Ngot You has spent her life being a housewife and caring for her four children. The 78-year-old grandmother of four was introduced at the age of 18 to sarong cloth weaving. “It is a really good exercise for the legs and hands,” she shared. However, she stopped working after two years and decided to be an amah. Interestingly enough, she worked side-by-side with her mother-in-law for the same employer, but both did different things. Her mother in-law did the cooking while she washed, ironed and cleaned. “We got along well; there were no conflicts,” said Ngot You. However, she stopped working again when she was pregnant with her first child, and decided to be a full-time housewife.

She would not only care for her children’s needs, she would also cook lunch for her husband and his workers at the garage. “My children are very well-behaved so it was easy looking after them since birth.” However, when the youngest daughter went to secondary school and there was “nothing for her to do at home”, she chose to come out to work at a steel factory in Aljunied from 1964 to 1968. When it shifted to another location, she stopped working for good to concentrate on her children and housework.