek god? Lol! I wasn’t born like this. I was a very skinny guy. When I graduated from secondary school, I was about 50kg.”
Inspiring Creatives of Workbuddy | “I’m 40 this year and I’m pleased to tell people I’m 40 because at 33, I was diagnosed with cancer…”
People of Legends | “He made me realise I’m not the smartest after all; I’m not the strongest after all; and I’m not the most confident after all. People can beat me up when I’m alone in the ring. All that street fighting practice was nothing. This was real boxing.”
Nature parks have been a great escape for many of us in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, Arman Shah explores Woodlands Waterfront and captures a slice of life at the coastal park.
Inspiring Creatives of Workbuddy | “Starting a start-up is a long ride with a lot of ups and downs. It’s a grind. If you do this just to become rich, you will probably give up at some point. You need to be a maker and enjoy building new things.”
“And if he ever reads this story one day, I want him to know that he’s always loved. I want him to know that he’s lucky to have more than one family and that no matter what, he will always have a forever family in me.”
Inspiring Creatives of Workbuddy | “My vision when we started workbuddy was to tell people that you don’t have to work at the same location everyday.”
COVID-19 may have changed the way we live our lives, but as photographer Kurt Ganapathy finds out, it’s not dampened our festive spirits as Singapore celebrates Deepavali.
“We believe that nothing can recreate the feelings of warmth when one holds a personalised handwritten card. We want to share that warmth with the seniors…”
Like almost everything this year, National Day was different. But in a way, as Kurt Ganapathy found, the celebrations brought more Singaporeans together than ever before.
“So my dad is Korean-Japanese and my mom is Paraguayan. They met in Paraguay when my dad moved there for business. I grew up with two different cultures in Paraguay. At times I’d be talking to my dad in Korean and my mom in Spanish in a single conversation…”
“What keeps me going is the love for our community. It makes me happy when I’m able to help a person find halal versions of foods they love. At the end of the day, eating is an activity that brings people together. It seems so simple but it means so much to us…”
In part two of our coverage from the campaign trail, Kurt Ganapathy headed to Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok, Hougang, Jurong, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Sembawang, Sengkang and Toa Payoh.
People of Legends | “I’ve never told anybody this, but ever since I won my first tournament at 14, I would put my gold medal around my mother’s neck. I’m not sure why I do this; maybe it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I can make her proud.”
Kurt Ganapathy was on the ground in Bedok, Bukit Panjang, MacPherson, Tampines and Telok Blangah as election season kicked off in earnest.
“I decided to become a full-time travel blogger because there was nothing that fuelled me more than working on something I believed in. Rather than working to appease people and slogging hard for someone else’s dream, I wanted to make my own dreams a reality…”