Mdm Seck, or Angela, sits alone on her bed as she waits for a volunteer from the Cassia Resettlement Team (CRT) to arrive and accompany her for breakfast. She lives alone at 52 Cassia Crescent, a block of flats in eastern Singapore. Since 2017, hundreds of residents from different public housing estates, such as Dakota Crescent and Sims Drive, have been resettled here.

The widow lost her husband to cancer in 2017, a loss that Mdm Seck continues to grieve. She wipes the dust off her husband’s portrait as she reminisces about their marriage. “He really loved me and treated me very well. I miss him a lot,” she recalls with tenderness. As tears well up in her eyes, she asks, “Why did he have to leave me so soon.”

A handsome man, Mdm Seck says they met at work, fell in love and were engaged after six years. They were married at a church nearby and were husband and wife for 15 years. Mdm Seck reveals that she is afraid of living alone but is reassured because she feels his presence in the flat and believes that he watches over her.

Besides his portrait, Mdm Seck still keeps memories of her husband around the studio flat, like this portrait from happier days. There is also a glass cabinet filled with toys, which she says her late husband had a passion for collecting. At times when she is feeling lonely and needs company, she stays over at her sister’s.

A devout Catholic, Mdm Seck believes her husband is in a better place. The altar takes pride of place by the window, and despite the clutter in her flat, remains relatively unobstructed.

Even though one senses her vulnerability and deep sadness, Mdm Seck remains a tower of strength. She makes it a point to dress up every day and to step out of the house. Before heading out into the neighbourhood, special care is taken with her appearance. Accessories are selected to match her outfits that are usually bright and cheerful with prints.

The morning ritual of preparing to leave her house includes cleaning her mobility scooter. With problems walking long distances, the electric vehicle makes getting around the neighbourhood less cumbersome, and more comfortable. She keeps it parked in her flat for security reasons.

A closer examination of Mdm Seck’s scooter reveals quite a bit about her personality. Every item has its place and purpose, including the Singapore flag. Older citizens profess a deep loyalty for the governing party of Singapore.

Finally, an hour after the volunteer arrives, Mdm Seck is ready to lock up and start her day. A print of the Last Supper welcomes guests at her front door. It certainly makes it easier for first-time visitors to identify her home.

And she is off. As her flat is a fair way from the lift landing, the scooter saves Mdm Seck time and energy, making it more conducive to leave her home.

On occasions when a CRT volunteer joins her for breakfast, not only does Mdm Seck have a friend to chat with on the way to the coffee shop, but also someone to deal with impatient lift doors.

Mdm Seck zips pass a construction site on her way to the market. New public housing flats are being built in Cassia Crescent, and the tagline on the hoarding seems out of place given the issues many elderly resettled residents have faced since moving to Block 52.

Even with the scooter, it takes Mdm Seck at least 10 minutes from her door to reach Old Kallang Estate Hawker Centre and Wet Market. It is a distance that other elderly residents without a scooter have found tiresome, especially when they used to live at Dakota Crescent estate, which is across the road from such amenities.

After arriving at the hawker centre, Mdm Seck wastes little time and heads straight to her favourite stall to buy a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and to take away fried noodles for lunch and dinner.

She finds a space at one of a handful of wheelchair-friendly tables. With more elderly residents on scooters or in wheelchairs, it can be hard to find a seat at the food centre. Mdm Seck is lucky this morning, as the table is also in front of the stall she says sells the best and cheapest coffee.

Gary and Mdm Seck have struck up an easy relationship, despite the short time they have known each other. And while CRT volunteers work mostly with residents who have moved from Dakota Crescent public housing estate, they also support former Sims Drive residents, such as Mdm Seck.

Gary manages to make Mdm Seck laugh, despite her tendency to be circumspect about her life as a recent widow. Sometimes all it takes is a beautiful, sunny day, a hearty breakfast, and good company to lift one’s spirits. In this case, CRT volunteers provide not just practical support, but emotional care too.

After breakfast, Mdm Seck stops by the drop-off point of Block 52, before heading back upstairs to her flat. She finds her friends here nearly every day. This common area seems to be the most popular gathering point for residents at Block 52. It is bright, airy and a prime spot for observing the world go by.

It is also where Mdm Seck will spend most mornings catching up on community gossip, each other’s lives, having a laugh, and checking to see if anyone won some money.

Mdm Seck strikes a formidable presence on her scooter. She carries her feisty personality with her, unafraid to let it shine. And while she says she has no friends and prefers to be alone, she perhaps grapples with the complexity of her own desires but refuses to apologise for her contradictions.

Always a surprise, Mdm Seck sports pigtails and a dress with big red flowers. It matches her sprightly mood, which has even motivated her to brave the near-hour journey to Chinatown. It helps that Gary has offered to go along for the ride. Here he is describing the route and explaining how she could do the journey by herself in the future.

The spontaneous trip, sans scooter, is bolstered with stories and jokes. Gary and Mdm Seck keep each other company on an otherwise mundane train ride.

Ever self-sufficient and well-prepared, Mdm Seck unpacks a stool at the traffic lights. She hangs it on her trolley basket that stands in as a walking aid. Her red beret completes the look of sassy nonchalance.

But the heat and humidity are a little too much for Mdm Seck, and it isn’t long before the jaunt into Chinatown is cut short. A quick cigarette under the shade before she calls it a day and Gary takes her home in a taxi.

One of the many expressive faces of Mdm Seck. Here a look of steely determination in the lift at People’s Park Complex. It is her second trip into Chinatown in a while, and she is on a mission to buy cloth to sew some dresses.

Mdm Seck is her element among the bolts of fabric in every colour, texture and design. The former seamstress has a knack for sewing. Most of her clothes are self-made, and she hopes to be able to find sewing jobs soon, as she is getting restless not being able to work due to her health issues.

It is a serious business choosing the right material for Mdm Seck’s next outfit, and the sales lady can sniff out a lucrative customer a mile away. On this quiet morning, she plants herself next to Mdm Seck and offers advice. Her efforts pay off. Mdm Seck finds something she likes and invigorated by her purchase continues her search at more stores.

Being surrounded by rows of material has inspired Mdm Seck to make more than one outfit, which was her initial plan. But what happens when you cannot decide between two fabric designs?

You buy both, of course, though not before making a hard bargain. Satisfied with her choices, Mdm Seck decides, quite wisely, that it was time to leave before anything else caught her eye.

Back at home, she starts turning the material into something wearable. It takes Mdm Seck about two days to complete a full-length dress. The Cassia Resettlement Team had tried to start a micro-sewing business with her, but it failed. This has not dampened her resolve to continue to find a job as a seamstress. She would also like to learn to bake.