Image via Kogee Sinniah
There will be moments in life when we meet a roadblock and possibly stand to lose everything we have. What would you do if you face a wake-up call like this? Kogee Sinniah, one of the unsung heroes in the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign, decided to turn her life around.
Formerly a flight attendant, she had worked in aviation for 13 years before making the decision to clip her wings in 2010. During her stint flying sky high, she was running a part-time business selling and distributing personal care products. After juggling two jobs for 16 months, she threw in the towel to focus on her business.
Image via Kogee Sinniah
But it wasn’t easy. She struggled to make ends meet and came to a breaking point in 2016 when she was on the verge of losing everything—her house, car, health, and reputation.
As a single mother, Kogee had to face the moment of truth and figure out her next step. She considered getting a job again and going back to the working world. But after working for herself for six years, she knew that she liked the freedom and flexibility of staying home more and taking care of her son.
While looking for a way out, she discovered the wonders of social media and how it can help boost her current business. She learned the ropes, found out what worked and what didn’t, used her personal experience, and started advertising her products on Facebook.
Her efforts paid off because she began earning a comfortable income that helped her to put food on the table, pay bills, and support her son. She could finally breathe again.
Image via Kogee Sinniah
This sense of fulfillment, independence and success inspired Kogee to help other women who are in her shoes: someone who wants to stay home and raise their family, single mothers who aren’t getting support from the father of their children, and women who are forced to stop working without an income.
She connected with several women in similar situations and taught them everything she knew. And in 2018, Ammas On Mission (AOM) was born—‘Ammas’ means women in power, and ‘Mission’ symbolises waking up to full strength.
Image via Kogee Sinniah
The goal of AOM is to empower women to step up and take ownership of their lives, to voice out what they want and don't want, to know that they matter, to demonstrate and be ambassadors of beauty, and to educate women about skincare, personal care and health care.
The business took off and more and more women joined the team. Two years later, they now have nearly 3,000 members! Kogee is proud to share that AOM has helped many women achieve financial independence, find the courage to walk away from abusive marriages, regained self-confidence, and transformed their image.
Image via Kogee Sinniah
Plus, they also have members who resigned from low-salaried jobs to stay home and take care of their kids, while growing their incomes 20 times more!
Moving forward, Kogee hopes to recruit more team leaders in AOM, organise workshops for women to master their skills, and hit 5,000 members by the end of this year.
Image via Kogee Sinniah
What an inspiration! With perseverance, passion, hard work, and confidence, you can achieve anything.
As part of the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign, we’re constantly looking to share stories of Malaysian ‘superheroes’ that live amongst us.
If you know a hero or if you have an inspirational story about overcoming challenges, we’d love to hear from you. Just submit your story at RAAGA’s website or click the image above.