“I probably got this Batman and Robin comforter when I was 12. When I moved to Singapore, I needed a few things from home to make it comfortable. My mom had actually packed a bunch of decent things for me but I swapped it out for things that I like. It’s just little things like these that brings to me the comfort of home. It’s the same one I used to sleep with as a child, and now here it is 15 years later.”

“I chose to work abroad because I wanted to immerse myself into a different reality. To see how much it would make me grow, perhaps broaden my way of thinking. So Singapore was a fairly safe choice since it’s not too far from home. I’ve been here in Singapore for three years now. It’s gotten to that point where when I go back home to KL, I feel clueless, like I’m in a foreign land. I have no idea of the maps of the trains back home but here, I practically live by the trains.”

“I was 12 when I made up my mind to do this. I used to watch a lot of cooking shows and that definitely played a part. Regardless whether you work in a Michelin-starred restaurant or a hawker centre, I think, at the end of the day you’re still feeding people. For me, it’s all about chasing the satisfaction of the customers. It’s a very satisfying feeling, watching someone clean their plate. I always say that happiness is a clean plate.”

This six-part video series and photo essays were produced under a collaboration between R.AGE and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Migrant Workers’ Empowerment and Advocacy (MWEA) Project. The MWEA Project is funded by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL-28099-15-75-K-11.
This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. 100% percentage of the total costs of this project or program is financed with Federal funds, for a total of 26,322.61 dollars.