Single mother rebuilds life with support from NTUC-U Care Fund

There was a time in Lydia Indranee’s life when the days blurred into simple survival.

Her marriage collapsed. She was battling depression. Her children were still young.

Even after the split, she and her former husband stayed under the same roof briefly, as she tried to regain stability and shield her children from the harsh reality.

At one point, the emotional toll forced her to leave for her sister’s home seeking enough recovery to return to the flat she had fought to keep for her children.

The 40-year-old remembers how deeply that period affected her.

“At that time, I could not even get out of bed. I was so affected that I could not work for almost two years,” she said

Today, Lydia is a single mother raising three children aged 18, 17, and 14. Reaching this point, however, was a journey marked by many challenges and perseverance.

“You will not know your potential, your strength, until certain things happen in our lives. Then you come to know how strong you are, how capable you are,” she said.

A home worth fighting for

In the middle of the divorce, almost 10 years ago, Lydia’s first concern was not comfort or convenience. It was shelter.

The four-room flat she lives in today is her matrimonial home. During the divorce, she pushed for the house to remain with her because selling it would have left her and her children with even less security.

“I told him, ‘Okay, since you wanted the divorce, I will give it to you, but I will need to secure this house here for the children,’” she said.

That instinct to preserve the essentials guided her choices during the hardest period of her life.

But the decision to hold on to the house came at a cost.

She has been paying $600 in cash every month to service her housing loan. And with her $2,300 take-home salary working in HR, there is not much left to feed four mouths.

Even then, single motherhood demanded urgency, routine and unyielding endurance; there was no time for hesitation.

“It’s like a race. Every day is a non-stop race. You just have to keep going forward and can’t stop,” Lydia said.

The weight of doing everything alone

For Lydia, raising three children alone meant anchoring every part of daily life.

When her children were younger, each day revolved around school, meals, transport, work and the constant need to plan ahead.

There was little room for things to fall apart because, in her words, too much depended on her being able to keep going.

“The moment you just give up, everybody gets affected,” she said.

She also knew that if she was going to keep her family stable, she had to keep working, even after a period when she struggled to function.

“No matter what, it’s my problem, I have to fix it,” she said. “So, which means to say I need to work and I need to support my children.”

That determination propelled her back into the workforce, forging a life built on discipline and sacrifice.

She described herself as someone who has always lived simply, which helped her manage the household finances through difficult periods.

Still, there were moments when the strain showed. She recalled experiencing a power cut during one of her worst periods and resolving never to let that happen again. 

“Happened before, during my very, very bad times,” she said. “Ever since then, no, I will never. Not again. I cannot afford that to happen.”

How NTUC support helped Lydia Indranee and her children

For more than 10 years, Lydia has been a beneficiary of NTUC’s support through the NTUC-U Care Fund.

She first started applying for the NTUC Care (Back-to-School) vouchers for her children and, over the years, also received assistance through the NTUC Care Fund (Special Assistance), the NTUC Care Fund (Caregiver Support) for Single Caregivers, and family programmes organised by NTUC Care. 

She said the help became especially meaningful at the start of each new school year, when the cost of advancing children to the next grade brought a fresh wave of expenses.

“I always look forward to the assistance by NTUC because it is really very helpful every year, especially in those difficult periods of the year when they are going to go to the next level in school, and you know there’s a lot of quiet number of expenses and costs involved,” she said. “So in terms of vouchers, all these amounts actually really benefited my children.”

Over time, Lydia learnt to actively search for available support rather than wait for help to find her.

“What I usually do is I do my own research. Every time I try to look through their websites, and then I’ll see what kind of assistance they are providing for underprivileged union members and their families, especially their children,” she said

That support was never treated lightly. Lydia described how she uses the assistance carefully, keeping it aside until the family truly needs it.

“I don’t immediately use any, I try to keep it,” she said. “In a situation where I really, really need to, then I will use.”

When her children receives money from bursaries, she does the same.

“I usually just keep it aside for them,” she said.

What Lydia Indranee wants other single parents to know

Even after years of carrying the responsibilities of single parenthood, Lydia speaks not with bitterness, but with resolve.

“Yes, we have a lot of challenges. But despite that, our attitude, our mindset play a very big role. So I always have a positive mindset,” she said.

That outlook shapes how she sees the help she has received from NTUC over the years.

She is deeply appreciative of the support, not only because it helped her family through difficult stretches, but because it reminded her that help exists for people willing to seek it out.

“I always loved NTUC even from my younger days. I am glad that I am an NTUC member, and I always believe in NTUC because they are one of the best organisations,” she said.

Her advice to others going through similar struggles begins with taking that first step.

“Please be an NTUC member. Because from there, everything comes along. If you have a family, you will definitely find something that can assist the family as well.”

To help those in need like Lydia, you can donate to the NTUC-U Care Fund.