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‘I’m out of a deep hole’: 41-year-old mother on her two-year journey in building stability
She has found employment and enrolled her daughter in pre-school, with support from her MSF family coach and the ComLink+ scheme
Kintan Andanari, Brand Newsroom
The last thing that Norasitah Mohd Tahir wanted was to chat with a stranger.
It was June 2024, and the then-39-year-old mother had just moved into a two-room public rental flat.
Her days were hectic – split between stirring pots of seafood for her home-based catering business and caring for her six-month-old daughter Zahra. She typically received three seafood bucket orders weekly.
The business brought in under $500 a month on average, barely enough to cover essentials like food and diapers, she recalls. Her Malaysian husband could not find full-time work in Singapore.
Every order, and every minute, counted.
So when a call from an unfamiliar number came, she picked up, listened briefly, then hung up.
On the line was Janice Ang, a family coach from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Social Service Office (SSO) at Toa Payoh, who wanted to visit and share her work – journeying with ComLink+ families and connecting them with support services as they work towards their aspirations and goals.
ComLink+ pairs lower-income families with dedicated family coaches and case workers and provides financial top-ups to help them better their lives. (See below)
Norasitah was sceptical. Still, curiosity won. She searched “SSO” online one evening and called Ang back.
Their first meeting in July 2024 was emotional. Norasitah shared her worries.
“I was crying; (I was) concerned about how I was going to raise my daughter,” says Norasitah. “Then (Ang) told me ‘ok, we (solve) one by one’.”
Today, the 41-year-old works full-time as a patient service associate executive at the National Dental Centre, and Zahra, now two and a half years old, is in pre-school.
Her husband returned to Malaysia last year to care for his ailing mother. Norasitah is the sole breadwinner.
Her eyes still well up when the hard days come to mind. But they are also set on her next goal: owning a home.
“I feel relieved; I’m out of a very deep hole,” Norasitah says. “(Ang) really helped me.”
Journey towards social mobility
Launched in 2024, the ComLink+ scheme aims to uplift lower-income families with children towards stability, self-reliance and social mobility.
It builds on the ComLink programme that started in 2019, which helps lower-income families with children living in Housing Board rental flats with job assistance and children’s development.
ComLink+ support includes:
- Dedicated - family coachesand- Family Service Centre(community-based social service hubs providing support for vulnerable individuals and families with social and emotional issues)- case workerswho guide families towards their goals; and
- ComLink+ Progress Packages, or financial top-ups (cash and CPF contribution) for families making progress in four key areas:- pre-school education, employment, debt clearance, and home ownership savings.
This year, it was enhanced with intermediate milestones for its pre-school education and employment packages, with larger cash components.
For instance, each child now receives $100 cash and $150 top-up to his or her Child Development Account (CDA) every quarter for achieving at least 75 per cent pre-school attendance, compared with the previous $200 CDA top-up.
These enhancements are made possible through partners like DBS Foundation, a ComLink+ anchor partner. Beyond funding the progress packages for pre-school education and home ownership savings, it also mobilised DBS employees to support these families as volunteer befrienders, as well as help drive financial literacy.
For more information, visit go.gov.sg/ComLink
Making progress
Norasitah’s family is one of nearly 60 ComLink+ families Ang, 36, has worked with since joining MSF as a family coach in 2023.
Family coaches work with ComLink+ families to create goal-based action plans and navigate a network of resources. They typically stay with them through the move from public rental flats to home ownership, until their youngest child turns 21.
The first thing Ang did was to help Norasitah apply for financial assistance under the ComCare Short-To-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) scheme.
The monthly payout helped her pay for food and utility bills from October 2024 to October 2025 while she searched for work, Norasitah says.
The temporary financial assistance supports families and individuals such as those who are unable to work for reasons like caregiving, or are looking for jobs.
__ComCare __also offers long-term assistance (LTA) for those permanently unable to work due to old age, illness, or disability, with limited or no income and little family support.
Ang also linked the family with diapers and formula milk assistance from Society of St Vincent de Paul Singapore, a non-profit organisation.
Until then, Norasitah had relied on her home-based catering business and loans from her parents, who are both in their sixties. Her father works as a security guard, while her mother is a bus driver.
By December 2024, she was taking on delivery jobs to boost her income.
She and her husband previously ran an events business in Malaysia from 2017 to 2022, which collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic, Norasitah says.
What she wanted now was stability – a job with Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, regular hours so she can care for Zahra after work, and ideally one that involves working with people.
Finding stable work proved harder than expected. Her daughter clung to her all day and she was still breastfeeding.
Ang suggested enrolling Zahra in pre-school. Norasitah hesitated. Her husband had doubts too, given Zahra’s young age.
But early education matters, Ang explains. It would give Zahra a “safe, stimulating environment where she could learn, play, and interact with her own peers”, she explains.
Together, they narrowed down to six schools, with Ang calling the pre-schools to check any slot availability. Zahra has been enrolled at a pre-school since March 2025.
With Zahra settled in pre-school, Norasitah turned her full attention to finding full-time work.
From May to August 2025, she worked with the NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), refining her resume, attending job fairs and exploring career options. E2i supports nationwide manpower and skills upgrading initiatives.
The call came in August 2025.
Norasitah was on a delivery run from Teban Gardens to Bukit Batok when the National Dental Centre offered her a patient service executive position after two rounds of interviews.
She called her mother immediately: “Our prayers have been answered.”
Moving forward
Norasitah’s family no longer receives support from ComCare SMTA. Her finances have steadied since she found full-time work, Ang says.
Norasitah now gets quarterly cash and CPF payouts under the ComLink+ Progress Package – a scheme that tops up finances for lower-income families making progress in areas like employment – as Zahra continues pre-school and she remains in employment.
She spends her evenings and weekends with Zahra, who has blossomed since starting pre-school, says Norasitah. Zahra is now more outgoing, and likes dancing and singing.
The mother and daughter also joined KidSTART, through which they receive fresh food packs and take part in family-bonding activities like KidSTART PowerUP Playtime, an initiative by KidSTART and SP Group, to further support and enhance the learning and development of KidSTART children through play.
KidSTART is a non-profit organisation supporting families in early childhood development from pregnancy through age six, equipping parents and caregivers with knowledge and skills to build nurturing relationships and support their child’s early years.
Beyond Ang, Norasitah was also paired with Charlotte, a ComLink+ volunteer befriender and working mother in her fifties. While Ang offers practical guidance, she says, Charlotte offers friendship. Both are always there to listen.
As Norasitah’s caregiving and employment needs have stabilised, Ang now meets her quarterly and text in between to offer help or catch up on updates, as she plans to work towards home ownership.
She feels steadier now. “I have a fixed income and I’m able to get what (Zahra needs) for school,” says Norasitah. “When (the pre-school) has events or celebrations, I’m able to volunteer and give back by doing face painting for the children, compared (with) before when I could (barely) provide anything.”
Better Starts with Us is the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF)’s multi-year effort to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore through the shared “We First” spirit.
MSF works with social service agencies, corporates, institutes of higher learning, volunteers, and the community to pool collective expertise and resources, with the aim of building strong families and resilient individuals.
Find out how MSF, its partners, and you can play a part at go.gov.sg/betterstartswithus
In partnership with the Ministry of Social and Family Development