When Chiew Wenqi was just five years old, her bankrupt father left her mum and her to fend for themselves. Her mother, who previously had a maid to serve her, had to become a cleaner and beer promoter to support Wenqi and pay for the flat.

This is Wenqi's tribute to her mum:

"A top mother is a person who seeing there are only two pieces of pie for three people, promptly announces that she never did care for pie. My mother is more than that, she is a noble, selfless, loving, magnanimous, determined and strong-willed woman.

"11 years ago, when I was 5, my father got hooked on gambling and his company eventually went bust due to negligence. He was declared bankrupt and heavily in debt. Unable to afford for 2 families, my father left us to fend for ourselves and went off with his other wife.

"My mum was devastated and helpless. She had literally no savings and only had little education, only up till secondary 2. Adding to that is the fact that she had been enjoying life as a wealthy housewife for the past decade, she had no working experience. She had difficulties looking for jobs. All the jobs that we offered to her were low-paying and laborious. Thus, she had to juggle two jobs to earn enough to support me and pay for the flat.

"From a tai tai who had a maid to serve her, to working for others in not-so-glorious jobs like beer promoter and school cleaner, my mother pulled it through every obstacle thrown at her for my sake.

"I know she could not bear to put me into childcare centres but she had to do it so that life could go on. I know it was a really difficult time for her and I caught her secretly crying in the dark at the living room in the middle of the night but she pushed on to give us a better life and a future. I know she could have just taken the easy way out and dumped me into an orphanage or given me away since I was so young at that time and she could thus lead a much better life but she didn’t. I know she could have re-married but she did not want me to possibly suffer under the hands of a step-dad.

"Before she did anything, she thought of me first. Never mind how much she suffered, she never told me and she could even smile in front of me, despite all that she was going through. She wanted me to have a good childhood and a better future, therefore, despite her meagre income, she never compromised on my education. She made sure that i got all my textbooks and uniforms before the school year started. Even if it means that she had no money for her own meals, she would always ensure that i have enough money in my wallet before we left school for my recess and lunch.

"I remember when I was primary 4, I became quite rebellious. I refused to study for my exams and even resorted to cheating. Once, I was caught trying to cheat by hiding a piece of note under my exam paper. For fear of getting into trouble, I lied that the note got there by accident and I did not do it on purpose. My teacher called to meet my parents and my mum rushed over immediately even though she was supposed to be working.

"I kept insisting that I brought the note into the exam by accident and even though my teacher did not believe me, my mother did. She trusted me and stood by me and told the teacher that she believed I would not resort to cheating. Eventually, the teacher had no choice but to let the matter rest.

"On the way home, I felt really guilty and horrid inside me. I knew that I had to tell my mum the truth, or else I would live to regret this. Even though I eventually told her the truth, she did not scold or cane me, in fact she never caned me in my whole life, she hugged me and wiped my tears away. She told me that everyone made mistakes and it’s okay as long as we own up and try our best not to commit the same mistake again. I was so touched by her actions and words that I vow to study hard from now on and never resort to cheating for exams anymore. I studied hard and for my Primary School Leaving Examination, I was the top 10% of my school cohort with a score of 264.

Go to the next page to find out what Wenqi did two years ago that broke her mum's heart

"Two years ago, when I was experiencing the changes of growing up, I felt extremely low in self-esteem. I began to doubt my worth and I started to feel that being born into this cruel and realistic world was a big mistake. I hated my own existence and the fact that I am from a single parent family and I felt that no one loved me. I even resorted to inflict damage on myself by cutting my wrist with a penknife. The pain gave me some sort of satisfaction and assurance that at least I was brave enough to withstand the pain. However, now I know, deep inside, I was actually simply just a coward who cannot withstand the pressure from society. Upon noticing the wounds my hand, my mum broke down and cry. She blamed everything on herself and she kept apologising for all the silly things that I had done wrong. This was not what I wanted!

"My mum said this to me : “No matter what, life goes on and you may only be one person to the world, but you are also be the world to one person, and that’s me.”

"I was immediately awoken. I realised that even if I lost everything in this world, I would still have my mother, and she is the best mother in the whole world. She would always be there for me despite all the silly mistakes that I made and those heartaches that I have given her.

"Looking at her face today, I realised that she has grown so much older from all these years of work and worry for her children. But behind that appearance is a heart of gold that has selflessly sacrificed herself for the better of her children. I often hear my friends complaining about how naggy and unreasonable their mothers are, and I look at my mother, and I really don’t know what I can complain about my mother. My mother is just simply such a wonderful and lovely woman.

"My mum once asked me whether I regretted bring her daughter. Now, I would like to take this chance to say that: “Mum, I never regretted being born as your daughter. You are the best mother ever. Although life was tough for a period of time, you are really strong for our sake and you are my inspiration. You gave me both motherly and fatherly love. I know I will never be able to thank you enough for all the things you have done for us, but when I grow up and have a job, I promise to look after you and give you all the best that I can afford, just like how you have given me all the best things you could. In fact, if asked to choose again or if there is reincarnation, I would still choose to be your daughter. I am proud to have a mother like you. I love you forever.”

"MY MOTHER DESERVES TO BE THE TOP BEST MUM BECAUSE SHE LOVES HER CHILDREN MORE THAN SHE EVER LOVES HERSELF."

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