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Dhaniah Suhana was 10 when she lost her mum to cancer.
But she didn’t just have to deal with the grief of losing a parent-as the eldest of four kids, she was also forced to grow up overnight.
“My sisters were nine, eight and one. I definitely felt responsible for them,” says the 32-year-old.
“In fact, in my mother’s last letter to me, she said it was her wish that I take care of them.”
“I was old enough to understand the gravity of the situation, but I didn’t really know how to express myself or process my feelings. I’d cry quietly in the backseat of the car without anyone noticing.”
Her father then moved her and her sisters to Malaysia so they could be looked after by their grandparents. But life didn’t necessarily become any easier.
“We had to take the school bus in the wee hours of the morning just so we could get to school in Singapore on time.”
When she was 14, her father brought them back to Singapore to live with him. But he would either come home very late at night or not at all.
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