By Roslee, Zuraidah, Jimmy, Rajinikanth
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lead Story
Madam Jennifer Chao, a 63 year-old, has been working as a toilet attendant at People’s Park Centre for over a year now.
The upbeat toilet attendant was previously working as a cook in a restaurant specializing in Western cuisine for well over 13 years. She quit her job due to rheumatism, which prevented her from standing for long hours.
Madam Chao started working as a toilet attendant, after being recommended through the contacts of a friend.
“I’m happy with this job. I don’t have to work for long hours and the job doesn’t require me to stand all the time,” said Madam Chao when interviewed.
Madam Chao works five hours a day, seven days a week. She has no holidays. However, she has no qualms about her working conditions and in fact, finds it enjoyable. In addition, she has no intention of leaving and wishes to continue as long as she possibly could.
By Jimmy
Day at Work
Madam Chao’s routine starts from 10 am to 8 pm everyday. She works together with her relative who also experiences rheumatism. The job only requires her to stand whenever necessary, as she is unable to stand for long hours due to rheumatism; therefore, she enjoys her work. She mops, sweeps and washes the female and the male toilets. This is besides the washing of basins, throwing of rubbish and replenishing toilet rolls. In short, cleaning everything.
Being courteous and patient with her patrons is part of her job. She also ensures that her patrons pay twenty cents, each time they use the toilet. However, she did make exceptions when it was impossible for her to collect the twenty cents. Cleaning of toilets is not a once a day duty for her; she has to be ever ready to clean up the mess left behind by her patrons.
By Zuraidah
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Making of the Story
We reached People’s Park Centre at 1430hrs. Our friend, Ganesh, met us promptly and brought us to the second floor of the building, where the interview was to be conducted. On the way, he briefed us that he has obtained permission for us to use video and photography equipment in the building premises.
Jennifer Chao, our interviewee, greeted us with a warm smile and broke the ice quickly with her pleasant, open demeanor. Throughout the interview, she answered our questions thoughtfully whilst keeping a watchful eye on the stream of twenty-cent coins being paid. Contrary to the stereotypical mindset of the man on the street, Jennifer Chao seemed to be very forthcoming when asked about her job as a toilet attendant. In fact, she made us rethink our own attitudes towards toilet attendants.
The interview attended at about 1600hrs. We thanked Jennifer Chao and Ganesh for their invaluable time and bade them farewell.
Jennifer Chao, our interviewee, greeted us with a warm smile and broke the ice quickly with her pleasant, open demeanor. Throughout the interview, she answered our questions thoughtfully whilst keeping a watchful eye on the stream of twenty-cent coins being paid. Contrary to the stereotypical mindset of the man on the street, Jennifer Chao seemed to be very forthcoming when asked about her job as a toilet attendant. In fact, she made us rethink our own attitudes towards toilet attendants.
The interview attended at about 1600hrs. We thanked Jennifer Chao and Ganesh for their invaluable time and bade them farewell.
By Rajinikanth
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Links to related articles / videos
The links shown on the top right provide another introspective of those working as toilet attendants. It is of interest to note the different issues that pertain varying not only in geographical nature, but also in sociocultural context.
By Roslee
Slideshow of photo collection
This photo compilation portrays Madam Chao in her working environment. Not only does she dutifully clean her toilets daily, she goes even as far as to ensure that the cubicles have a fragrance by spraying air fresheners almost every two hours. Not surprisingly, her toilets have been validated and given a top rating by the National Environment Agency (NEA). The award carries little significance to Madam Chao, who still has to accomplish her mundane routines daily in order to earn her living.
By Roslee
Monday, May 11, 2009
About this project
This project serves to highlight about a person whom we all would have met at one point of time or another in our lives, but would not have given a second thought to: the humble but invisible toilet attendant.
About the creators
Jimmy
Jimmy’s passion is education but music and arts are his spirit and soul. He spends most of his time visiting art galleries and attending various arts exhibitions whenever he has time. He was able to put his creative ideas and experience in creative writing and copywriting into good use for this project. He has benefitted greatly from learning the use of Windows Movie Maker and Newsmaker in this course.
Rajinikanth
Raj has a natural passion for writing and he enjoys interaction with people. Thus, he found this course very enjoyable and more importantly, he has learnt how to use software like Audacity and Windows Movie Maker. He made use of his contacts to make the interview possible and took active participation in all the write ups.
Roslee
Roslee loves to take photographs and video. He made use of this opportunity to indulge in his interests and volunteered to take charge of capturing photographs and shooting the video. He used Windows Movie Maker, Picasa editing software and Audacity to produce the final product. He has an inclination towards movie and picture editing and was fortunate to have enrolled in the journalism module.
Zuraidah
Zuraidah loves to capture nature's moments and explore new things. She found this course insightful as it gave a peek into the world of web journalist. She was the main editor for this project and ensure everything runs smoothly.
About the creators
Jimmy
Jimmy’s passion is education but music and arts are his spirit and soul. He spends most of his time visiting art galleries and attending various arts exhibitions whenever he has time. He was able to put his creative ideas and experience in creative writing and copywriting into good use for this project. He has benefitted greatly from learning the use of Windows Movie Maker and Newsmaker in this course.
Rajinikanth
Raj has a natural passion for writing and he enjoys interaction with people. Thus, he found this course very enjoyable and more importantly, he has learnt how to use software like Audacity and Windows Movie Maker. He made use of his contacts to make the interview possible and took active participation in all the write ups.
Roslee
Roslee loves to take photographs and video. He made use of this opportunity to indulge in his interests and volunteered to take charge of capturing photographs and shooting the video. He used Windows Movie Maker, Picasa editing software and Audacity to produce the final product. He has an inclination towards movie and picture editing and was fortunate to have enrolled in the journalism module.
Zuraidah
Zuraidah loves to capture nature's moments and explore new things. She found this course insightful as it gave a peek into the world of web journalist. She was the main editor for this project and ensure everything runs smoothly.
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