She made students feel heard, encouraged and cared for through bowls generously heaped with food and customised meals without any extra cost.<\/p>\n
Four years later, after her cancer relapsed, one former student is repaying the favour.<\/p>\n
Canteen stallholder Anna Ng, affectionately known as Auntie Anna by students, first made headlines in 2022<\/a> after sharing how she became her family\u2019s sole breadwinner when her 67-year-old husband suffered a stroke in 2000.<\/p>\n The 62-year-old had opened an economy rice (cai fan) stall at Nanyang Girls\u2019 High School in 2022, but still struggled to make ends meet, especially with $20,000 to pay in medical bills following an ovarian cancer diagnosis in June that year.<\/p>\n Her story resurfaced after Vivian Zhao,<\/a> a former NYGH student, shared a TikTok video on July 5, revealing that Ng\u2019s cancer had relapsed and appealing for donations to help cover her chemotherapy costs.<\/p>\n The post shows photos of Zhao posing with the stallholder, whom she credits with making her school days brighter through thoughtful gestures.<\/p>\n She recalled how Auntie Anna would often prepare off-menu meals for students based on what they wanted, and gave large portions in case they were hungry afterwards.<\/p>\n \u201cShe always gave me treats and food and refused to take my money because \u2018they\u2019re leftovers and no one would buy them anyway\u2019,\u201d Zhao recalled, adding that someone would inevitably end up buying them afterwards.<\/p>\n Another photo shows the Ng\u2019s arm wrapped around the student as they smile for the camera.<\/p>\n \u201cAuntie Anna made me feel heard, encouraged and cared for,\u201d Zhao wrote. \u201cBe it during all the hour-long talks we would have after school or the time where she wrote my 2.4 timing on the wall, I knew she was always there and will always be proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that the stallholder\u2019s cancer<\/a> had relapsed, urging others to support a fundraiser on the GoGetFunding website.<\/a><\/p>\n On the fundraising page, Zhao said it had \u201cbeen very hard\u201d for the stallholder to make a living while taking care of her health.<\/p>\n Calling Auntie Anna the \u201ckindest soul you\u2019ll ever meet\u201d, Zhao described her as \u201cunderstanding\u201d, as she would often let students eat even if they didn\u2019t have enough money to pay.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot begin to say how much Auntie Anna really means to me,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u2018Made me feel heard, encouraged, cared for\u2019<\/h2>\n
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