Peter Koh shares how he cares for his two daughters single-handedly, the struggles he faces on a daily basis and how the Singapore Red Cross alleviated his family’s financial burden.

Peter Koh was the youngest in a family of 10. His parents took on odd jobs to support the family. They subsequently opened a shop specialising in electrical works.

Subsequently, following the demise of his parents, Peter eked a living as a painter, but left the job due to a serious asthma condition that he developed when he was 26.

Challenges as a single parent

Peter’s marriage hit the rocks seven years ago, which led to a divorce. Since then, Peter, now aged 62, has been raising his daughters singlehandedly.

Mr Peter Koh’s day usually starts in the wee hours of the morning, at 5am. He sends his two daughters to school at 6:30am then reaches home at 7am and takes a rest. After resting, he gets up later and prepares lunch for his children. He fetches his children from school at 1:30pm, and eventually prepares dinner at 6:30pm.

Raising two children alone is no mean feat, but things are even more challenging because of his asthma condition. Peter cannot secure a sustainable long-term job as he cannot undertake tasks that manually laborious – or he may run the risk of triggering his asthma condition. He also finds it challenging to engage in household chores and gets breathless quickly.

Peter has been receiving assistance from social service organisations, but even with their aid, he still faces financial difficulty in supporting himself and his two daughters.

Silver linings

Thankfully, Peter’s Member of Parliament (MP) referred him to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC). Under SRC’s Family LifeAid programme, he receives monthly supermarket vouchers that enable him to purchase nutritious food such as chicken, duck, fish and milk.

He says with gratitude, "Thank you for the vouchers! My children can have nutritious food. The vouchers alleviate my financial burden."

Despite the financial and physical challenges he faces on a daily basis, Peter is still blessed with two daughters who get along well with him.

"My two daughters are very well behaved. They don’t cause trouble for me. They are also very studious. I don’t want to stress them out too much, as they are still at an age where they should have a good childhood," he says.

When asked about her aspirations for both of his daughters, he says, " I don’t wish to pressurise them. I give them the freedom to do whatever they want as long as it’s not morally wrong. I want them to enjoy their childhood and be happy."

By Tan Yong En, Volunteer Writer