I what with the dead I frequent am
archery and my office is lined with dead
bodies waiting to be prepared for the
after neural every day is a Matt Raj
checking in and checking out my
customers from the funeral parlor this
is my career
I manage a funeral business but this
isn’t exactly the career that vision
myself to be in my life change on the
eve of Christmas
2:01 tree my father had an heart attack
his new family had left him stop helping
him with his business and overnight his
world came crashing down my father
Roland T has been in the funeral
business for the past 40 years and is
well known as the Good Samaritan of
Singapore always providing pro bono
funeral services to the people who need
help since young I’ve always looked up
to him as a role model in my life even
when I was deciding what cause to pursue
after my poly education I wanted to
study embalming so that I could help him
with his business he pondered for a
while but he brushed me off because he
thought that having a proper university
degree it’s more important and I should
get some working experience first and
that’s what I did I graduated with a
degree in marketing and management and
I’ve worked in a marketing agency for
four years managing large scale
corporate events and marketing campaigns
it was really fun and I’d learned so
much but at the back of my head I’ve
always wanted to do something that means
more to me that scene at a hospital
after my father’s heart attack changed
my destiny for the rest of my life I
remember he was film jaded with tears
trickling down his cheeks without a
second thought
I turned to him and throw him dead let
me quit my work to help you at a pliant
time I don’t even know what I’ve gotten
myself into because I have zero
knowledge about history but it was love
that let me to take the leap of faith on
the first day of my job I had no clue
what to expect my staff were all in the
age of 50s the 60s and they didn’t seem
convinced that I was serious about this
job afterward they were Holly any young
people in the street let alone a young
female like myself the first thing that
I wanted to do was to go into an
embalming room to see how a dead body
looked like my supervisor back then
shouted at me across a room forbidding
me to go in because it was an autopsy
case I told him I was ready I wasn’t but
I knew I had to do this to gain the
respect so dare I stood looking at a
dead body with a Y incision from the
navel to the neck his chest was split
open the brain was cleanly slice with
the brain scooped out placed in a bucket
of Hamelin bobbing up and down the
ribcage was pried open revealing the
internal organs it really isn’t as
frightening as I had imagined I remember
the first thought I had in my was it’s
still scary in the movies it was
unforgettable
but that was a very first step I took to
show everyone that I’m a hundred percent
in this doing my dad’s era people shun
Undertaker’s they believe that being
around us will bring them bad luck I
thought of Undertaker’s that don’t even
get invited to weddings at all even when
I joined the business in 2:01 tree it’s
still seen as a very unglamorous job
because no one wanted to do so I was
very adamant about professionalizing and
changing a public image of our trade
I see our job as being no difference
from that of a doctor or nurse after all
we are also providing an essential
service to the community as only she was
changing the public image that I will be
able to continue my dad’s legacy and to
entice
generation to continue in my trade
however what hindered me most was my
gender being a lady in a male-dominated
industry was not easy people are
constantly on the lookout for you to
make a mistake just so they can affirm
their unbiasness that this just isn’t a
ladies job people laughed at me I
adopted myself again and again but it
was the love of my dad that kept me
going on people tell me that this is a
dying business but what I saw was an
opportunity I realized the way this
profession has been conducted but a fast
40 years has not changed and we needed
to make a change the change was
extremely difficult when we wanted to
change the look of awake SATA my vendors
protested against my vision they feel
that I’m trying to change the tradition
even my dad was hesitant but I remember
my dad once taught me that in business
if you want to heal against the wall
don’t keep knocking against it you can
go left go right go overall and uh and
that’s what I did eventually we managed
to create a new set of wake setup
infusing modern elements together with
traditional practices how did I do it I
just said sorry to all my vendors and
did everything myself
I remember when I first started to
revamp the business I only had a ragtag
team of men people Shanna’s it was so
important to change the way the public
perceive us as funeral professionals
rather than our job laborers the first
thing I did was to put on a new set of
professional-looking uniform for my
staff to wear it’s only one whole year
to convince them to put on a mere
formality when customer sees us they
instantly feel a sense of
professionalism and trust in us it was a
small step but it was a start of a
journey that I realized how our
persistence
to make a difference has impact on our
staff to instill pride and confidence in
them so that they can view themselves as
funeral professionals change was not
easy but was accepted a change I could
see their profile pictures changed to
selfies in the new uniform we disrupt
the deaf business by shifting the
mindset of our industry to dead of a
hospitality business after all
we feel that a funeral is not just about
sending off the deceased and a demon
fight sent us but more importantly is
about taking care of the families that
are left behind professional mcs Allegan
wig set up beautiful memorial collages
coffee machine waitering services this
is the way we want to take care of the
families that we serve our big break
came when my husband and I took our
wedding pictures like this my husband
and my father was so against the idea
but I believe in it when people take
their wedding pictures they usually take
it at our favorite on destination
weddings are places that means something
to the couple for my husband and I the
funeral business is our life it’s our
calling so what better way to take our
photos then to line the beautiful coffin
like this I asked them to trust in me it
was small advertisement the main purpose
of taking this series of photos is to
lead the top in debunking the taboo
surrounding this trade believe me it was
not easy to convince these two grown men
but I persevered when the photo started
circulating over night we went viral
around the wall even BBC picked it up
and interviewed asked life on the TV
station it was an exciting few days for
us and it’s part of a series of
conversations in the media about Devin
our industry people were finally talking
about deaf deaf is our business
it’s a six-part series about us as a
free
director family it’s a first of its kind
and it went on to win the two zero one
six nine Television Award for Best
reality program
[Applause]
we are very heartened that even a local
media are more open to featuring
explicit details about death it really
helped to further educate the people
about what we do
lifting the tab was surrounding our
trade since our revamp our team has
grown from 5 to 65 people and the
general age group of our staff has
decreased from 55 to 30 it’s really
rewarding to see how a revamp has
brought about so many young people to
join our trade to fulfill our calling in
life we are very glad that our
persistence to make a difference as how
to transform a traditional industry that
is work by so much resentment and servos
into one that is professional
compassionate and has become a viable
career option for younger generation
through my line of work I’ve been
privileged to witness fragments at
families reunite people who have lost
contact for decades coming back together
tears of forgiveness and races of
acceptance people let go of the grudge’s
and accept each other for who they are
the power of love is what makes us so
special and this father of thumbs my
purpose in this business of course I
didn’t know what my purpose was before I
was thrown into the circumstances that
was in but she were each situations that
I had to go through that vision to make
things better develop I didn’t just
succumb to the challenges that I’m faced
with
I didn’t just accept the status quo
because the most senior generation tell
me so I wanted to make a difference in
my father’s life I wanted to make a
difference in the business I wanted to
make a difference in the community I
think I suppose it is industry helped me
develop the vision and that vision to
make things better kept me pushing all
the boundaries
I’ve learned so much about life to death
and the biggest thing I’ve learned it’s
about love death greatest lesson it’s
not about how much money you have me
it’s not about how many Instagram
followers you have it’s really about how
loved you are by our family and friends
I’ve learned that that is not morbid
instead it reveals the more tender side
of a human being I’ve seen all wounds
heal families reunite a funeral is a
place where miracles of love can happen
everything happens for a reason
and I don’t my dad’s heart attack was
scared to us but I’m grateful that this
opportunity this crisis has given me the
chance to learn about live greatest
lesson and to be a game changer in the
industry opportunities are everywhere
and you can be a game changer in places
that you least expect even death can be
game-changing so long as you believe in
your purpose don’t let anything stand in
your way because you don’t have to wait
on to a crisis to let you take the leap
of faith thank you
[Applause]
archery and my office is lined with dead
bodies waiting to be prepared for the
after neural every day is a Matt Raj
checking in and checking out my
customers from the funeral parlor this
is my career
I manage a funeral business but this
isn’t exactly the career that vision
myself to be in my life change on the
eve of Christmas
2:01 tree my father had an heart attack
his new family had left him stop helping
him with his business and overnight his
world came crashing down my father
Roland T has been in the funeral
business for the past 40 years and is
well known as the Good Samaritan of
Singapore always providing pro bono
funeral services to the people who need
help since young I’ve always looked up
to him as a role model in my life even
when I was deciding what cause to pursue
after my poly education I wanted to
study embalming so that I could help him
with his business he pondered for a
while but he brushed me off because he
thought that having a proper university
degree it’s more important and I should
get some working experience first and
that’s what I did I graduated with a
degree in marketing and management and
I’ve worked in a marketing agency for
four years managing large scale
corporate events and marketing campaigns
it was really fun and I’d learned so
much but at the back of my head I’ve
always wanted to do something that means
more to me that scene at a hospital
after my father’s heart attack changed
my destiny for the rest of my life I
remember he was film jaded with tears
trickling down his cheeks without a
second thought
I turned to him and throw him dead let
me quit my work to help you at a pliant
time I don’t even know what I’ve gotten
myself into because I have zero
knowledge about history but it was love
that let me to take the leap of faith on
the first day of my job I had no clue
what to expect my staff were all in the
age of 50s the 60s and they didn’t seem
convinced that I was serious about this
job afterward they were Holly any young
people in the street let alone a young
female like myself the first thing that
I wanted to do was to go into an
embalming room to see how a dead body
looked like my supervisor back then
shouted at me across a room forbidding
me to go in because it was an autopsy
case I told him I was ready I wasn’t but
I knew I had to do this to gain the
respect so dare I stood looking at a
dead body with a Y incision from the
navel to the neck his chest was split
open the brain was cleanly slice with
the brain scooped out placed in a bucket
of Hamelin bobbing up and down the
ribcage was pried open revealing the
internal organs it really isn’t as
frightening as I had imagined I remember
the first thought I had in my was it’s
still scary in the movies it was
unforgettable
but that was a very first step I took to
show everyone that I’m a hundred percent
in this doing my dad’s era people shun
Undertaker’s they believe that being
around us will bring them bad luck I
thought of Undertaker’s that don’t even
get invited to weddings at all even when
I joined the business in 2:01 tree it’s
still seen as a very unglamorous job
because no one wanted to do so I was
very adamant about professionalizing and
changing a public image of our trade
I see our job as being no difference
from that of a doctor or nurse after all
we are also providing an essential
service to the community as only she was
changing the public image that I will be
able to continue my dad’s legacy and to
entice
generation to continue in my trade
however what hindered me most was my
gender being a lady in a male-dominated
industry was not easy people are
constantly on the lookout for you to
make a mistake just so they can affirm
their unbiasness that this just isn’t a
ladies job people laughed at me I
adopted myself again and again but it
was the love of my dad that kept me
going on people tell me that this is a
dying business but what I saw was an
opportunity I realized the way this
profession has been conducted but a fast
40 years has not changed and we needed
to make a change the change was
extremely difficult when we wanted to
change the look of awake SATA my vendors
protested against my vision they feel
that I’m trying to change the tradition
even my dad was hesitant but I remember
my dad once taught me that in business
if you want to heal against the wall
don’t keep knocking against it you can
go left go right go overall and uh and
that’s what I did eventually we managed
to create a new set of wake setup
infusing modern elements together with
traditional practices how did I do it I
just said sorry to all my vendors and
did everything myself
I remember when I first started to
revamp the business I only had a ragtag
team of men people Shanna’s it was so
important to change the way the public
perceive us as funeral professionals
rather than our job laborers the first
thing I did was to put on a new set of
professional-looking uniform for my
staff to wear it’s only one whole year
to convince them to put on a mere
formality when customer sees us they
instantly feel a sense of
professionalism and trust in us it was a
small step but it was a start of a
journey that I realized how our
persistence
to make a difference has impact on our
staff to instill pride and confidence in
them so that they can view themselves as
funeral professionals change was not
easy but was accepted a change I could
see their profile pictures changed to
selfies in the new uniform we disrupt
the deaf business by shifting the
mindset of our industry to dead of a
hospitality business after all
we feel that a funeral is not just about
sending off the deceased and a demon
fight sent us but more importantly is
about taking care of the families that
are left behind professional mcs Allegan
wig set up beautiful memorial collages
coffee machine waitering services this
is the way we want to take care of the
families that we serve our big break
came when my husband and I took our
wedding pictures like this my husband
and my father was so against the idea
but I believe in it when people take
their wedding pictures they usually take
it at our favorite on destination
weddings are places that means something
to the couple for my husband and I the
funeral business is our life it’s our
calling so what better way to take our
photos then to line the beautiful coffin
like this I asked them to trust in me it
was small advertisement the main purpose
of taking this series of photos is to
lead the top in debunking the taboo
surrounding this trade believe me it was
not easy to convince these two grown men
but I persevered when the photo started
circulating over night we went viral
around the wall even BBC picked it up
and interviewed asked life on the TV
station it was an exciting few days for
us and it’s part of a series of
conversations in the media about Devin
our industry people were finally talking
about deaf deaf is our business
it’s a six-part series about us as a
free
director family it’s a first of its kind
and it went on to win the two zero one
six nine Television Award for Best
reality program
[Applause]
we are very heartened that even a local
media are more open to featuring
explicit details about death it really
helped to further educate the people
about what we do
lifting the tab was surrounding our
trade since our revamp our team has
grown from 5 to 65 people and the
general age group of our staff has
decreased from 55 to 30 it’s really
rewarding to see how a revamp has
brought about so many young people to
join our trade to fulfill our calling in
life we are very glad that our
persistence to make a difference as how
to transform a traditional industry that
is work by so much resentment and servos
into one that is professional
compassionate and has become a viable
career option for younger generation
through my line of work I’ve been
privileged to witness fragments at
families reunite people who have lost
contact for decades coming back together
tears of forgiveness and races of
acceptance people let go of the grudge’s
and accept each other for who they are
the power of love is what makes us so
special and this father of thumbs my
purpose in this business of course I
didn’t know what my purpose was before I
was thrown into the circumstances that
was in but she were each situations that
I had to go through that vision to make
things better develop I didn’t just
succumb to the challenges that I’m faced
with
I didn’t just accept the status quo
because the most senior generation tell
me so I wanted to make a difference in
my father’s life I wanted to make a
difference in the business I wanted to
make a difference in the community I
think I suppose it is industry helped me
develop the vision and that vision to
make things better kept me pushing all
the boundaries
I’ve learned so much about life to death
and the biggest thing I’ve learned it’s
about love death greatest lesson it’s
not about how much money you have me
it’s not about how many Instagram
followers you have it’s really about how
loved you are by our family and friends
I’ve learned that that is not morbid
instead it reveals the more tender side
of a human being I’ve seen all wounds
heal families reunite a funeral is a
place where miracles of love can happen
everything happens for a reason
and I don’t my dad’s heart attack was
scared to us but I’m grateful that this
opportunity this crisis has given me the
chance to learn about live greatest
lesson and to be a game changer in the
industry opportunities are everywhere
and you can be a game changer in places
that you least expect even death can be
game-changing so long as you believe in
your purpose don’t let anything stand in
your way because you don’t have to wait
on to a crisis to let you take the leap
of faith thank you
[Applause]
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