Asked if she had ever thought of giving up, the cheerful teenager hesitated and let on: “At one point, I was ready to withdraw from school and even gave my lecturer my withdrawal letter.”
Fortunately for Flora, her lecturer did not accept her request to drop out of school. Instead, upon finding out about her dire financial situation, he recommended her for the Income OrangeAid Future Development Programme.
The financial aid that Flora received from the programme meant that she worked lesser part-time hours and had more time for her studies. Flora has since successfully secured a place in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Flora’s resourcefulness and frugality also helped to stretch every dollar that her family had especially with regards to the household utilities.
“At one point, I was ready to withdraw from school and even gave my lecturer my withdrawal letter.”
Flora scheduled the family’s use of the bathroom, monitored their gas usage, and limited the use of electricity in the house when possible. She switched to energy-saving light bulbs and turned down the water pressure at home to limit water supply to make her family members more conscious about optimising their water consumption. Her efforts paid off and she reduced their monthly utility bill from $300 to around $170! “Even though it can be troublesome, every little saving counts!” Flora said.
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