AWA Magazine
Celebrate stories. Create community.
Sep-Oct 2025 issue
Editor's Note
2025 marks the 90th anniversary of the AWA and the 60th anniversary of Singapore as an independent, sovereign, island-city-nation-state! It was therefore a “no-brainer” to set this fall’s AWA Magazine theme to “SG60: Remembering Then & Now.” I think one of the most striking features of this issue is how it represents the diversity of women within AWA, and how we are a community through the fact that we have had, or are still having, a Singapore experience.
If you have been living in Singapore for a while, I hope you may experience a resonance with the following three pieces offered by our veteran members/expats. Amanda Jaffe, co-chair of the AWA Writers’ Group and an AWA alumna now living in New Jersey, pens a fond letter to Singapore about all that she misses about the "Little Red Dot." Lena Sharpe, a Singaporean-now-living-in-the-UK and another AWA alumna, lists 60 memorable moments unique to Singapore, from her own childhood decades ago, to quirky, uniquely SG moments recalled by various friends and AWA members (don’t give this a miss for its length, there are fun gems in here!). Then Daniela Schreier, a “German-born, American-educated, Singapore-at-heart” psychologist poignantly recalls the first moments, over 30 years ago, when she first fell in love with the "Garden City" in the first installment of her memoir series, “An Affair to Remember.”
If you are newer to Singapore, there’s probably a lot more to discover about this island! Stephanie provides a great guide to tours about Singapore heritage and history, from underground bunkers and cemeteries, to the red-light district! Mandakini’s AWA Book Review of the novel, The Original Daughter (2025) by Singapore author Jemima Wei, not only is a “good story” but one which sheds insights about Singapore society and culture. We also republished a 2022 article showcasing the life-sized sculptures that celebrate the people of Singapore’s pre-modern commercial past - read this for a self-guided tour! Lastly, for our Member Spotlight, Alfa Singkoh, a sports enthusiast, shares about how she has consistently broadened her expat life experiences through sports and community participation, particularly in Singapore.
All in all, the deeper theme of this SG60 issue has revealed itself to be “discovery through nostalgia.” To that end, I dug up history about the AWA Magazine, from its birth as the Bamboo Telegraph newsletter during the 1970s to today, a digital magazine that seeks to remain creative and relevant in building the AWA community (see Group Spotlight).
We hope you enjoy this issue and may it inspire you to keep experiencing the "Little Red Dot" anew!
Warmly,
Suellen Lee (Editor) & Cynthia Muthyala (Assistant Editor)
Meet Our Team
The AWA Magazine is composed of a group of volunteer women who love to share stories, adventures and all things related to living in Singapore and Southeast Asia, while building community along the way.
Click on the pictures to learn a bit more about us!
“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”
Jimmy Neil Smith
International Storytelling Center
Calling Storytellers!
The AWA Magazine Team is a Special Interest group that strives to be a creative platform for AWA members to nurture and express their craft as storytellers, empower them to share their authentic voices as women who happen to live (or have lived) in Singapore, and forge meaningful connections along the way.
If this sounds a little or a lot like you, we invite you to get in touch with us at editor@awasingapore.org. We'd love to meet up over a cup of coffee (or a Zoom call) and discuss your interest in being part of the magazine team!
