At first glance, an elderly woman clearing tables at a Woodlands coffee shop might be a heartbreaking sight. However, one grandmother reportedly chose to continue working because she did not want to be a burden to her children.
Mdm Zheng Xuehua has been working at a coffee shop in Block 780, Woodlands Crescent, for 14 years.
According to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, Mdm Zheng has had a hard life, her legs getting less flexible as she ages.
However, she said that she would continue working as long as her body allows it.
She migrated to Singapore from China with her husband when she was 20 years old, and they had seven children.
As her marriage didn’t end on good terms, Mdm Zheng provided for her children by going from kampung to kampung selling women’s clothes.
She wasn’t used to the leisurely life during retirement, she noted.
“My children also have their own families to support, it’s not easy,” said Mdm Zheng, who refuses the financial support from her children.
It was reported that Mdm Zheng wakes up at 4:30 am to get to the coffee shop because she’s “slow-moving and doesn’t want to be late for work.”
She clocks out at 3 pm and repeats the same schedule the next day.
Despite having 20 great-grandchildren and family members advising her to quit and relax, Mdm Zheng said she’s used to working hard her whole life.
“As a mother, it’s my duty to bring up my children — but I don’t ask them for anything in return.”
Although Mdm Zheng’s case is admirable, members of the online community wondered if such was the case for most elderly workers.
“I think what the commenters are saying is true; why is it whenever there’s some interview by our local media about some old person working, its’ always about an old person who chooses to work to be independent,” wrote Facebook page Toast Comics.
“What about those old people who are forced to work until they die because they do not have enough money due to ehem ehem.”
Others noted that, given her age, she shouldn’t be working anymore.
“No 95-year-old person should be working. Period. To wake up at 430 am, to travel over an hour to work? If each of her kids and grandkids were to give her just S$50 a month, she’d be able to relax peacefully at home,” added Facebook user Ai Lin Lim-Eng. /TISG