Pen pals from S'pore & Canada meet for 1st time after 43 years, exchanged letters since 1982

In 1982, 12-year-old Michelle Anne Ng in Singapore wrote her first letter to her new pen pal, Sonya Clarke Casey, at the other end of the world in Canada.

They would continue to exchange letters for 43 years, which is still going strong today.

Now both 55, they recently marked a new milestone in their decades-long friendship, when they met in person for the first time.

Around the middle of October 2025, Ng flew to St. John's, a city on the Canadian island of Newfoundland, where Clarke Casey lived, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

The pair started talking about meeting up since 2021, Ng told Mothership.

As both of them began travelling again post-Covid, the "hope we can meet soon" that they would write in their letters no longer felt like just a dream.

Ng would think to herself then: "If not now, when?"

When she had enough leave for a long trip, she decided to head northwards that would make their dream happen.

Snail mail friendship

It all began when Clarke Casey sent her details to the International Youth Service (IYS), a now-defunct Finnish organisation founded in 1952 that connected teen pen pals from around the world.

Ng found her contact through a magazine "Yippee", also now discontinued, that had a list of international pen pals.

Ng was originally interested in having a pen pal because she saw it a good way to improve her written English.

"Besides, there was no internet in the 1980s," she said, "and to find out more about other countries, pen-paling is one way to get insights to knowing other cultures and surroundings."

In an interview with CBC, the two women shared that, as young teens, they would look forward to receiving the other's letters, which would take weeks to arrive from across the world.

Sharing about their lives

They would write, sometimes for pages, about their respective lives, from school and sports to relationships, and sent each other gifts and cards during Christmas.

"During Covid, we updated each other on the news, the number of jabs we took," Ng said.

She shared with Clarke Casey the "Phua Chu Kang Covid vaccine rap" to show what the Singapore government was doing to encourage people to get vaccinated.

When exciting things happened in Singapore — when Jewel Changi Airport was launched, and when the Singapore Botanic Gardens was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site — Ng would send pictures.

Clarke Casey, on her end, shared about the excitement of seeing then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana in person when they visited a town in Newfoundland, she recounted to CBC.

As they grew up, they continued to update each other on the changes in their lives, including Clarke Casey's journey from getting married to becoming a mother.

"We were both persistent and avid writers," Ng said. "She shares her life milestones with me, and vice versa. It is like a real friend just separated by distance."

As technology advanced over the years, the pair also began communicating over email and FaceTime, but they have still stuck to sending each other handwritten letters.

"That [handwritten] word in a card sends the sincerity and genuineness of friendship in the good old-fashion way," Ng said.

Finally meeting up

Meeting Clarke Casey in person was "fabulous and emotional", Ng shared.

"It seems surreal, and we are both amazed that we just click and talk like good old friends."

Clarke Casey made a sign to greet Ng at the airport, according to CBC.

"We just gave each other a big hug and said 'I can't believe it'," she told the Canadian publication.

Ng also met Clarke Casey's family, who were "very hospitable" and cooked for her every day, she wrote on Facebook.

In the photos Ng shared, the two friends were all smiles as they enjoyed meals and strolls around St. John's.

"Meeting [Clarke Casey] has also given us a chance to catch up, and the topics now have moved on to life after 50 and the next lap of our lives," Ng told Mothership.

It's a conversation that will continue between them over many more letters.

Even though Ng has left St. John's, the friends may not be apart for long.

They have already started making plans to meet again in Singapore next time.

"First, we got to find the coolest month for her to come over here," Ng said.

"If that coincides with Chinese New Year, it will be great as she can soak in the celebration with my family and friends."

Top images from Michelle Anne Ng