Fresh out of secondary school after completing her ‘O’ levels, Lalethaa Karamjeet Singh wanted to join a design school.
However, with the high tuition fees and her parents’ low income, Lalethaa had to put her dreams of being a designer on hold.
Her mother was a cleaner, and her father was a dispatch rider.
Lalethaa said: “Back then, schools were not as lenient on tuition fees as today. It would have been difficult for me and my family to keep up with school fees.”
Grateful Despite Curveballs in Life
For a while, she regretted not being able to pursue her interest in design.
“But then I started to think about what else I could do and how life would turn out. I drafted out plans A, B, and C. If the plan didn’t work out, what else could I do? I drew mind maps on my life journey back then,” Lalethaa said.
She mulled her future for a year before becoming an auxiliary police officer.
Working as an auxiliary police officer for the next two years allowed her to save money to further her hospitality and business administration studies.
Life had other plans for her.
Today, at 29 years old, Lalethaa is a case manager for the Ministry of Health.
She is still grateful for how her life turned out.
She said: “I’ve learned many new things along the way, including how to build myself stronger even when I fall. I’ve also found my strengths in my soft skills throughout this journey.”
Alleviating Financial Burdens
Lalethaa knows first-hand how having financial difficulties can impede a student’s studies and aspirations.
Youths from underprivileged backgrounds are also often expected to share the family’s financial burden by working part-time or dropping out of school to work full-time.
As a youth leader in the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE), Lalethaa actively assists members experiencing financial difficulties by directing them to the union’s credit co-op.
Besides providing various types of loans, the co-op offers scholarships and study grants to NTUC members to help meet their children’s educational expenses.
The grant will provide constant financial support throughout a student’s studies in the institute of higher learning.
The NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant complements other financial assistance from the NTUC-U Care Fund, such as the U Care Hardship Grant, NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers), the NTUC Care Fund (Special Assistance), and the CAP+Ure Fund.
Lalethaa hopes more members and their children can benefit from the NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable).
She said she would advocate for the grant and assist eligible union members’ children facing adversity in continuing their education.
Lalethaa explained: “I can raise awareness about the grant among union members and encourage eligible families to apply for support, thus helping to alleviate financial burdens and ensuring that youths can complete their studies despite family hardships.
“I could also collaborate with Young NTUC to organise outreach events and workshops to educate young union members about the grant and other support available to them, reinforcing the message that every worker matters and promoting solidarity within the union community.”
Pursuing Lifelong Learning
Lalethaa’s learning journey has not ended; she is due to graduate with her Master of Business Administration degree.
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Her passion now is for the culinary, and she does a bit of cooking and food catering on the side over the weekend with her mum and dad.
She has also enrolled in a cooking course to be a chef and plans to open a café one day.
She said further education would teach her to manage her finances and create a business plan.
Lalethaa said: “My life’s journey has been shaky, but having an education is important. It doesn’t have to be a degree, as long as you get the necessary skills for the jobs you are interested in.”
Visit www.ntuc.org.sg/youthenablegrant for more information on the grant.
NTUC members can submit their applications via ucare.ntuc.org.sg/assistance.