I Tried Cleaning Portable Toilets in a Cemetery | Hidden Hustles

Most people would never want to use a portable toilet, let alone clean them. And let alone... in a cemetery. But for Kevin and Jay, it's all in a day's work.
Wendy joins them for a day and gets her hands dirty to see the struggles they face.
══ Content ══
0:00 A word from our director
0:20 Intro
1:54 A first look at the portable toilet in a cemetery
4:08 Horror stories of dropped belongings
5:25 Wendy cleans a toilet by herself
8:00 How Kevin came to work in Singapore
9:50 Kevin's one dream in life
Host: Wendy (@ohheyitswendy)
Director & Producer: Pei Fang (@pfdolala)
Crew:
Kristal (@kristalllll_)
Claire (@clairectn)
Nicole (@collaision)
Dylan (@dylaan_xy)
Editor:
Jeremie (@endswithanie)
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[@aHopefulDream]

Thank you for respecting the workers’ right to privacy and sharing their stories with us. Huge thanks and respect to them.

[@huilin0708]

thank you for being so respectful. they are indeed our invisible warriors that make up a crucial part of the Singapore fabric. thanks again for this peep into their lives

[@Jay-ru2cw]

Thanks for respecting their privacy. Huge thanks to the host, producer and crews for bringing this video to life. Mad respect to these workers for taking up these tough and dirty jobs. Hope public toilet users can be more considerate when using the toilet by keeping them clean for other users and the workers.

[@chachos96370]

I would really like to thsnk these workers for taking up these kind of jobs which many would not even think of doing. I give them my utmost respect & I take off my hat to them. Thank you for interviewing them & posting this video.

[@elle7259]

Got a bit emotional watching this episode, mad respect and a huge thanks to these hidden heroes.

[@dt30475]

These hidden heroes who come to Singapore and help our country grow also deserve PR and opportunities for their families not just the rich investors

[@livingdead896745]

Really love the ads placement! And thank you so much for sharing this story... Really goes to show how many backgrounded workers/jobs there are out there that we ignorant of

[@Jay-ru2cw]

Would love to see the team of people behind keeping Singapore’s trees well trimmed and maintained.

[@elginvoon8285]

Jobs that can be interesting to be covered: 1) Daycare teachers, primary/secondary school teachers 2) Undertakers 3) Construction workers 4) Transporters 5) Firefighters 6) Bodyguards 7) Prison warden 8) Military? Policemen? 9) Ambulance Drivers

[@user-ip2rx1es3p]

Thank you for letting us in on such a typically overlooked job! Props to migrant workers leaving their country to help us with these tedious tasks! Would just like to shed some light as to why Kevin would like his identity to be hidden. It was stated in the video where his true job was not entirely relayed to his family, and that he will only reveal it to his wife if she were to probe further. As such, I feel that we should be understanding, and to respect his decision to remain blurred out.

[@thereallegend2745]

thank you kevin for your hard work i'm sure your baby will be very proud of you once he/she is mature enough to listen & understand to your life story

[@jingyangteoh685]

what a great eye-opener and reminder (as usual) about the labourous work needed to keep a city running! Something hits different knowing that behind the convenience of living in the city, there are many _people_ out there spending their waking hours to keep the system working. Thank you for sharing this with us! the last segment of this episode felt somewhat disturbing for some reason, and if i were to give my hot take, it is because "kevin" isn't given a voice. The questions that were asked tend to be yes/no questions rather than open ended, and they tend to be along a line of inquiry following a "young singaporean's narrative". for eg, the question about considering other kinds of work came out of the blue. Did kevin perhaps lament about the job earlier in conversation? If it were more glamorous work, I'm not sure if I might have asked such a question myself. From a viewer's perspective, it also seemed alienating to ask kevin about his dream, and that showed in the way he processes the statement - not actually answering the question but instead explaining that he finds it a futile question to ask. If that exchange has taught me anything, it is that individuals from my demographic are privileged enough to build our world views and life narratives around the language of "dreams" and "passion", and that this privilege does not naturally extend to everyone. As viewers, this felt like a missed opportunity to put ourselves in kevin's shoes, because we did not get to hear his response to more open-ended questions, nor what he cares deeply about, nor his reflections about the job. But as I'm typing the phrase "put ourselves in kevin's shoes", i also recognise the irony, given that wendy and team were the ones who actually went down to experience the day-to-day job of that migrant worker, and to share that experience with us! 😂 Thank you!

[@sharmaineleepuipui]

This was amazing and very heartwarming! I think another one would be the uncles helping with the pumping of petrol at the petrol kiosks

[@nitazayne9789]

Respect respect respect to the cleaners. Thank you and appreciate your services. ❤

[@bellabernadette6787]

Thank you for making this one :) I learn a lot

[@z.zaimie1406]

Thank u for this story...very well done n informative

[@StarrySunnie]

These workers are Amazing 🙏🏽🙇🏻‍♀️❤️

[@lfc1981]

maybe feature those high rise building cleaners with safety harness or on gondolas etc? that is just as tough if not tougher isnt it?

[@Curry.N]

Huge respect to the workers! I work at fast food store before and cleaning up the toilet is the worst ,especially near weekend! reek of alcohol and stuff you find inside toilet is beyond any bizarre imagination

[@novembermarimo]

They are the unspoken heroes in our lives.

[@Whimsicaltalesx]

Thanks for this eye opening video

[@takanna]

damn...ogs keeps putting out these great content!

[@beckham48]

In the hustle and bustle of life all people are struggling in their own terms

[@gabbyfoo2]

Thank you for sharing. The gentleman(Driver of the special truck) has my utmost respect- Don't ask for too much, Work honestly and be happy with life as it is...Equanimity to the max. Om Mani Padme Hum.....Australia

[@OGS.Official]

What's your worst portable toilet horror story?? 😳

[@nonprofit9426]

Crazy experience.

[@KhidAndFamily]

"I am questioning why is there so many people here in the morning" Are you sure its PEOPLE?? hehehe

[@yvonneng3081]

Respectful man working hard for his family. 👏💪🙏

[@alui5362]

okay what, censoring their identities didn't take anything away. don't feel so bad about it. good job and nice sharing

[@QaDri93]

Who woulda guessed that I would be watching this while sitting on my toilet

[@Xyxy943]

Have always felt like you guys ask fairly boring questions, why bother asking about architecture and why aren’t conversations taken deeper? Every response is met more boring questions Also how did you guys interpret Kevin as “content” - the literal definition of peaceful happiness? His voice quavered talking about dreams and he said that his life is “coming to an end” whatever that means Interesting subject, fairly stilted hosting

[@wendymaryzeline9890]

Hey, thanks for sharing this :) I'm the host for this episode and i appreciate your comment. I'm curious - what would you have liked to learn more about? Or aspects to you'd like us to touch on. We can apply it to future eps of such nature! I recall on set kevin being really simple and smiley and its perhaps why i interpreted it as content (I didn't want to over analyse coz he himself really had that simple perspective toward life) - We had many conversations and he was of course most happy talking about life where he was from and how his work here contributes to what he was building for his fam (some of which couldn't make the final cut) That said, definitely respect the work that they put in and hoped that this episode showed that with a little more of who they are! Always open to hearing what you felt couldv've made it better :)

[@gordonsyj1198]

@@wendymaryzeline9890 I'm sure doing this job and hosting at the same time isn't the same as typical hosting. The emotional and physiological behind the production of this is something that is not visible to viewers. Been watching Hidden Hustle for awhile now and I beg to differ that the question ask aren't deep enough. Every person has their own story and those are question that I'm genuine curious about like "why did he choose this occupation" "what's his story behind it" are actually logical and meaningful. Thank you for the hard work & showing us an unusual perspective of our society. Keep it up! Episode by Episode, I'm sure you're hosting will improve!

[@Xyxy943]

@@wendymaryzeline9890 Hii my comment was in no way meant as a personal attack, I doubt that many could host it better anyways Hope that nobody in OGS takes my feedback too negatively, Wendy is doing great for a young person. I think that questions can place more emphasis on his life here. Things like whether he feels integrated into the society, whether he gets any respect from locals, his opinions on the support system, his feedback on outreach attempts(I remember my school doing quite a few migrant worker outreach activities, all quite terrible as one would expect from teenagers) I highly doubt anybody can be content cleaning potties when surrounded by a pristine city and wealthier folks. I’ve done some trash jobs like working in hotel kitchens. The disparity of hanging around opulence that is not meant for you whilst feeling grimy is not great even for a local But then again I can’t read his mind

[@happyleaf9635]

Interesting subject. But the questions asked is a bit…superficial? Like asking for the sake of asking to meet KPI haha

[@snow-n-gel]

a moment's experience gives a lifetime trauma.. i will not ever want to experience the job.😅

[@Ennnn.jenn.]

Respected ❤

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Where does the water to clean and fill toilets come from? In Japan, similar companies should get water for free from that safe Fukushima treated water from nuclear plants if possible! After water is used it can get treated again, reused & diluted (again & again). High respect for these needed workers!

[@sleepyman6598]

Why is she so hung up about covering their faces? Without THEM there are no stories to tell, IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU FF and not knowing what their facial contour looks like does not matter a bit to the storyline and content. From the start, this is the only talking point she had? They took their time to let you film for content, and the uploading of this video helped you more than it would ever for them. Let them cover up their face and have GRACE about it FF.

[@Yveeoh2nee]

Agree.. the team could have said or included a part that says “faces were censored to protect the privacy of individuals” or something along that line. When she reiterated at the end of the video, it felt totally unnecessary. Nevertheless, great content on story!

[@Whimsicaltalesx]

I’m in total agreement with you.

[@jiashan123]

I don't think you need to keep harping on them not wanting to show their faces. Honestly, I feel like they don't need to justify their decisions. It doesn't matter why they choose to do so. Not many people want to be immortalized on the internet afterall. Also, I don't think he is content with life? He sounds more like he's resigned to life. It feels like this is not what he wants to do but he has accepted it since he has no idea what else he can do nor does he have the confidence that he is qualified for other jobs. Furthermore, he needs the money to raise his family. That's why he wants his son to study more so that the son won't end up in the same situation as him.

[@adiuvat14]

ayooooooo to hell and back

[@carloswaynejesuschew5921]

Those loo in s'pore in the clip consider very clean compares to certain places...

[@dvsmaverick]

I work in the medical device industry. I think the work we do to keep machines in hospitals and lab running is so unappreciated.

[@wendymaryzeline9890]

oo wow what kind of work do you do specifically? We do have a few stories we are researching on in the medical field! Would love to hear more :)

[@roincec]

We're not appreciating our FWs in Singapore enough. and to think we have xenophobic arses here that treats our FW badly.

[@konadora]

Why are some people so horrible to throw bottles and other non-toilet waste inside them!? Urgh... we need to do better as a whole.

[@gotmyonu1027]

Dirties toilet in SG.... is surely at NUH. Stink, filthy and horrible.

[@drugaddict931]

Don’t see feminists fighting for this job

[@user-mf1il2jg6n]

She is so dramatic .

[@euphorium5768]

With the accent and his implication of why he does this job I feel like Kevin is from another country?

[@huangxinyue739]

This is pretty bad journalism ngl, half of the questions were irrelevant and not in-depth, seems like there wasn't much thought into the questions asked.

[@Zendefone]

Singaporeans: “the government is importing toooo many foreign workers!! it’s overcrowded and we can do our own jobs 😡 😡” I’m a Singaporean from birth myself

[@eddy-currents]

People want the white collar jobs to not be filled by foreign workers... pretty silly strawman you have there

[@teeteetuu94]

Not sure if you're being wilfully obtuse, but what they are referring to are the PMET positions being filled with foreign "talents". Does Singapore not have enough talents worthy enough to fill those positions, especially after plenty of young'ins passing through our "top-notch" education system? But feel free to continue taking the blue pills if it helps you sleep better at night.

[@Zendefone]

@@eddy-currents and big companies will then choose to set up their Asia HQ elsewhere, that means lesser jobs for locals. People think it’s a fixed pie but the total amount of jobs is contracting and expanding based on overall talent pool here.

[@eddy-currents]

​@@Zendefone This argument is full of holes (assumes that top firms would leave singapore if manpower costs increases - hasn't happened despite salary increases in the past few years) AND doesn't actually address the point.

[@eddy-currents]

@@Zendefone Point is that locals want the higher paying roles that are currently going to expats living in singapore right now. You are deliberately misconstruing the stand so that you can come up with some nonsense argument - AKA strawman.

[@shotby_yew]

Hi @OGS.Official! Just putting this out here: Since you guys do so much media-related stuff, why not make a docu about behind-the-scenes of how a person works in media that handles the 'hidden hustle'. We have always seen the eventual projects being published but I feel it'd be great to have the same amount of screen time for the people that made it happened. Perhaps I'm biased too - I personally am in the Media industry in Singapore and I feel more exposure should be granted for those that grind the hours for the videos we are watching concurrently. If we can spend efforts for the public to be in the know, I feel the same should be said for us, the people in the media industry that essentially creates 'the know', to be in the know too . Great content btw!

[@JunR0n9]

Esp all the PAs, Grips and intern slave 🤣

[@Hoehan8222]

The unsung heroes. Singapore’s successes is built on the backs of our foreign workers. Deep respect. 🫡