YT06 | This Singaporean Mother Is On A Mission To Change The World

Meet Delphine Ang, a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator on heart-centered leadership and self-care for leadership. She is an Accredited Innovative Change Leadership Coach and a Certified Brain Health Coaching Professional with Amen Clinics, USA. She regularly speaks on topics like resilience, empowerment, women’s leadership, and mental and emotional health to international audiences. She has conducted wellness retreats for international audiences.

Join Yana Fry as she engages in a heartfelt conversation with Delphine Ang, a Singaporean determined to make a difference. Delphine’s story takes us through her journey of faith, family, and connection, highlighting her inspiring decision to give back to the community at age 50. She’s on a mission to raise $50,000 through a speaking tour to support disadvantaged children and women in Asia. Through this episode, Delphine reminds us that true connection and empathy transcend boundaries, inspiring us to appreciate life’s blessings and embrace diverse perspectives. Tune in now!

Discussion Topics: This Singaporean Mother Is On A Mission To Change The World

• How Does Yana Choose Guests For Her Show?
• Delphine’s Early Life In Singapore
• Delphine’s Children
• Unusual Present for 50
• How Has The Raising Process Been?
• Delphine’s Living Experience in Singapore
• AI Replacing Humans
• Social Media and Connections
• A Good Aspect of the Pandemic
• A Singaporean’s Feeling About Foreigners
• Delphine’s Advice for her Kids

Transcript: This Singaporean Mother Is On A Mission To Change The World

Delphine Ang: So for my 50th year I decided I wanted to do something meaningful. So I’m going on a speaking tour where together we can change the world and we self-fund this tour. We get to speak and the registrations collected at this event will be channeled to different charities in Asia to help disadvantaged children and women. And for myself, I also make it a personal goal to raise 50,000 US dollars for the Good Shepherd Sisters.

Yana Fry: Welcome to YanaTV, a talk show to amplify the voices of impactful and conscious people of Singapore. Today, our guest is Delphine Ang. Thank you so much for joining us, Delphine. It’s a pleasure to have you in the studio.

Delphine Ang: Thank you Yana for having me. I am super, super delighted, and honoured. And I have a question and that is how do you choose your guests?

How Does Yana Choose Guests For Her Show?

Yana Fry: This is a great question. It’s a great study of our conversation. Largely based on my instinct, like my gut feeling, that I just have this feeling that this person would be a good fit for the show.

And then I do have those two parts that whatever they do, or their life or their message, it has to be impactful and conscious. So for them to come here and talk, and I also like to have a variety of people. So it means it could be Singaporean PR experts or people who may be here for the long term, past documents, and also just the whole variety of racist nationalities, and religions. So it becomes like a very holistic show where We just look at Singapore from different sides of different people.

Delphine Ang: Yeah. Thank you. And that kind of reminds me of this thing that I read on Facebook. We are like books. Most people judge us by our cover. A few read our introduction. The majority believe the critics and very few read our content. So I really appreciate that you take this opportunity to get to know me by asking me questions rather than just checking me on Facebook or LinkedIn because if you check those, it’s not impressive.

Yana Fry: To me, you are an impressive person because I know a little bit about your story and that’s why I would love to share it today on camera. Thank you for showing up today. So you were born in Singapore?

Delphine’s Early Life In Singapore

Delphine Ang: Yes. Made and produced in Singapore.

Yana Fry: Which part of Singapore?

Delphine Ang: Singapore is really small, so if I really have to quantify, the place is actually Punggol. That is like the north area of Singapore.

Yana Fry: Okay. So in Punggol what school did you go to?

Delphine Ang: My primary school was CHIJ Punggol, like a convent school. Also in the northern area. After that, I went to a secondary school, which is the Methodist Girls School. And then I went to Victoria Junior College, and then I went to the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Yana Fry: And so just listening to this I’m assuming you are coming from a family of believers. So what church do you go to?

Delphine Ang: I’m a Catholic, not currently because I left church for 10 years before coming back. So I am with the San Francis Xavier Church, but I also go to the Immaculate Heart Of Mary.

Yana Fry: Okay. I always love to go to those places in different parts of the world because I just feel the energy, just very late, wherever you are, closer to the divine spirit in a universe that we describe

Delphine Ang: I think that’s so important sometimes to check into our supernatural intelligence. And that comes for me from God.

Yana Fry: Beautiful. You have a lot of interesting things in your life and I just would like to touch on your point just a little bit. One that was really interesting for me when I met you, you have four children, right? Yes, that’s right.

Delphine’s Children

Delphine Ang: Okay. My eldest is 21 and then 19 years old, 16 years old. And then by God’s grace, I have another one who is now three years old. So I delivered during Covid.

Yana Fry: Yes. And you delivered at the age of what? 47. 47? Yes.

Delphine Ang: They said, you’re so brave. Or there’s nothing brave about it. I just. Make sure I take good care of myself and deliver a healthy baby, and trust that by God’s grace, the baby will be healthy.

Yana Fry: And she’s okay. So I would just remember, it’s such an unusual example because women these days, I mean it’s very normal that some women choose to have children. Others may choose not to have children. And whatever you do, it’s entirely your personal choice.

But it is still not very common when we hear women giving birth after 45. That’s right. So that’s why your story was just very interesting for me, I’m like, wow. She is just amazing in that. So there are no limitations really.

And we just had an interview with Wayne Chan before, and we were just discussing the reproduction rate in Singapore. And she was saying, he was saying that look, people don’t have enough children, and here you are having four kids. So there is hope for Singaporeans.

Delphine Ang: Yeah. 10 years before I delivered this baby was my last pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage. So I did have a lot of anxiety. Through my pregnancy, but at the same time, because of my faith, I also believe that my child will be alright.

Yeah. And recently I caught up with some classmates from junior college and there was this person who kept saying, oh, so your daughter is an accident, your daughter is an accident. I was a little bit offended. I said she’s not an accident. She is a blessing to me and she is a huge blessing to all of us in our family. And she brought our family together.

Yana Fry: This is so wonderful. You just turned 50 and you decided to have an unusual present for your 50. So tell us what it is.

Unusual Present for 50

Delphine Ang: Yeah, so for my 50th year I decided I wanted to do something meaningful. So I’m going on a speaking tour. where together we can change the world and we self-fund this tour. We get to speak and the registrations collected at this event will be channelled to different charities.

In Asia to help disadvantaged children and women. And for myself, I also make it a personal goal to raise 50,000 US dollars for the Good Shepherd Sisters.

I was listening to this audiobook and it said, “What is something that you felt was impossible to do? Go for It is an invitation from God and I remember my husband.

When he turned 50 last year, he shaved his head and he managed to raise $5,000 for the half or full, cancer patient. And I thought, okay, I even shaved my head a few times. I don’t think I can raise that kind of money, but it’s a leap of faith because I feel it is really important for me to do something that will leave a legacy behind.

And I want to inspire my daughter and my children, that Nothing is impossible. So something,, that scares me is also something that backends me. So that is why I decided that this is a tour I wanted to do and I wanted to raise $50,000. Yeah.

Yana Fry: And for those people who are watching it right now and listening to it and thinking you guys in Singapore are one of the richest and most expensive countries in the world.

Who cares about $50,000? So we just. Spoke just in the previous episode that Singapore has different sites and there are some people who have a lot of money, and for them 50,000 means nothing. And there are a lot of other people, especially Singaporeans, for whom it’s a huge amount, right?

Yes. And so I just wanna say that because I know your life and I know your story. It’s an imaginable amount of money. And so how has it been going with the raising process?

How Has The Raising Process Been?

Delphine Ang: Within, I think in about two months, I’ve managed to raise $17,000, that’s US dollars. That’s about 35%. And actually, what really inspired me and touched my heart was one of my friends. Who just lost her husband last year through a heart attack.

It was a sudden death. The husband was in his early forties, and he left behind four children. When she saw my call for donation, and what I was going to do with the money, she was my biggest donor. straight away, she donated in 2005 and I was shocked. I was surprised.

She said, you know what? This is something small compared to what the money can do to those you are helping and do your magic. Let it multiply. I was inspired and touched by people who donated that kind of money. Of course, we said no amount is too small.

But her big-heartedness, her generosity really touched me she didn’t come from a well-to-do family, but, she said that I think my husband Sean will be happy that we are able to bless others this way.

Yana Fry: I’m having goosebumps when you’re sharing this, and I have done all kinds of work in my life including charitable, and philanthropic work and it is actually true, even from my experience of watching people, often people who have less, they need more. And those who have a lot donate much less. Yes, that’s right. but I came to realise that I should not have any expectations, just like.

Delphine Ang: How my friends have supported me in such a big way. Let’s not just focus on people who have disappointed, but people who have surprised me. So I’ve been surprised in so many ways when I do this fundraising in a good way.

Yana Fry: Beautiful. I’m so happy for you. I really like the story about your little daughter. That was the one that really got my attention, and then these beautiful banners that you’re doing this fundraiser to help people.

I think it’s amazing work. And so thank you for doing that. Thank you. And guys. Please. If you can, there will be links. Do support Delphine. because I think it’s very important. And we just spoke with another guest, about the importance of redistributing resources in society. And so if we all do that and we help as much as we can, this is how we create this more balance.

Okay. Another question. Yeah, sure. Since we are in Singapore, you are a Singaporean. I’m just curious about your experience in terms of Singapore’s development in the last maybe 20, or 30 years.

Delphine’s Living Experience in Singapore

Yana Fry: I would say that sometimes we want our country to be very developed. Yes, there are a lot of pros and advantages to becoming a more developed country, but there are also a lot of social costs to that.

Delphine Ang: And I feel that sometimes there’s the unintended consequences that we are not prepared for. For example, the cost of living is one of them, and I think in the pursuit of excellence, we also have lost the ability to connect with people. Yeah. That is something very close to my heart. The ability to connect with people cause everyone is so busy doing and going after, staff that they forget to slow down and appreciate the people that they have in their lives and the things that they have in their lives.

Yana Fry: When we talk about connecting with people, I feel it’s not just Singapore or just this part of the world. It feels like in the last 20, 30 years, the whole world Yeah. becoming busier and faster. Yes. And it literally, like the time is speeding up and people have been just spending less and less time together within the families. But then ironically, COVID came, the pandemic came, and everyone was forced to stay at home for two, or three years. Yes. And rediscover this.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this to you, but I traveled around the world in the midst of the pandemic. It just happened this way.

I happened to have a sabbatical that was completely unplanned in the middle of the pandemic. So I travelled around the world and went through more than 20 countries in one year. During 2021 and 2022, it was amazing for me how much people wanted to connect after being apart for those several years. That was like such a heightened sense of human appreciation.

AI Replacing Humans

Delphine Ang: Yes. It is so amazing that you mentioned this recently. I caught up with a friend and he mentioned that he did an event. There’s a TEDx event in Australia. Designed by AI, marketed by AI, and delivered by AI. And so he was the one who led and facilitated the discussion for that night and asked him, so what is the main thing you got out of it?

He said the summary of the night is the humans who attended the event wanted the AI to be more human and, of course, to have more connections. And I thought if the AI could be so human, they could replace us. Will you be happy? Like you have an AI to replace Yana.

Yana Fry: And I’ll be very sad. Even AI can replace me. Totally We just had this conversation at home with my bonus son who is 19 years old.

And he’s very fascinated, like his entire generation with technology and AI. I understand why he wants to do this in terms of just going into this whole industry. But then we were like futuristically speaking.

One day we are all gonna have chips in our heads. And so this is how we are moving into this more robotic future. And I remember me and my husband looking at each other and we were like, are we old? Why are we afraid of this? Is it how our parents used to feel about social media before?

Social Media and Connections

Yana Fry: And yeah, brain science tells us that we, humans are social creatures hardwired for connections. We have a lot more connections.

Delphine Ang: But are less connected. So we allow it to believe, like the number of Facebook friends, the likes that we receive on Instagram, social media linking, and the number of followers, it is the kind of relationships that we enjoy. And that’s not true. A friend shared with me that there was this social influencer from us who has 50,000 followers.

And she decided, Hey, I got a good number of followers. I should sell this T-shirt and make some money. So she launched it. And guess how many T-shirts she sold?

Yana Fry: Since you are bringing it, I’m guessing zero, right? 

Delphine Ang: 50,000 followers, but zero sales, 0 cents. And she was devastated. So that has an impact on self-esteem and self-worth.

So when I talk about this charity drive that I have, when I look at me, as I mentioned earlier, on 500 over followers as compared to some of the other follow speakers. I heard that some have up to 55,000 followers and I was scared. Do I dare to put myself out there? What if I cannot raise even a few hundred dollars I realised that the number of followers sometimes on social media doesn’t tell the full story. It’s really the quality of relationships that we have with different people that make a difference.

Yana Fry: And this is a very beautiful message.

I have been noticing that in the last three years. People tend to move more now, again, back into the human connection. Yes. And they wanna deepen relationships.

A Good Aspect of the Pandemic

Yana Fry: Yeah. I think it is a good thing that came out of the pandemic. I don’t like the part where there are people who lost their lives, their businesses, even their family members.

Delphine Ang: But in every crisis, there’s a Chinese saying, wait, there’s an opportunity in every crisis. And when I saw the pandemic, in a way. I also, look at, what good comes out of the people actually getting to be more connected and the level of empathy goes up. And here we are complaining about not being able to go out, not being able to meet up with friends.

But if we think about it, there are some of those war zone countries. This is what they’ve been going through. So in a way, it causes a spotlight on us being more, having more empathy for those who are suffering. Without the pandemic. It could be war zone countries, it could be family struggles. People are not talking to one another.

So in a good way, we are also learning to appreciate that what we have in the past, we just breathe in air. It’s free. And I remember reading that there was this gentleman who was about 70 plus. And he was hospitalised and he got covid and he had to have an oxygen tank or whatever, and then at the end, he was given a bill and he cried when he saw the bill.

So they said, what is it? Is it so expensive, the bill that shocks you? He said, no, for all my life, I breathe and it’s all free. I’ve never appreciated it and I just stayed in the hospital for a few days and it cost so much. I’ve taken so many things for granted.

Yana Fry: Yeah and I think it’s a beautiful reminder in general for everyone to just look at our lives and see everything that you already have and everything that you already appreciate and like this conversation that you know we are having with you today, Delphine, it’s just to me, again, reminder how blessed we are and look, we are in Singapore,

Look at us. Like us, we look so different and like the same. Same but different. Yes and which leads me then to another question. For someone who is like a Singaporean, how do you feel about, again, foreigners and people like me coming here and becoming Singaporeans or just staying here in a relatively small country?

A Singaporean’s Feeling About Foreigners

Delphine Ang: In the past, I would say, when I see people who are very different from me, I like no. And especially there are some people who intimidate me with their presence, but I realise that now the more different they are, the more I want to get to know about them cause I feel the way we grow is also to expand our circle of friends.

By listening to different perspectives, we get to hear other people’s stories of growing up with the same kind of friends, and the same neighborhood, and we think the same way. So that’s how our mindset becomes smaller and smaller, but we get to speak to different people from different parts of the world.

Our minds expand, so now I actually welcome those opportunities to get to know you. People who are very different from me. ’cause there’s always so much I can learn from them. So getting to know people from different countries, and different parts of the world, makes me a smarter person.

Yana Fry: That makes me feel better. And this is what they always said specifically in Singapore. It always felt like a home because people are just very curious. And I feel as time goes by, they just become more, much more curious.

Yes. And it really relaxes you. And then, look at us. When you feel welcomed, you wanna do something, you wanna give back. And this is one of the reasons why we are having this talk show. It is my way of giving back to the country. It has been very generous to me and my family. So I feel at least I can amplify the voices of people here.

Delphine Ang: Being curious is good. Being curious when we ask questions and that’s where we get to know people’s stories. I think it’s about Margaret Wheatley where she talks about how you cannot hate anyone whose story,

Yana Fry: The final question for today is, what is one piece of advice would you like to give to your kids?

Delphine’s Advice for Her Kids

Delphine Ang: When I gave birth to my children when I was pregnant with my first one, I was so super excited.

What are the things I wanna teach her? She would come, she would become a mini-me. But having four children I felt I learned so much from them. And if we learn to humble ourselves to learn from our children, they are like our mirrors. My eldest I remember we were always having these arguments and she was about maybe 10 years old or so.

And so she, I was waiting for her to finish and then she said, mom you don’t listen. You don’t listen to understand. You listen to respond. Wow. So when you ask me for advice, I don’t want it to be, the words that come out of my mouth, I rather inspire my children with how I live my life, which is why I’m going for this tour.

And I set an example for my daughter that even at 50 years old, 60 years old, you have dreams and go for your dreams and I’m so thankful for my second daughter and my son who say, mom, go, we’ll look after the little one while you go.

And I felt so touched that as much as I give to them, I’m receiving from them. So that question about what advice I would give, I’d rather let, the way I live my life, be an inspiration to them. Be advised. In real life rather than in words. ’cause words sound so lame sometimes.

Yana Fry: Thank you so much Delphine and that was Delphine Ang on YanaTV.

You are so honest. It’s incredible. I really love it. I love your sharing, so I love your story guys and girls and everyone else. Please connect with us in the comments and we’ll include the link for the nations. I would love to support you with this, so if you can, please do support your course and just connect with Delphine in general and share with us in the comments about your journey and maybe other projects you are doing.

So let’s say you are raising money for something else in Singapore or the region and you’re looking for donors, please post the links of your initiatives and let people read them and see if we can collectively just redistribute resources. And subscribe to the channel. So thank you very much and see you next time with another guest.

Delphine Ang: Thank you. Thank you.