A conversation on resilience, human connections, and why the most meaningful stories are often the ones about struggles.
Who is Faridah Wu
Faridah Wu (Fari) is a member and Treasurer of A Good Space Co-operative (AGS). She is also the founder of Merlion Project, a community initiative that creates spaces for people to share honest stories about struggles, resilience, and growth. Through face-to-face sharing sessions, she hopes to make conversations about failure just as normal as conversations about success.
The Stories Behind the Stories
Long before Merlion Project existed, Fari already knew what fascinated her most: people’s stories.
She gave a laugh as she described herself as “a bit kaypo,” (meaning: someone who is nosy and interested in other people’s private affairs) but her curiosity has never been about simply knowing what’s happening in someone else’s life. Instead, she has always been drawn to understanding what people go through, especially the struggles that often remain hidden beneath outward success. Having experienced failures herself, she began questioning why conversations so often celebrate achievements while overlooking the uncertainty, rejection, and perseverance that make those achievements possible.
“I think people always talk about success, and they make it sound so easy,” she reflected. “They don’t really talk about what happened when things went wrong.”
Initially, she had the idea to write a blog featuring people’s stories. Later, she considered creating an Instagram page in the style of Humans of New York, before experimenting with the idea of videos and podcasts. Yet none of these formats fully captured what she was looking for.
She realised that reading or watching someone’s story could never quite replace sitting across from them, asking questions, and hearing their experiences unfold in real time.
As she shared this, I found myself reflecting on how easy it is to admire someone’s achievements without ever seeing what it took to get there. We celebrate milestones because they’re visible, but rarely do we witness the countless setbacks, moments of self-doubt, or difficult decisions that come before these. Perhaps that’s why Fari’s work resonated with me, it shifts the spotlight away from the destination and invites us to appreciate the journey instead.
Building Merlion Project
The turning point came after the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were finally able to gather again in person. During that time, Fari came across the concept of Human Libraries and immediately saw the potential. Rather than simply listening to a speaker, participants could engage in conversations, ask their own questions, and explore stories together.
It was exactly the kind of space she had been searching for. Applying for a grant to launch the idea felt almost accidental. She remembers thinking that if the application was unsuccessful, perhaps the project simply wasn’t meant to happen. She received the funding.
“It made me think, ‘Wow, somebody else believes in this idea too.'”
That vote of confidence was enough to push her forward. Merlion Project officially began in 2022 with three Human Library sessions. At the time, Fari assumed the project would end there. Yet each conversation reinforced the value of creating spaces where vulnerability was welcomed rather than avoided. Over time, the sessions evolved into a more intimate fireside-chat format, but its purpose remained unchanged: creating opportunities for honest conversations that help people realise they are not alone in their struggles.
Why Struggle Matters
Although resilience has become a recurring theme throughout Merlion Project, Fari believes the conversations are ultimately about something much simpler: permission.
Permission to admit that life is difficult, to acknowledge failure and to ask for help. For her, resilience isn’t about pretending challenges don’t exist. It is about recognising that struggle is part of everyone’s journey, even if it isn’t always visible. By creating spaces where people can speak honestly about conflict, uncertainty, rejection, and failure, she hopes to normalise conversations that many people quietly carry on their own. Sometimes, hearing another person’s story doesn’t solve our problems. It simply reminds us that we aren’t facing them by ourselves.
Listening to her recount of those early days, I realised how often meaningful projects begin not with certainty, but with a willingness to try. Sometimes, all it takes is one person believing in an idea before we find the courage to believe in it ourselves.
Creating Magic in Everyday Moments
While Merlion Project reflects one side of Fari, another side emerges through the playful experiences she creates outside of it. She enjoys wearing fairy wings, mermaiding, and has even volunteered at nursing homes dressed as a fairy while singing to elderly residents.
To Fari, they are another way of creating meaningful human connections. She smiles as she recalls how children light up when they see her, but she’s equally touched by the reactions of older adults. Watching elderly residents smile, laugh, and momentarily escape the routines of everyday life reminds her that joy doesn’t always require grand gestures.
Sometimes, a little magic is enough.
Growing with the Seasons
Balancing multiple commitments has also taught Fari that purpose isn’t about doing everything at once. Instead, she has learnt to embrace different seasons of life. There were years when nearly all her energy went into building Merlion Project. Today, she has intentionally shifted more of her attention towards serving the AGS community as a member of the Committee of Management and their Treasurer.
Rather than seeing these changes as stepping away from one passion in favour of another, she views them as recognising what deserves her attention in each season. Letting go of the need to control every outcome has also allowed her to accept that projects naturally evolve over time. Merlion Project itself is proof of that.
Finding Community Through AGS
Fari’s relationship with the community stretches back several years. She first encountered AGS while volunteering with another mental health organisation, H.O.P.E Alliance, that was looking for a venue for an event. Over time, she met more AGS members through community projects and eventually collaborated with them while organising Merlion Project. What left the deepest impression wasn’t simply the help she received. Many of the volunteers barely knew her personally. Yet they were willing to support the project because they believed in its purpose. That experience reinforced her belief that meaningful communities aren’t built solely around shared interests—they are built around shared values. As AGS continues to grow, she hopes members will continue finding opportunities to gather, strengthen relationships, and support one another beyond individual projects.
Lessons from Fari
When I asked Fari what advice she would give to young people stepping into university or the working world, her answer wasn’t about having everything planned. Instead, she encouraged us to stay curious, explore new opportunities, be willing to ask for help and most importantly accept that rejection is inevitable.
One quote continues to guide her: “The best time to plant a seed was yesterday. The second-best time is right now.”
That quote stayed with me long after our conversation ended. It reminded me of how often we convince ourselves that we’ve already missed our chance—that we should have started earlier or made different choices. Her own experience tells a different story. The greatest lesson is that purpose doesn’t depend on perfect timing. What matters most is having the courage to begin today.
Fari doesn’t believe courage means becoming immune to disappointment. Feeling rejected is part of being human. The important thing is refusing to let that fear stop us from asking in the first place.
Because sometimes, the opportunity that changes everything is just waiting beyond one more conversation.
To connect with Fari, you can find her on LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also find out more about Merlion Project on Instagram, LinkedIn and Linktree.
This is part of a series called People Behind Purpose, where we sit down with changemakers in A Good Space to discover more about their work, build deeper connections, and gain fresh perspectives on creating social impact.
Through these conversations, we hope to share our experiences, reflections, and key takeaways so that others can be inspired by the journeys and insights of those driving change in our community.
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Written by Ye Weixuan – [Programmes and Community Engagement Intern]
