About

The Everyday People is an online publication that aims to inform, inspire and connect with the the people of Singapore through powerful people stories and cool lifestyle content.

We hope to prove that we’re all more alike than we realise, regardless of race, age, gender, religious beliefs, socio-economic status or what have you.

We also champion local talents and causes because we love dream chasers who try to be the change they want to see in this world. We aspire to be like them too.

Founder and Editor

A former travel writer with fond memories of solo adventures in Southeast Asia, Arman is now founder and editor of The Everyday People.

A one-man army, he practically runs this site and all the social media channels by himself, so he’s tired half the time and never rejects free coffee or phenomenal back rubs.

If you ever see him approaching with a camera and voice recorder in hand, please choose kindness and don’t decline his request for an interview.

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Everyone has an incredible and inspiring story to share. These are such stories by the everyday people in Singapore. #everydaypeoplesg

“My name is Michael Raimondo. I’m a storytelle

“My name is Michael Raimondo. I’m a storyteller. I live on the tip of South Africa, and for the last five years, I’ve been making short films about what makes us all human. And that is my passion – to share stories of humanity, connectedness and universal truths.

I’m in Singapore for a whole month to do a series of short films on the wonderful people who live here. Why Singapore? Well, I’ve told very few urban stories in Asia. And many people here speak English, which allows me to have meaningful connections and conversations.

Beyond that, I’ve always wanted to visit Singapore because I see it as a possible future for what the rest of the world could be. I’m an environmentalist, and to see a country like Singapore balance the environment with economic growth – I find that enchanting.

Singapore is also a developed, urban country that strives to be multicultural. In most parts of the world, everyone goes into their silos. But here, people of different races, religious beliefs and backgrounds come together. I’m not saying that it’s perfect, but it’s beautiful to see.

Before I started doing what I’m doing now, I was working with many different NGOs and corporate clients. And what I found common with all these client stories I told was that there’s always an agenda.

Whoever was paying you – whether it’s for a humanitarian story, an environmental story or a corporate social responsibility story – there was always an angle and a motive. And I got frustrated by what felt like a lack of authenticity in telling the human story.

I was often most moved by stories that shared some sort of universal truth, whether it was through someone talking about death, love, loss or finding meaning in this world. But because they didn’t fit into the client agenda, those stories never saw the light of day.

So five years ago, my wife Justine and I took a bold step to leave fairly decent paying jobs and founded the Green Renaissance (@green.renaissance). We believed there would be enough people in the world who would resonate with what we wanted to do...

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“In early 2022, I received a poignant letter fro

“In early 2022, I received a poignant letter from my friend Maksymvk. He was a retired Ukrainian soldier I had met at a conference. His son was playing in a junior ice hockey league when the Russia-Ukraine war suddenly broke out.

With no contact and little hope, Maksymvk rejoined the army in a desperate search for his son. Our contact ended abruptly as he left his ‘last letter’ to me – I couldn’t reach him again. But that ‘last letter’ was the catalyst for something much bigger.

Moved by Maksymvk's story, I founded ESpero (@esperoeip) with my friend Brendan Hendrata, a science research advocate. Meaning ‘hope’ in Spanish, ESpero was initially dedicated to helping war refugees by creating art pieces that share their stories and preserve their cultures.

One of the art pieces that touched me the most was an AI-generated painting of a mother and her two children. In the picture, they can be seen dragging their suitcases on the highway. They are fleeing from Ukraine in search of safety in another country.

To better understand the plight of Ukrainian refugees and how ESpero could impact them, I spent the summer of 2022 volunteering with Doctors Without Borders (@doctorswithoutborders) in Norway. What I witnessed was many heart-wrenching stories, just like Maksymvk’s.

But I also saw the inspiring efforts of selfless individuals who had left lucrative careers to aid refugees firsthand in worn-down shelters. For a young student like me, I learnt so much, including how an NGO like Doctors Without Borders operates.

That internship experience in Norway was truly valuable because we also plan to operate ESpero as a non-profit. And while it started off as a small project between Brendan and I, more people started learning about what we do. Now, ESpero is an actual organisation.

Over 120 volunteers have joined ESpero, and we currently have branches in Canada, the US and Southeast Asia. Our mission has expanded to include various areas of human rights violations, and our volunteers have provided over $83,000 in pro bono services.

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“The wind speed in the wind tunnel can go up to

“The wind speed in the wind tunnel can go up to 300 kilometres per hour. That’s as fast as an F1 car! We’d taper it down for kids and newbies, of course, but the more experienced pros tell us what speed they want, depending on the techniques they want to execute.

I would describe the feeling of flying as an adrenaline rush. It’s like an addiction – there's a kick to it. You're so weightless and free of everything. If you have any problems outside, just come here, fly a bit, and feel so much better afterwards.

I've been working as an indoor skydiving instructor for 11 years. Before this, I was an associate engineer. Trust me, it was a boring job. I was deskbound and doing the same thing every day. I needed to be moving. So when iFly Singapore had a job opening, I went for it.

The fuel for skydiving was actually ignited during National Service. I was in the 1st Commando Battalion, and we did a lot of airborne stuff. But Singapore doesn't have a drop zone if you're talking about skydiving recreationally. That's why indoor skydiving is perfect.

To be an instructor at iFly Singapore, you’ll need to go through a series of interviews and pass a fitness test. For the fitness test, you’re required to do a certain number of pull-ups, sit-ups and burpees. You also need to run five kilometres in under 30 minutes.

When I was still a trainee, my arms would be so sore from catching my trainer repeatedly in the wind tunnel. He was pretty heavy. [laughs] But it’s all part of training where we’re given different scenarios to spot and respond accordingly.

I still recall how our trainer was mad at us before officially signing us off as instructors. We were doing our final exercise and made some really basic mistakes. He yelled at us, then gave us an hour to have a drink and think about what we wanted to do with our lives.

It didn't feel great, but we understood that he was strict with us because safety is our number one priority. Danger doesn't yield to anyone; accidents can happen in the wind tunnel. So when we returned an hour later, we could perform everything perfectly.

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Our resident Online Editor and part-time athlete A

Our resident Online Editor and part-time athlete Arman Shah gets off his home office chair to experience the traditional Thai massage and onsen therapy at @sabaaisabaaiboutiquespa.

He doesn't just interview the everyday people of Singapore; he recommends the good stuff to them as well. This one's for all you hard working hustlers out there!

Read the review by clicking on the link in bio or visiting the url below.

bit.ly/3LGvAj9

#everydaypeoplesg #saabaisaabai #thaimassage #massage #spa #onsen #therapy #metime

“I despised my hair when I was a kid because I w

“I despised my hair when I was a kid because I was bullied excessively for having curly hair. In primary school, kids would throw staple bullets and pour eraser shavings into my hair. At that age when you’re so young and just want to be accepted, it was so hard to fit in.

They called me names like ‘Mop’ or ‘Maggie’. It was very hurtful. During a lesson about the human body, the teacher talked about pubic hair, and a boy in class shouted, ‘Oh, the pubic hair is like Maha’s hair!’ I died, you know? I wanted to hide in a cave and never come out.

Even teachers would address my hair. My hair was thick and naturally wild, and teachers would tell me to do something about it. They said I was very messy. They assumed I was a naughty and unruly kid because of my hair, but I really wasn’t.

Because of my experience in primary school, I decided to cut my hair really short in secondary school. At age 15, I was exposed to the world of rebonding. I started straightening my hair every six months, and continued to rebond my hair for the next 15 years of my life.

One morning, I woke up and found bald patches on my head. Turns out, I had developed alopecia, which is basically an autoimmune disease that causes hair to fall out in chunks. Alopecia could also be triggered by frequent chemical manipulations, stress and anxiety.

I completely freaked out. I was only in my twenties – how could I be losing so much hair? And people knew me from a beauty pageant and acting in dramas on Vasantham. I couldn’t let anyone know that I was losing hair.

So I went to the National Skin Centre for treatment and got started on steroid jabs. The specialist would inject steroids into my bald patches to promote hair growth. Sometimes hair grew back; sometimes it didn’t. But it was so painful. You could literally see blood scabs.

The steroid jabs also gave me bad side effects. I experienced nausea and migraines, and I couldn’t function the whole day. It was so debilitating. And it wasn’t exactly a cure, so the alopecia would attack other areas of my scalp. Then the whole cycle of treatment repeats.

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“As a female in STEM (science, technology, engin

“As a female in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), I constantly felt this lack of self-esteem and confidence. In workshops and research projects, my partners and mentors were always guys, and there was a clear lack of female representation.

I would always get judgemental stares from my male counterparts. I’ve even experienced ‘mansplaining’ by boys who were convinced that I wasn’t as good as them. They’d make snide comments like, ‘You sure you know this? You don’t look like you understand.’

When I tried to explain something to them, they would just cut me off and say, ‘No, you’re wrong’ or roll their eyes and ignore me. They would start explaining topics or concepts that I already understood without me asking them to do so, which was quite annoying.

My love for STEM began when I was a kid. I was always tinkering around with those mini engineering sets. I built myself a ball track, a mini bicycle, and went on YouTube to learn how to make DIY cardboard machines, like those coin sorter and candy dispenser machines.

Adding on to that, we had many workshops in school. I did Robotics and programmed games on Scratch. In Science enrichment lessons, I remember watching nature documentaries and growing edible plants like wheatgrass.

You can say that I've always had a curiosity for the world around me, and my passion for STEM grew as I learnt more about the world. But I found that there’s a lack of camaraderie amongst female students who are just as passionate about STEM as the boys are.

I was really inspired to do something to help close the gender gap. However, youth-led gender organisations were scarce. Most organisations are run by adults, but I wanted to find a community of like-minded individuals.

So instead of waiting for others to take action, I plucked my courage to do something I never thought I’d do. At 16, I founded my own organisation. Females in STEM (FemInSTEM) was launched to empower the next generation of girls and women with a passion in this field.

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[Content warning – this profile piece discusses

“Every year on her birthday, I make sure that my

“Every year on her birthday, I make sure that my daughter says a prayer for her biological mother. For most, birthdays are about others holding celebrations and buying you gifts; but, birthdays are actually not about you. They’re about your mum, the one who gave you life.

The only parents she’s ever known are my husband and I. But from the time she could understand speech, we’d talk to her about her original family. I’d tell her bedtime stories to make her slowly understand that she has another set of parents somewhere out there.

We came into this journey knowing that any child we foster was never ours to begin with. Even if you have your own children, they are never yours - they are responsibilities from God. So when the kids came into our lives, our intention was never to hold on to them forever.

There is so much love that comes from us, obviously. We want this child to be safe and protected. We tend to feel we can take care of him or her best, but we know that’s not true. Once the biological family has stabilised, the goal is to integrate them back.

I didn’t mean to cry; I’m sorry. It’s just a lot to accept. But you need to trust the process and have confidence in the fostering system. Unless the biological parents are a danger to themselves or their kids, it’s always best for a child to be with their biological parents.

Before I became a foster parent, I worked in advertising. I then made a shift to corporate communications in the mental health sector. I was there for 10 years before I decided to settle down and have kids. But my husband and I struggled to start a family.

We started looking at the adoption route. But as we went down that path, we discovered there was a much bigger need to foster in our community. I was at a roadshow, and an officer shared that there’s a whole list of kids just waiting to be fostered in Singapore.

We started our fostering journey on 18th April 2018. That’s when we brought my daughter – our very first foster – home. I also have a son; an energetic boy we are fostering on a long-term basis. And we’ve fostered three other kids who were with us for a short time.

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“I used to play soccer competitively for the Foo

“I used to play soccer competitively for the Football Association of Malaysia when I was about 26 or 27. We were paid based on contract, and I was given an allowance of $800 per month in my first season. Everything else was taken care of and covered by the association.

My mother would constantly nag at me, saying that the money wasn't sufficient and that the lifestyle didn't suit me. She wanted me to find ‘real’ work, so I came to Singapore looking for a job. I attended a couple of interviews and found Sentosa to be an attractive place to work.

I've been working at Sentosa for 26 years now. Relocating to Singapore for work was not hard. Singapore is familiar to me, as my father's side of the family lives here. As a kid, I spent most of my time here during the school holidays. Adapting was never an issue.

When I first joined Sentosa, I worked with the ground crew. I had to learn all the basic operations of the attractions, including the guidelines and SOPs. I gradually got promoted to Assistant Supervisor and eventually became Senior Supervisor.

As the Senior Supervisor for Attractions Operations, I need to ensure there is enough manpower to run the different attractions. Every morning, I also make sure staff go down to each attraction before opening and check that everything is in working condition.

Back in the day, we used to run quite a number of attractions. However, some have been handed over to private organisations since then. The three that we are operating are Wings of Time, Cable Car and the new SkyHelix Sentosa.

Of all the attractions, my favourite is the Musical Fountain, which has returned as part of the Central Beach Bazaar. The original Musical Fountain opened in 1982, and I was given the opportunity to take charge of its ground operations in the late nineties.

The new Musical Fountain brings back lots of good memories. And with the Musical Fountain, the Central Beach Bazaar, and the new Sentosa SkyJet, the Beach Plaza area is even more dynamic now.

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