This Singapore block houses 6 sisters and 24 family members under one roof
Since 1997, six siblings have been buying up units of an old walk-up building, establishing a unique family bond between four generations.
All six units in this building have been bought by six siblings who live together with their families.
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SINGAPORE: Ms Mabel Foo’s family takes family togetherness to a whole new level — three levels of a six-unit walk-up apartment block to be exact.
This block in the eastern part of Singapore houses six sisters, 24 family members and four generations of the same family.
The oldest is matriarch Koh Poh Choo, 87, and the youngest is her four-month-old great-grandson. Ms Foo’s other two siblings, a brother and a sister, live nearby.
And it is this unique set-up of family togetherness that makes Ms Foo feel fortunate.
“I am truly blessed to be staying in this big unit here with the six of us,” said Ms Foo, the eldest sibling, during an interview with On The Red Dot.
Each unit can fetch more than S$1.2 million on the market, but Ms Foo and her sisters are not interested. They are staying put.
“As I told my siblings before, if any developer were to offer me — even if they offer me — S$2 million, I’ll say: ‘Thank you very much, go away. I’m not interested.’”
Ms Foo and her family are featured in an ongoing On The Red Dot series called Unique Communities, which explores groups in Singapore living off the beaten path and who live, work and play differently from regular Singaporeans.
A video of the family’s unique living structure on the CNA Insider Facebook page received more than 2,500 reactions and 3,100 shares, with many commenting on the rarity of such households and others wishing they could have done the same.
Said Facebook user Maya Korrs: “Love a family that can cooperate and live like this! Awesome job ladies!!!”
About 10 per cent of all households in Singapore are made up of homes comprising three or more generations under one roof.
While the Singapore government has since September 2013 encouraged multi-generational living with 3Gen Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats designed to meet the needs of such household structures, Ms Foo’s family has been proudly doing this for more than two decades.
WATCH: 24 family members under one roof (1:39)
UNIT BY UNIT
Two of Ms Foo’s sisters, Ms Betty McConnell and Ms Irene Foo, were the first to buy a unit in the block in 1997, and over the next 10 years, five units were bought by the rest of her siblings.
One of the units has been rented out for the past year to a neighbour who is sometimes invited to share meals with the sisters.
Said Ms McConnell: “When we bought it, the fact that it is six units, you know, we actually said to ourselves, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if all six units could be owned by one member of our family?’”
Today, their living arrangement works for the better for their ageing mother, Madam Koh, who lost her husband in 1997.
In the decade that followed her loss, dementia set in, but with the sisters living in the same block, they each take turns looking after her, creating schedules for doctor’s appointments and meal times.
Even grandchildren step in to help.
PASSING IT DOWN
Senior producer Nurhayatie Wahab, who interviewed the family, said the bonds of cooperation and support among the second generation of sisters will no doubt influence their children to build the same bonds with their siblings and cousins.
“That family dynamic of togetherness is unbelievably strong among the second generation,” said Ms Nurhayatie.
“It may not seem as strong between their children, but growing up witnessing how their mothers and aunts have been able to take care of their grandmother, interact and create that sense of family will no doubt have a positive impact on their lives.”
Ms Nurhayatie also said that she was impressed with a household built on the strength of women.
“They have very strong personalities. They are like the quintessential Peranakan family. Very matriarchal. Strong women,” said the producer.
“The sisters display strong personality traits. They can cook, hold careers and take care of the children and their mother. It was very impressive, as was the banter while watching all of them in the kitchen come together to make pineapple tarts.”
Third-generation Shane Yeo, who is now 17, said that sometimes he loses a sense of privacy, especially when word gets around easily among the sisters, but he feels that this is a kind of family support many may not be lucky enough to have.
Shane, the son of Ms Emily Yeo, who is the youngest of the six sisters in the building, said: “It is unique. For some people, they grow up not knowing their aunts, not visiting them often, and then it is a bit like, if they need help from family, it will be hard for them.
“The downside to this is that when I do something bad then my mother will gossip to her sisters and then all her sisters would come down and lecture me about what to do and how to do the right thing.”
Ms Maureen Pestana, the sixth-oldest sibling, agrees with her nephew that the support they have built is indeed unique.
Said Ms Pestana: “We have intimate knowledge of each other’s challenges. The constant affirmation of support from each one is so powerful. I am so happy here. I wouldn’t want to move and leave this place at all. I hope that I will be able to stay here for as long as I can.”
