SINGAPORE — Some of her peers shunned her, while customers wondered if she was a “problem” child — all because Ms Elizabeth Huang, then 22, was working as a hawker.

Ms Huang, who was running a Western food stall at Redhill Lane Market, recalled a conversation between two women: “One of them actually said, ‘Maybe this little girl got problem. Maybe this little girl didn’t study a lot. That’s why she’s in the market’.”

“It’s not nice when you judge people like that,” said Ms Huang. The 24-year-old is one of eight young hawkers featured in Youth Hawkerprise, an initiative by four undergraduates to encourage youth to enter the hawker business.

She hopes to share her experience and challenge stereotypes faced by hawkers, especially young hawkers.

“I get people who refuse to talk to you just because you’re a hawker. People of the same age!” said Ms Huang, who currently helps out at her parents’ Western food stall at ABC Brickworks Food Centre. She shut down her stall last year to pursue a part-time diploma in legal studies.

Ms Huang, who is the eldest of three sisters, dropped out of school at Secondary 4. “Money wasn’t easy to come by, so I wanted to work when I was really young,” she said. She then set up her Redhill Lane Market stall six years later, having gained experience from helping out her parents at their stall.

The work is back-breaking and far from glamorous, she shared. “You get home oily, smelling like chicken chop. You don’t get to do nice manicures. You don’t get to dress up ... It was really tough. There were times I would just half-squat in the shop and cry.”

As a young boss, she faced difficulty getting her employees to listen to her. Sometimes, they simply refused to turn up for work.

Still, the work was rewarding when customers praised her food. “I can’t explain the joy that I have,” said Ms Huang delightedly of the memory.

After two years of being a boss, her parents told Ms Huang she had matured into a stronger, more independent woman. And perhaps, the best thing that came out of her venture was that one of her customers eventually became Ms Huang’s husband.

To young people, she said: “The choice is yours. Take pride in what you’re doing … Don’t be afraid. Just chiong (go for it) all the way! Chiong as much as you can, because you are young.”