SINGAPORE - Thirteen years ago, Singaporean Stephen Suriyah, 32, had to drop out of Temasek Polytechnic because of financial difficulties.

But ever since, even when facing hurdle after hurdle, like business failures, depression and tuberculosis, Mr Suriyah never surrendered the unfinished business of his education.

On June 6, he announced in a Facebook post that has been widely shared that he had received his diploma from Singapore Polytechnic and finally completed what he had to give up years ago.

Within four days, the post garnered over 6,600 reactions and 2,400 shares.

Mr Suriyah said in his post: "I just had this unsettled duty I thought I should finish… It's for knowledge and self-satisfaction."

Today, Mr Suriyah is not only armed with a new diploma, but is also the business owner of The Original Vadai, a snack stall that currently boasts three outlets, in Beach Road, Joo Chiat Road and Amoy Street. The first permanent stall in Beach Road opened in April last year.

It was originally run on a seasonal basis by his mother, Madam Jumana Rani, 64, at night bazaars and during festive seasons like Ramadan.

Mr Suriyah and his three older siblings, now aged 42, 39 and 36, would help out during school holidays, along with their father, who would set up the stall while his wife cooked.

After Mr Suriyah's father died in 2006, Madam Jumana found it increasingly hard to run the stall, the family's main source of income, on her own .

Her burden as the sole breadwinner for four children eventually became untenable, and the family could not afford Mr Suriyah's school fees.

He dropped out and joined his mother in running the stall at night bazaars, taking it over in 2010, when he started branding it as The Original Vadai.

He enrolled in Singapore Polytechnic in October 2016 and thought things were looking up, but there were new challenges coming his way. In 2017, he experienced two business failures that left him in debt of more than $200,000.

One was an investment of over $70,000 in a stall at a night bazaar that did poorly, leaving him with no earnings after settling his part-timers' and suppliers' payments.

The other was a motor workshop business venture gone wrong, as he did not earn back any of the $120,000 he had invested, partly from savings but mostly borrowed from banks and friends.

He went into depression as a result.

He said: "I felt like all the blame for these business failures came to me.

"With losses piling up, I was afraid to even open the letterbox because bills were coming to my house. It really put me down. I even had suicidal thoughts."

Thankfully, his long-time girlfriend and now wife, Ms Sarasuathi Gloria Subramaniam, 30, was able to pull him out of his slump.

The couple married in 2018, and now live with Madam Jumana in a five-room HDB flat.

In 2018, Mr Suriyah was hit with yet another trial. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and had to be hospitalised at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for three days.

Thinking he was going to die, he said: "I started reflecting on my life."

Once again his wife, who is a senior staff nurse at Singapore General Hospital, was his bulwark, seeing him through his illness.

Ms Gloria and Madam Jumana also encouraged him to persevere in completing his diploma, as they knew how much it meant to him.

Ms Gloria said: "Since he was young, he has been quite sensible. He always told me he wanted to do better for his family, and bring his family business up. Because he's always encouraging me, I thought I should be there for him, too."

It was no walk in the park juggling school work with running The Original Vadai, especially when faced with the multitude of crises during the five years he took to earn his diploma. Mr Suriyah recalls: "On exam days, I would finish up my duties at the stall, get a replacement, and drive to the school car park. I'd then sit there for three hours to revise my notes before the exam."

His tenacity paid off when he obtained his diploma last week. But he is not done.

Mr Suriyah added: "If time and money permits, I definitely want to continue my education because I like to study."

He also said he and his wife were discussing plans for starting a family.

"Struggle is temporary - if you face the issue head on and work on it, you will make it through," he said.