Nadine

Dear Mum,

The first task you took, was to carry us for 9 months.

Though it is tiring, you did it without a grunt.

So here’s a tribute from us to you,

In honour of the tough life you pursue.

Seasons come and seasons go,

Through all these times, your beauty shows.

A heart so pure that it seems like gold,

You never fail to let that resilence unfold.

Thank you, for being always the first to wake,

All for one cause, for your children’s sake.

And then always the last to sleep,

To make sure all your children are fast alseep.

Thank you, for the times you spent worrying,

Although sometimes it may be very frustrating.

Your love for us, so deep and wide,

You are forever our shining light.

Juggling between family and home, you always give your best.

It amazes us, how you can go on without a rest.

To deserve you, we don’t know what we’ve done.

But one thing we’re sure – We love you, and you are the best Mum.

Love,

Your children

In our project, we aim to focus on a very common, yet often neglected community in Singapore – the working mothers. So the title I’ve decided for it is “The Mum Mums”. It has 3 meanings to it. Firstly, it symbolises the silence of our working mothers, always giving their best to their family and the society but not asking for anything in return. Secondly, it is a tribute to a phrase almost all mothers say, “mum mum”, which is baby talk meaning, “eat”. Thirdly, well, it’s just a nice way to call it “The MM” for short. It feels like we are saying “The Mummy”.

We are going to feature working mothers from all walks of life. From the one with the 2 month old baby, to the one with the 19 year old son; or even the one who just started work, to the one who has been working for decades. We want to have a feel of what all working mothers in Singapore feel.

Why this story is newsworthy? Well, we would have caught the attention of working mothers almost immediately. What’s more, children will be interested to know what their mothers are thinking about. For the husbands, let’s say that this will be a perfect opportunity for them to understand their better half a little more.

Also, on a personal standpoint, I think the working mothers in Singapore deserve this recognition for all the hard work they have put in. They are often the first to wake up in the morning. At 6am, while the whole family is sleeping, they are the ones preparing the breakfast. At night, while the family is turning in, they will be the ones finishing up the household chores. So to put it boldly, even if not many people are interested in this story, the working mothers out there deserve this acknowledgement. This itself makes it newsworthy.

This story will be done by an interview of working mothers on the streets, or even at residential blocks. The mothers will be asked only 2 questions, “What is the most challenging task to them as a working mother? What is the most satisfying experience through all the hard work?” These are two simple questions but yet, it pretty summarises and shows us why working mothers are willing to juggle such a difficult burden daily. Each mother would be featured for only less than 30 seconds. We will then compile all the interview clips to make a video.

This video would be started with a short clip on the daily lifestyle of a mother, from 6am till 10pm. We would then insert the interview clips in between, followed by an ending to acknowledge the hard work by the mothers and asking the children/husbands to appreciate them.

To add interaction to this, we will also include a comment board to encourage the blog’s visitors to write what they love about their mothers and anything they want to thank their mothers for.

A friend just asked me this question. I am in the mood for some writing, and this tumblr happens to need some updating. So here goes!

I was a strong Christian since young. It was very natural to believe in Jesus Christ. In fact, I never once doubted His existence. He was the powerful guy who helped the poor, the needy. He healed people. He performed miracles. I knew it all in theory. However, if you ask me how being a Christian was like, I would probably shrug my shoulders. It was just another religion to me.

As I grew older, I grew lazier. Waking up at 8am for this “Jesus” guy was too tiring! I’d rather sleep. Every Sunday, it will be the usual dialogue. “Wake up, go church already!” “Mummy, I want to sleep.” Usually, I had my way. After awhile, I had my way for good. My entire family stopped attending church as well. That was in Primary 5.

Life continued on as per normal for me. There was no need for a God in my life. I went on to secondary school. I did well, and was even 8th in level in Sec 1! Nothing was amiss. I had great friends and a great family.

Well, things changed in Sec 2. At that age, friends meant the world to me! I found out about some nasty things they were saying. I was hurt, but I had to put up a strong front and pretended like I didn’t care. After awhile, I kinda wonder if there is more to life. A friend suggested going back to church (she stopped attending church too) and I agreed.

First church I tried - failed! People there were so cliquish I felt so out of place whenever I went. I know going to church was for God! But God created friends for a reason, dude! Thus, I left the 2nd church.

Thankfully, God wasn’t about to give up on me so easily. I found my way to… Heart of God Church :) I went there, it was a really cool-looking place. Friendly people (Y). Nice music (Y). Convenient location (it was in Dhoby Ghaut then) (Y). Interesting Word (Y). All the (Y) made me decide that this was the church I was going to be planted in.

To say the truth, I never though of being strong in my faith. All I wanted was to just go to a church! But as I went, somehow God was working something inside of me.

I remembered the first time I teared while worshipping God… I was a Christian since 5 years old. I never knew what it meant to feel the presence of God. That day, I finally understood. And getting to know God is something addictive. Once you had it for the first time, you crave for the 2nd time. 

And then, that “peace” became my medicine. Whenever something happened at home, or in school, somehow that was the first “medicine” I could think of. It took away sadness, but it didn’t numb me. It gave me joy, but it wasn’t just temporary. It gave me peace, and that peace came from the inside out.

As you grow older, your problems grow bigger. In secondary school, it was friendship problems. When you were J1, it was the fear of promotional exams. After getting your A levels results, it was the worry of getting into a good university. But I’ve learnt that as my problems grow bigger, it was God’s way of manifesting His love in a greater measure. In my life, I experienced God in the greatest way at 1 such moment.

In J1, something happened at home and overnight, I lost the love of a father. I was very lost. My mum cried and I’ve never seen her done so before! In my eyes, she was a strong woman. She started working at 16 years old to support her family. Nothing was impossible for her! But yet, she broke down in front of me. I was the older one in the family. Suddenly I felt the responsibility of taking care of my mother and younger brother. Life was so stressful. But the same weekend, God’s medicine came. No more worries, but peace. He was in control. Thinking back, I did not know I could have survived through that period without God.

So my friend, why am I so strong in my faith? There are so many answers… The hope God gave me when I was lost. The joy He gave me when I was down. The peace He gave me when I was worried. He told me this once, and I felt His overwhelming love. I believe He wants to tell you this as well.

“All those times you were running around, lost, and looking for a purpose in life… It didn’t go unnoticed. I saw it. And I was the One who brought you back to me.”

Personally, it was an eye-opening experience to explore “Highrise: Out My Window”. Compared to other documentaries, it was a fresh exposure for me to learn about highrises in that manner.

In response to the question, “What is the Place of Web Documentary in Journalism,” I think that firstly, web documentary is something that is just starting out in journalism. Till date, I feel that television and videos are still the main medium for documentaries. One of the reasons could be due to the fact that television access is more common as compared to Internet access. The main motivation behind making a documentary is to promote awareness of the situation being explored. Thus, one would want to choose the most accessible medium. That could be why television shows are more preferred. This is also talked about in Highrise: Director’s Blog. It was mentioned that, “54% of households with incomes under $30,000 had access (to internet)”.

However, having said that, it is not to be denied that there could be a high possibility that there will be more web documentaries increasingly. Looking at the numerous awards that “Highrise: Out My Window” has won, it goes to show that web documentaries are slowly attracting more attention from the public. This could be due to the nature of the documentary. Since it was a webpage, it is easier to circulate this website address as compared to a video. For example, all I have to do is to give someone the link, and they can view it immediately. It is of a lesser hassle as compared to viewing a television show.

Also, with such an interesting interactive user interface, it was a bonus point. Although it was just a different way of presenting the content, personally, I felt like I was really living in the apartment, and “living life” with the tenant. And because it was so interesting, it was very natural for me to want to show to it my friends the interesting website that I stumbled upon. Thus, even though I may not be very interested in this particular project, unknowingly, I have been helping to create more awareness of highrises in Canada.

Another plus point of a web documentary is its flexibility. Though television shows may be more accessible, but once it is recorded, it is difficult to make changes to it. This could be a hindrance to documentaries which are reporting on things which are on-the-go. In contrast, web documentary allows you to update it everyday. In this way, not only can people know the latest news, they can also read the archives to find out on the past happenings.

Thus, in conclusion, I feel that although web documentary may be something that is fresh in the journalism world, it is just the beginning. I foresee that there will be increasing attempts at web documentaries, and it could possibly be one of the driving force in journalism.

During CS8026 lecture today, Joanne asked us for 6 words to describe ourselves. After thinking for awhile, I went back to the original 6 words that captivated me to do all that I am doing for God & His House ever since I was 15 years old.

Love God. Love People. Love Life.

The exact 6 words that Samantha shared with me when I was a cute Sec 3 girl! Now no longer cute, AND I am 20, but the convictions remain.

What is your conviction?