CAREcottage is an initiative by CaringSG to support special needs caregivers who have started enterprises to support their dependants and themselves.
This article was contributed by Ling, a full-time caregiver to her son who has autism.
Hi, I’m Ling, a full-time caregiver and owner of Crochet_Connectz, an inclusive microbusiness that sells crochet, amigurumi and handcrafted gifts.
After quitting my job and becoming a full-time housewife to look after my son, his progress became my primary focus and I would do a lot of research and learn strategies to help him improve.
As he grew up and did not need my attention as much, I tried different things to find purpose in my life other than caregiving, such as working part time for a charity. With my colleagues, we invited volunteer trainers and organised workshops for caregivers so that they could attend to learn skills such as guitar, English calligraphy and crocheting, and also have respite from caregiver duties.
Being involved in the workshops was a turning point as I also started crocheting as a hobby. It was a skill that I didn’t know I had, and I was so motivated to learn different crochet patterns that I stayed up late at night to research and study them (as I was busy with caregiving duties during the day).
After many “practice crochets” to improve my skill step-by-step, I felt great joy when I could eventually produce decent-looking crochets. To celebrate my hard work and share my joy with others, I decided to feature my crochets and amigurumi (crocheted plushies) on social media. Friends requested customised crochet orders and soon after, I started a small business selling crochets.
Looking after my needs to explore and learn had an unexpected benefit – I could also interact more with my son when I trained him how to pack and deliver orders. Through this experience, he has improved his organisation, fine motor skills, resilience and self-esteem greatly. He is particularly interested in the process of tracking orders and loves mailing packages to customers.
Participating in our first CAREcottage Bazaar in March 2024
We were very excited to participate in the CAREcottage Bazaar at SAFRA Punggol and greatly appreciate CaringSG’s effort in creating this opportunity and supporting caregivers like us.
We prepared for the event and tried to cater to the crowd profile of SAFRA Punggol. We were very happy to see kids and their parents having fun playing with the claw machine which we brought for the booth.
I also enjoyed catching up with fellow caregivers of all the booths and our friends who came to visit us. Being able to also meet Guest-of-Honour Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, Dr Lim Hong Huay, the CaringSG team and all my customers face-to-face and receiving their support made all the preparation and hard work so worthwhile.
I cherish each opportunity to spread autism awareness, the importance of caregiver support and contribute to charity through collaborations with fellow caregivers and their special needs kids through my microbusiness Crochet_Connectz.
Learn more about Crochet_Connectz:
- Visit my online shop at crochetconnectz.cococart.co
- Send a direct message at my Instagram page and Facebook page to chat
