Unless you’ve spent the whole day at home today, you would have come across many different people on the streets of Singapore.
Did you look closely at them?
Have you ever wondered what their stories are?
These are the questions that online photography collection The People of Singapore (POS) asks.
In a unique mix of quirkiness and intimacy, The People of Singapore shows a view of people in Singapore that you would not normally attempt to get, and sometimes not even attempt to. It may be an offshoot from the popular American website Humans of New York by photographer Brandon Stanton, but it successfully encapsulates the same brand of honesty and connectivity from subject to audience.
They transform normal passerbys into something exceptional, from your local coffeeshop uncle to a Filipino domestic workers on her day off, with their stories ranging from funny to tragic to shocking to inspirational.
What makes POS different is the lengthier but astounding stories that the anonymous photographer posts.
Image Credit: People of Singapore
“I’ve never trained. The marathons are always on a Sunday, my day off. So I signed up and ran. I’ve complete all three that way: I just show up and start running.”
One such story encapsulates the life story of domestic worker Neljean Hermitanio, from being tricked into marriage at a young age, to moving here to becoming a full-time domestic worker, while not only running a recycling programme back in the Philippines but also doing social work with locally based NGOs and running marathons on her days off.
Image Credit: People of Singapore
“I tell all the young women to stand up for what you believe in. Rights is Rights!”
100 year old Therese had stood up for her rights in her younger days, refusing to give up her seat to men in her church, even after being manhandled by them.
Image Credit: People of Singapore
“For instance here we have a resident pigeon population and they keep eating our plants. We are THAT close to shooting them and eating them.”
Bjorn Low aims to build the largest urban farm in the world from a rooftop carpark.
POS challenges us to believe that amazing people like Hermitanio or Therese exists all around us, even dressed in the humblest of clothing.
According to the POS facebook page description, it aims to be “a celebration of the richness of cultures that combine on this island – be they indigenous, a few generations old, newly arrived or even just passing through.“
May we all be inspired to do the same. You can find The People of Singapore on Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram.
Also read: [Exclusive Interview] The 19-year-old YouTube star who croons for Lee Kuan Yew
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