October 29, 2024
SINGAPORE – Among the children who take a train at Stadium MRT station, Madam Ayati Hassan and Madam Marfadina Mohamed Nossi are known as the “sticker aunties”.
For over a year now, the two women have been at the train station daily, armed with a pouch of stickers to hand out to children.
As SMRT train service ambassadors, they keep a keen eye out for commuters who may need assistance, especially crying children who could be in a sour mood over having to go to school in the morning.
Among the stickers they give out are those of popular cartoon characters – including Pokemon and Pororo, an animated penguin – and other stuff that children like, such as buses, trucks and animals including fishes.
They had noticed the children who frequent the station in the morning tend to be from foreign countries, most likely because of the international schools in the area. So they decided to do something nice to make them feel welcome.
“We initially thought of giving sweets or chocolates to make them happy, but people are not allowed to eat in MRT stations,” said Madam Ayati, 57, who has been working for three years at Stadium MRT station.
They settled on giving the children stickers instead, which they bought from e-commerce platform Shopee using their own money since they were not expensive.
It took some time for the children to warm up to them, said Madam Marfadina, 46, who has been working as a service ambassador for six years.
One of them is three-year-old Alexander Ian Armour, who was initially hesitant about approaching them, the women said.
It took a few weeks of befriending him before he was eventually won over by a sticker of a fire truck, said his mother Elena Armour, 41, who takes Alexander to pre-school every weekday.
Now her toddler will run towards the two women excitedly so he can pick another sticker, said Ms Armour, who is from Russia.
Ms Armour, who has lived in Singapore for 16 years and works in the financial sector, said Alexander would decorate his stroller with the stickers.
“It is beautiful when people express genuine kindness without expecting anything in return, just out of love for children,” she said.
Madam Ayati said she knows the children will grow up eventually, move elsewhere or visit the station less frequently, but for now she is “happy to put a smile on their faces every day”.
Madam Marfadina Mohamed Nossi said it took some time for the children to warm up to them. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Madam Ayati Hassan gives some stickers to a child at Stadium MRT station. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES