Tran Hong Son Ca left school at the age of 14 and worked odd jobs thereafter. As someone who did not receive a formal education, her job prospects were limited. As the sole breadwinner of the family, she has been relying on her wages as a full-time chef at a Vietnamese restaurant to provide for her children. 

Tran Hong Son Ca has not led an easy life. As the youngest child in a family of seven children, she left school at the age of 14 to help her parents at their fruit stall in a market in Ho Chi Minh City. Her lack of a formal education limited her job prospects. Four years later, she landed a job at a factory that manufactured pillows, and she worked there for a decade. She became a single mother when she was 29, after giving birth to her elder son in 2013. To support her son, she made a living by working at odd jobs selling clothes and fruits.

Struggling to make ends meet

In 2016, a chance encounter at her friend's wedding in Singapore acquainted her with her husband, whom she tied the knot with, in 2017. She gave birth to her younger son in 2018 and left her job to care for him full-time. 

Just as life seemed to go smoothly, her husband was incarcerated for drug abuse in the same year. Since 2019, she had been taking on cleaning jobs and served as a beer lady till 2021. In 2022, she secured a job as a full-time chef in a Vietnamese outlet at a coffee shop to fund childcare expenses for her younger son. She hopes to bring her elder son, who is currently cared for by her elder sister in Vietnam, to Singapore. 

However, Hong Son Ca's remuneration as a chef can barely cover her monthly expenses. Not only does she remit 30 percent of her salary to her sister for taking care of her elder son in Vietnam, her expenditure also includes utilities, rental, milk and diapers for her younger son. 

Light at the end of the tunnel

Fortunately, a social worker introduced Hong Son Ca to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC). Since being enrolled in SRC's Family LifeAid programme, her family receives monthly supermarket vouchers that help reduce the cost of their daily expenses.

"The vouchers allow me to purchase fruit, meat and vegetables for our family, which has relieved our financial burden," she says.

When asked about her aspirations for the future, Hong Son Ca, aged 38, says, "I hope that my elder son can live with us in Singapore. When my husband is released next year, I hope he can secure a proper job so we can purchase a home of our own."

By Sondra Foo
Copyedited by Charlene Chin, Volunteer