Parents are always filled with immense pride when their children enrol for distinguished university courses.
This particular Singapore hawker highlights his love for his daughter by saving a note of his daughter’s university course name on his phone.
He does so as he cannot pronounce the name of her university course. The hawker would then show the note to people who ask him about her course.
His story was shared by Kopi Konvos, or @kopikonvos on TikTok, on 5 Feb (Sunday). The video has since garnered over 100,000 views since being posted.
Netizens were touched by the hawker’s pride for his daughter.
The retired Singapore hawker, Uncle Kui Woo, used to own the stall Weng Fatt Hong Kong Roasted Specialist at 210 Hougang Strett 21.
In the TikTok video, Uncle Kui Woo can be seen holding his phone with his Notes app opened. You can see he only has one note stored on the app.
Source: @kopikonvos on TikTok
When he opens the note, it reveals his daughter’s prestigious university course — the Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP) from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Source: @kopikonvos on TikTok
For the uninitiated, the REP is a double-degree programme combining business, engineering, and the humanities, according to the NTU site. It’s also notoriously difficult to get into.
On the Notes app, you can see that Uncle Kui Woo’s daughter is studying for a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (specialisation) together with a Master’s in Technology Management. In response to MS News‘ queries, Kopi Konvos shared that his daughter is currently attending her final semester in school, and has also co-founded a social travel platform with her friends.
Uncle Kui Woo also explains that he cannot pronounce the name of the degree properly. As such, he shows the note to people who ask about what his daughter is studying.
Kopi Konvos also shared with MS News that Uncle Kui Woo has been running his shop for the past two decades. Like many older hawkers, he is not very fluent in English. As such, his daughter had become his right-hand man, assisting him with finance and admin tasks for his shop.
However, Uncle Kui Woo has chosen to retire for now due to renovation works near the coffee shop, which have caused him to lose profits. Furthermore, as he is turning 58 years old this year, it has become difficult for him to work long hours at his stall.
Since his shop’s closure, Uncle Kui Woo has been taking a well-deserved break. His daughter even brought him on his first vacation to Europe last December. However, being a passionate hawker, he is hoping to get back to business soon.
Many netizens were touched by how proud he seemed of his daughter. One TikTok user found his act particularly heartwarming, especially because her university course is not an easy one to get into.
Source: @kopikonvos on TikTok
Furthermore, most netizens shared how wholesome they found his story to be. Evidently, he has tugged all of our heartstrings.
Source: @kopikonvos on TikTok
Uncle Kui Woo is the first hawker featured on Kopi Konvos, or @kopikonvos on Instagram and TikTok. It is a project kickstarted by two students from the National University of Singapore. Through the project, they hope to “create meaningful conversations between Gen Zs and hawkers”.
Their TikTok video helped to highlight that beyond being a hawker, Uncle Kui Woo is also a loving father who seems genuinely proud of his daughter.
If you have a story to share about inspiring hawkers you know, you may reach out to Kopi Konvos on their socials.
We are truly touched by Uncle Kui Woo and we wish him the best of health. We also wish that he and his daughter will remain happy, having made the Internet gush over his fatherly pride.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @kopikonvos on TikTok
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