3-Year-Old Boy Has The Cutest Friendship With Foreign Construction Workers In Singapore
"They are my good friends."
By Tamara Jayne — 17 Aug 2018, 02:00 PM
It may often feel daunting and lonely for migrant workers to move to another country away from friends and family
Most of them have to adapt to new cultures, food, and people on top of living far from home.
However, one three-year-old boy in Singapore is trying to change that.
Meet Jake.
Jake made friends with a group of 10 foreign construction workers, who have been upgrading the car park below his family's apartment since December last year, reported Straits Times.
"They are my good friends," the boy said to Singapore-based publication Lianhe Zaobao.
Jake's fascination for construction vehicles such as the digger and road roller is what led to the friendship.
Image via MothershipEven if it was for just five minutes, Jake's mum said that he would go downstairs to say hi and to cheer the workers up twice a day
"Initially, we were cautious. There was not much communication because they (the workers) were shy and it was just waving and smiling," his mother Annie told Straits Times.
"But slowly, we realised that they could speak English, and that was how the conversation started."
Whenever he visits them, they would carry Jake, take pictures with him, and shower him with kisses.
Image via NextShark
The young boy has given some of the workers nicknames such as Foreman, Tall Uncle, Red Helmet Uncle, Digger Driver, and Botak Uncle
In response, the men, who are mostly from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India, affectionately call him "Baby".
"Baby is very broad-minded, and he is a very good person. He will notice where everyone is, and if someone is on medical leave, he will ask where the person is," said one of the workers.
Annie shared that the workers even brought presents for Jake during his birthday last March, which she found "truly touching"
"As we got to know them personally, they started sharing more about their families back home and how Jake reminded them of their children or nephews," she added.
They may be years apart in age, but Jake and the workers have become the best of friends.
Even though the workers have since moved to other places to work, Jake and his family still visit them at their new sites.
Inspired by the workers, Jake wants to grow up to become a construction foreman himself
"He wants to be a foreman as he looks up to him. The foreman can drive the digger, the road roller... and he's in charge," said Annie.
Supportive of his ambitions, his parents bought him a construction helmet and vest.
Jake likes to play with Lego blocks to construct buildings and miniature figures of construction workers.
Image via StraitsTimes