Xmas Celebration 2010

Here are some of the photos from Xmas Celebration. The rest will be uploaded to Facebook. Enjoy!





















Programmer and
Hosts of the Day












Our
Beneficiaries
























Christmas Hat
Decoration











































Some people
look better
when their face
is covered















YUM YUM!











Merry Christmas!

and

黑白配!






Ying Cong

long time no see! :)

Having been busy with exams for the last few weeks, I was very happy to visit our elderly friends again! :) I'll just give a brief update on Mdm Tan and Mdm Ho, whom we visited.

Mdm Tan was rather chatty that day, telling us about the braised pork she cooked the previous day and asking us to help her install the batteries of the portable emergency gadget (which took us a long time to figure how to open the battery compartment :P). She also asked if we knew of any news about government pay-outs as there was an announcement on the radio regarding the matter. However, as the news was in Teochew, we could not understand it but promised to check it up for her. Although she lamented that she could not join the rest for outings because of her failing eyesight, she still joins the other elderly for activities in the SAC, which is comforting because at least she still remains active and not coop herself up in her flat all the time. As she complained about recent recurring headaches on one side (which may be migraine), I think we’ll have to keep an eye on her condition.

Mdm Ho looked sunken as compared to the last time I saw her. However, she was happy to see all of us. All 26 of us SQUEEZED into her flat and took group photos with her. She was very sporty as she didn’t mind taking many shots, and she also asked for copies of the photos taken. As usual, she shared with us photos she took with our volunteers and told many stories.

Can’t wait for the Christmas celebrations next Saturday! Hope the elderly will enjoy themselves! :)

Yinmin :)

well well. yi an's post gt many pictures. so i think im here to bore u guys.

i was there early, attended the volunteer training for approximately 1 hr before joining the rest for usual visiting. i hope the HCA, L-elderly Befrienders volunteers had enjoyed the training as much as our T.H.E Seniors volunteers do.

Guess i will just update bits on Mdm Tan. Her spectacles is spoil again. During the conversation, it was heartwarming when you knew that the thing u did for her was much appreciated by her. (There was once when Boon yong and I tried to repair her glass n succeeded.) Unfortunately, the specs spoils again, cannot be repaired and she insist not to get it repaired. It is very disheartening when she say she was not given the tickets for admission to events organised by certain communities. Reason being, her eyesight not good, then the people don't give her the free ticket. I do not think such discrimination should exists. They should be given a chance to enjoy as much as others do.

Exams coming. Exams coming. Exams comingggggg...

knowing everyone chionging the project deadlines and revising hard, please take good care of yourselves ya. (:

All the best for exams.! Jy people.

Pei Jen.

Volunteer Training 2010

So while the old birds proceeded with the usual visit, the newbies(from THES, HCA and LB) were all seated in a room listening attentively to the presenters.

As the saying goes, pictures speak a thousand words. I shan't bore all you guys, enjoy.

playing some ice breaker games to get familiar with one another

Lom, chiam, pass (or Rock, paper, scissors)

Pass the message

time to be serious and attentive

learning how to operate the wheelchair

basic phrases in dialects

getting to know each other better cum lunch

group photo to end 

 

Yi An

Some Reflection

For this entry, I shall reflect on some of my experience since joining T.H.E. Seniors.

Joining T.H.E. Seniors is truly my first voluntary work. Previously the voluntary work that I had done was through school events. They were all part of CIP requirement which everyone had to fulfill. So when I felt that I could spend some time to do something meaningful, I started looking around for voluntary work. There were many kinds but I always preferred one that will give me a chance to interact with the elderly. And that’s how it begins.

The seniors may have their own character and habits (like putting things in a certain way) but they are always appreciative of what we did for them. I sometimes feel that it must be terribly boring for them in the weekdays and so our visits would have given them something to look forward to on Saturday. Although it feels somewhat routine after a few visits and sometimes the seniors tell the same stories, it still gives me a sense of satisfaction to have done something meaningful.

Doing voluntary work requires more effort because we are not pressed by deadlines or grades. But I think it is worthwhile that every extra bit of effort that we put in lets the seniors know that there are people who care about them.


Ying Cong

Love Your Neighbour Carnival 9 Oct 2010

Here are some photos from the Carnival. I will upload all photos to Facebook.

Ying Cong

First experience with T.H.E Seniors

Prior to visiting the elderly, I imagined I would meet cranky elderly who lived in poorly furnished flats, with heaps upon heaps of their belongings taking up most of the space. I was walking along the corridor on the 2nd level, towards my first destination, when my imagination was reinforced. The layout of the HDB block was such that there was a long, straight and narrow corridor with flats on both sides, and it was illuminated only by sunlight at the end of the corridor. Yes, it all feels quite sad, doesn't it? However, the elderly occupants of two of these flats were anything but.

I joined the Hokkien group and visited Mdm Ho first. I was, at first, slightly concerned the situation would be a bit tense and how I should engage her, given it was my first visit. Mdm Ho proved to be extremely amiable, and instructed me to clean her TV set. Her flat was also not the squalor I had pictured in my mind. We chatted with her for a while. She was talkative and jovial. She happily related her stories to us and was eager to offer us drinks. Later, she displayed her sense of humor when she said she wanted to inspect her TV set to ensure that the cleanliness was up to standard. She dragged a finger across her TV set ( I was reminded of bunk inspection in the army!) and found no dust on her finger. I passed! Phew~

After that, we proceeded to Mdm Tan's. Mdm Tan's flat was tidy and required only simple sweeping and mopping of the floor. Her flat was probably neater than most of our rooms! After some cleaning, we sat down to chat. Mdm Tan told us she could not see clearly and my heart went out to her. However, Mdm Tan was stronger than that and was not bogged down by her condition. She also said she is receiving treatment and naturally, all of us wish her a speedy recovery. She related to us, stories in the olden days when her family reared chickens, ducks and pigs, and how her salary of $1.50 per day could see her through because apparently, back then, you could get bean sprouts, kuehs and sweets with 5 cents, to name a few.

The visits were meaningful and I learnt a few things. I was touched to know that there are, in fact, many others out there who care for the elderly, when the elders showed me pictures of themselves with other volunteers. What I felt especially meaningful was doing those simple chores of sweeping and cleaning for them. What, to us, may be tasks easily accomplished, are beyond the elders because of their ailing bodies. A simple act to meet their needs, and they appreciate it, and they show it. Giving is simple like that. I look forward to future visits =)

Wishing the elders health and joy,

See Kiat

Visiting 3 lovely Seniors (:

For the Hokkien group, we went to visit Mdm Ho, Mdm Cheong and Mdm Tan.

Mdm Ho always give us a warm welcome whenever we visit her. She is very chatty and loves to joke around with us. Mdm Ho can talk about almost anything under the sun and she can communicate in quite a few different languages and dialects --English, Chinese, Hokkien, Malay and Canto. She never fails to bring laughters and joy to us whenever we have conversation with her :D During the visit, Cong Ying asked Mdm Ho if she cooks, and we can answer that on her behalf ;) Mdm Ho is really a good cook. Her famous dish is curry chicken (tried and recommended by many volunteers). So must look forward to the next time she cooks curry chicken for us.

Mdm Cheong is very fit and healthy. She's a good friend of Mdm Ho, so naturally she's also very friendly. In my opinion, she sounds quite comical when she speaks and sometimes make us burst out laughing in the midst of a conversation. She is quite particular when comes to housekeeping, eg. the two white chairs placed in front of her bed cannot touch the bed frame. Whenever we visit her to clean the house, one thing to take note is to wait for her instruction before starting to clean anything. As she will nag a bit if we did not do things according to her wish, but she meant no harm, still a very amiable senior to talk to :D

Mdm Tan is a very cute senior and always gives us a great smile to welcome us. She keeps her house really very clean. Whenever we visit her, there isn't much house cleaning to be done. Hence we would spend more time chatting with her. Mdm Tan has been experiencing some vision problems. She sees really very blur images, in fact, it seems that her vision condition is deteriorating as she couldn't really see the image even if the image was placed quite near to her. Due to her blurred vision, she had a fall previously when she was on her way to get some stuff. In fact, she still has that phobia from that previous fall. Thus, she tried not to go anywhere too far from her house and stay at home for most of times. As a result, she missed out many activities organised by the community and various welfare organisations etc. Hope she will go for a medical check-up soon and regain her vision soon.

Hope you guys would look forward to meet each and every elderly! As they have many interesting stories to share with you guys! (:

With blessings,
Boon Peng (:

Selegie ‘豆花' Cyclohunt! - Volunteers' Outing 17092010!

I totally enjoyed myself that day! Thanks for all who came down. *Sorry for the late notification especially the new members!* Do look forward to the next volunteers' outing! (More photos would be uploaded to Facebook. Do click on the link on hte right hand side.)

Ken

11 Sept Visit

Here's another first-timer writing about her experience. And like the rest, I have only good things to say about the visit. Because, truly it was a meaningful time spent with a friendly group of volunteers, with an equally friendly bunch of elderly.

I don't know if it's just me, but when I got off bus 13 and attempted to make my way towards the void deck, the Geylang Bahru estate had this distinctly 'ancient' vibes - you look around and you see more elderly than if you were in Tampines, Bishan etc; and the area seemed abit more neglected and run-down. It seemed like the perfect place for volunteers to come, and hopefully do something to 'brighten' up the lives of the elderly. I admit that on my part I was expecting to meet downcast, bored, pessimistic elderly.

However, to my pleasant surprise, the 2 elderly - Mr Tan and Mdm Chow (i think?) were really warm. In S'pore, we are always feeling warm, but how often do we truly feel warmth? I was quite taken aback by how positive/optimistic/cheerful/joyful/chatty the elderly were. they were everything I had not expected. Although I do hope, that us volunteers, met their expectations. It was funny because they didn't really seem to need our help with the household chores, in fact Mdm Chow kept insisting that we just sit down, while Mr Tan welcomed us to join him to watch TV. So then I realised, perhaps it was not so much what we did, but it was our presence, the fact that they had companions, and had someone to chit chat with that mattered.

As a first-timer, it did feel awkward at times, struggling with the language barrier, and also thinking of how to get the conversation going. in fact, it was Mr Tan and Mdm Chow who initiated the conversation at times, and they were so earnest to chat with us, it almost seemed as if we were the 'elderly' who had to be taken care of!

2 hours flew past and the visit was over. Mdm Chow asked me why I kept smiling, she jokingly asked whether I had picked up money. I kept that question in my head, and then I realised, that it was perhaps because these few hours spent interacting with the elderly were probably the most meaningful hours in my entire week. I could have spent these few hours mugging, shopping, eating, playing, sleeping and doing things that probably made me happy, but at least for these few hours at Geylang Bahru, I felt like I had made someone else happy too.

So I certainly looking forward to the next visit! because I know it is not seeing us once that makes the elderly happy, but it is seeing us returning back every now and then, that makes them truly happy (i hope!).

- Priscilla (Canto Group)

My first true community service

This Saturday will be my 2nd to visit the old folks at Kallang. Though late in writing the post (I admit I forgot bout this for 2 week), I can still remember how fulfilled am I one week ago.

At first, I misjudged the timing and arrived earlier at the Kallang MRT station. I was alone and feel pretty nervous, did I alight the wrong station? Fortunately, the peoples coming for the THE Seniors became more and more, it is certainly out of my expectations that so many peoples came for this meaningful activity.

I originally signed up for Hokkien group as I seek to brush up my hokkien speaking as I am a hokkien myself. However, I switch to Cantonese group as they are low in number and I happened to know some Cantonese. ( I lived near KL, Malaysia before coming here)

We met two old madams which I couldn't remember their names (bad memories, must be spoiled by those carzy modules). As we goes on helping them to clean houses and interacts with them, I've found out that languages are not important, they sometimes speak a mixture of dialects so fast that I couldn't catch up. In this case, I feel like I am the old man with slow reflex.

The madams were nice people, one of them chat with us for almost an hour despite feeling depressed (I guess we helped relieve her bad mood somehow), and the other one, thought very particular in certain things, insisted that we accept her drinks after we cleaned her home.

Helping the elderlies were actually quite helpful in relieving stress, when I was helping them doing house chores, chatting or even just listening to them, I felt calm, relaxed, accompanied, just like the feel when you are with your family and friends, forgetting all the troubles at the moment where somewhere in the heart, an empty space was occupied. I guess they felt that too, thats why they kept chatting with us, somehow, in this fast paced world, everyone is lonely and feels empty, where we help each other by filling in the empty spaces.

There's a lot of lessons to learn fro the elderlies, one of the madam actually told us her past career at a hotel, she worked for 20 years, serving salads and other appetizers to westerners despite not knowing anything about English. She told us how she learned to memorize the English words by using Chinese pronunciations. For me, this is quite amazing as such perseverance does not exist in me.

The debriefing sessions are quite hard for me as I couldn't, at that moment summarize my feelings. But now, I just said this out clearly and certainly I am looking forward to meet the seniors again this Saturday as such experience and fulfillment cannot be found elsewhere. I will end this with a pun on MasterCard advertisement:

Broom: 5$

Public transport fares: 4$

A lunch at Kallang: 3.50$

A day with old folks: priceless

For everything else, there is the coming Saturdays.

Sat 28th Aug

It was my first trip to the T.H.E Senior at Kallang that day. My friend and I met up to join the crowd at Kallang Mrt station to be led to T.H.E Senior. Honestly, I do not know what to expect. I do not know how we are going serve the elderly. And, I am kinda worry if i can communicate well with them.

Upon arrival at the location, we were briefed on our job scope and after which we are splitted into groups according to dialect. We move on from there to visit the elderly in their one-room flat.

We started off by helping to tidy up their room. After which, we settled down and have a chat with them. As verified with the CSC seniors, the care centre at the void deck closes on weekend. Our job there is important to keep the elderly accompanied and to lend a listening ear to them. It is actually quite surprising that the elderly are opened up to us. They could talk about almost anything. It is interesting to listen to their stories and their perspective of life.

It was an enjoyable trip for me and I believe this won't be my last visit.

-derrick-

My 1st experience =)

Hi all, I am going to depart for my 2nd orientation of T.H.E Seniors in few hours time. So just let me briefly share about my experience during my 1st orientation last week. =)

After meeting the senior volunteers at Kallang MRT station, actually I felt kinda nervous because that was the very first time I joined home visits. However, this feeling gone off when I found that the senior volunteers are very helpful. So do not feel hesitate to join. There are always seniors to guide us. =)

So after being separated into different groups, we started the home visits. =D

We helped them to do some simple house chores, for examples sweep the floor, wipe the windows etc. As I expected to see a very very messy house, so I am quite surprised that their house were actually clean enough (cleaner than my room?) LOL.

I found Madam Chua, the 1st elderly I visited very interesting. When she answered to our door, she started to grumble, 'come so early, I want to rest' (something like that), but actually I can feel her happiness when we helped her to clean her house, and ya when we talked with her, she is warm and friendly. She even teaches us poker card divination!

This went the same for the 2nd elderly we visited. She is a senior that very easy to get along with. =) During chit chatting session, she actually told us a joke, (if I did not interpreted wrongly) and she laughed so happily that even though I cannot catch the humour in it, I still laughed from my heart. Hahahaha..

I really (I mean really really) had a wonderful day with the elderly last week. Although at first I feel very odd, do not know what should I do, but our senior volunteers guided us and make me feel belonging. Again, do not feel hesitate to join us. =)

These elderly look very okay to live alone,and they seem to be fine with their life, but somehow I feel that they just trying to be brave. So I will keep joining this activity as I feel like listening to them and keep them accompany. I thought I am the one who will brighten up their day, but actually they make my day. A smile always carve on my face whenever I think of their smile. =) I am looking forward to organize and join them for the coming mid-autumn festival!

Thank you T.H.E Seniors! =)

Cheer,
Jun

Amazing First Experience

Went for my first visit with T.H.E Seniors volunteers! :) It was my first time volunteering with the elderly, so I really didn't know what to expect. The elderly whom we visited live in one-room flats, some living alone. I learnt that just being there for these elderly and interacting with them made a whole lot of difference to their lives.

Initially, I thought that it would be difficult to start a conversation with them due to our big generation gap. However, I realised that they talk about almost anything under the sun, from their favourite pastimes to modern TV shows. Mr Tan, one of the elderly we visited, was able to talk to us about a lot of current news which really amazed me! It was a joy listening to their experiences as well, such as the activities they took part in. The warm greetings received when we visited them, and seeing the cheerful look on their faces as they recounted their experiences touched me. Despite the fact that some of the elderly experience loneliness, they never took it in their stride and instead spread warmth and cheer to those around them. This was a valuable learning point that I took home with me that day :)

These elderly are lonely and sometimes all they really need to be happy is to have someone to listen to their happy experiences as well as their woes. I'm glad I was part of T.H.E Seniors last week spending time with the elderly. It was a fruitful experience and worth the few hours off the afternoon. I wished I could have interacted more with them, and help them out in other areas as well, such as helping them with some chores as they are frail and need our assistance in these areas.

Also, thank you T.H.E Seniors volunteers for making that day a fun and enriching experience for us who went for the first time! :)

Charmaine :))

Orientation Visit on 21 August 2010

Today was my first home visit with T.H.E. Seniors. :)

Although I’ve worked with the elderly in the past, I still felt nervous (but excited) about it. Our seniors brought us to different houses where we helped the elderly clean their homes and chatted with them. I was unsure of what I had to do initially but as we progressed to the other houses, I got the hang of how things worked. Perhaps as it was my first time meeting the old folks, I found it hard to start a conversation with them. Luckily for their friendly disposition, they started the ball rolling and the atmosphere was less awkward. But I’m sure that after subsequent visits, we’ll get to know each other better and enjoy each other’s company.

After listening to some of the life stories of the elderly, I realised that some of them are more fortunate than others, in the sense that some had family members to rely on. Although they lived apart, I am comforted that at least their family members do visit them (though not frequent) and not leave them in the lurch. The elderly always tell us that at their age, they need to let go and take things easy. However I could feel that they were just putting on a brave front and actually trying to comfort themselves. This made me want to continue being there with them to give them a listening ear and set their minds aside from the troubles they may have.

It’s been a meaningful day for me and I’m looking forward to future visits! :)

Yinmin

Orientation Visits 2010

Hi all!

T.H.E. Seniors Orientation visits will be held on 21st and 28th August 2010. Meeting time and place will be 10am at Kallang MRT station.

Whether you have an interest in volunteering with the elderly or you're still undecided, do feel free to attend the orientation visits and experience for yourself what we do because there's only so much we can tell you.

Give yourself and the elderly a chance!

I dare say that it will be an extremely meaningful experience :)

Hope to see you all there!

For any further enquiries, please contact Darren at nuscsc.t.h.e.s@gmail.com

OMGZ. its already 1 year in T.H.E.SENIORS! really enjoyed my days with T.H.E.SENIORS ; beautiful memories from the regular visits, special events etc. Still remember i started out as a loner in t.h.e.seniors, joined the club alone without knowing anyone else... NOW. I THINK IM IN LOVE WITH T.H.E.SENIORS. wanna thank everyone in t.h.e.seniors.

• margaret - standby to receive my "I will be late for visit" sms every visit, then inform me which group to join after i've reached. thanks! (P.S. I HAVENT GOT MY CLAIMS!)
• zhenxiu - for being so naggy! ensure me n huiting will complete our work!xiexie! i rmb you were the first senior i talked to. then i got cheated to join the committee. haha!
• huiting - my first love in t.h.e.seniors! thanks for spending so many nights with me, trying to come out with fun games (okay we're not tt creative) for the elderly!
• karen (ken+darren) - wonderful ppl to bully. whenever need ideation and last minute logisitics you guys (erm,karen is a gal?) will help out! arigato!
• yewchin - haha! thanks for helping w the claims! and all the extra work you did beyond treasurer! never see you get angry before! can show it to me next visit? =D
• wenping- spending time to send emails before every visit (thanks! cos i will really forget when is the visit) and sign off as "see ya" when i dont get to see you (you know what i mean)!
• rongsheng - helping out as emcee! (you cld have rejected us!) . thanks!. eeeeeh.. you coming this sat?!
• shitien - making me curious about ur forehead so i'll go for every visit to investigate. (so are you baoqingtian or harry potter?)
• jerome - great minds think alike. HEY PEOPLE. JEROME N MY BIRTHDAY COMING! RMB HOR!
• chenhua - weeeeee. without you i wouldnt have so many curry chicken meals! thanks arrrrrh! (drooling now)
  

ARH! the list is too long! but yea! thanks to everyone in t.h.e.seniors - student volunteers, special project helpers, touch volunteers, and of cos! our wonderful elderly =D

okay, i sound like im leaving t.h.e.seniors and writting my last letter to everyone. choy. i will continue to force myself wake up at 9.30am to go for visits (so who can take over margaret to recieve my sms? darrreeen? peijen dont get bullied by him okay! hehehe). and yup! i wont 4get to attach my picasso-standard drawings to my post!

Regards,
Wynne
A+++++++ artwork again!

Visiting on 7th August

It was my first visit as I am new member of the THE Seniors. I first went to Mdm Poh’s house. She was fluent in Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay and she knows quite a bit of English. I was in charge of cleaning the windows. Within minutes, I broke the handle of the window and one of the screws dropped to the ground floor. Thankfully she wasn’t particular and she explained that it was already broken. After recovering the screw, I tried to fix it back but to no avail. We then spent the rest of the time chit chatting. She made an effort to talk to me although I was new. I guess I had already made an impression.

The next house belongs to Mdm Tan. Her house was bright, clean and tidy. I guess Mdm Tan likes to keep things in order. There wasn’t much to clean so we soon find ourselves talking to her. Looking around her house, I realized that her only form of entertainment is a radio. Furthermore, she has poor vision. One can imagine that her daily routine must be pretty mundane. Unfortunately we could not spend a longer time with her as we had to gather outside the centre.

Overall it was an enriching experience. I found it gratifying and worthwhile to have spent some time with the elderly.

Ying Cong

Home visit on 26th June 2010

I was away for several weeks as i was busy with my special project. This is the first vist i had after such a long time. Jerome and I was late therefore we ended up helping Chen Hua to distribute rice and canned food to the residence. We don't usually get to help up with distributing of food in fact this is my first attempt. Then, we went to Mdm Poh's house to help her up with some household chores. I wasn't very fluent in Hokkein but i was able to understand some of the things she said. I helped her to clean the shelf that she is unable to reach. There is a layer of dirt accummulated on top of the shelf in the kitchen. I only managed to clean part of the shelf as we are rushing to visit another elderly's home. Before we left, Mdm Poh showed us a photo album which contains her past photos. I was amazed that she had visited Tokyo before. She is really friendly and even treated us to a drink for our hard work. We went to Mdm Tan's house and her house is really clean therefore we ended up listening and accompanying her. She told us a lot of things, her thoughts and some personal experience. She was not hopeful in relying on her children anymore but she takes every day as a day of bonus. She was very easy going with what she had. I started to realise that what she said does make sense as this happens to everyone when they grow old. Afterall she is wishing for a simple and happy life. And i believe is what most of us had wanted in the end.

Yours Sincerely,
TingTing

Elderly visit on 19th June 2010

It was my second visit as a volunteer- came slightly late and thus ended up in the Cantonese speaking group although I don't speak any cantonese! First house was Mdm Lee- she just underwent cataract surgery and was recovering. We helped her clean up her house and also chit chatted with her- mostly huiting because she only spoke cantonese. She felt quite tired so she requested us to leave after we had finished cleaning up. Next house was Mdm Tan- she spoke cantonese, hokkien and chinese. She was in good spirits and took out her old photos and shared with us some of her history. She insisted that we allow her to treat us to drinks, so we went downstairs to chitchat. I felt happy that our simple act of house cleaning and visits could bring so much joy into the lives of these elderly folk.

Bernard

Mdm Chua - Volunteer at work

Hi volunteers,

In case some of you do not know, Mdm Chua is an elderly volunteer (:

Take a look at this article posted in Touch Community Services' website.

http://www.tcs.org.sg/make_a_difference/volunteer_at_work.html

Source: http://www.tcs.org.sg/make_a_difference/volunteer_at_work.html

Once a Client, Now a Volunteer

Mdm Chua

Once a client, now a volunteer! Mdm Chua was living with partial vision and dependent on others for two decades. In 1999, the TOUCH Seniors Activity Centre (TSAC), a social and recreation centre for the elderly in Geylang Bahru, extended a helping hand to her. On the advice of a staff from the centre, she went for an eye operation in 2001. After removing the cataract, Mdm Chua decided that it was time for her to help others in need, especially the elderly. She became a volunteer with TSAC.

Mdm Chua went through months of training at TSAC in Geylang Bahru. The 80-year old now buys and delivers food to the frail elderly staying near the Centre, visits them in hospital when they fall sick and checks on them regularly to ensure that they are fine.

Her transformation – from client to a volunteer – is remarkable. Mdm Chua’s story touched many hearts and was even featured on television and in the newspapers. Help us help more people like Mdm Chua - a life touched is a life changed.

-Margaret

Hey everyone,

I am Guohao, a new member to this club. I am glad to be part of this club to spread the joy and love to old folks; while doing so, we are contented and happy ourselves, too, for being able to share the joy with other participating members.

19th June was my second day of volunteer work with the club. Through my brief encounters with these old residents, I am reminded of the nostalgic moments I shared with my late grandpa when I was young. I was barely primary three when he was still around. He spoke mainly in Henghua, a variation of the more common dialect Hokkien.

A quiet man with a wry sense of humour , he took particular joy in making fun of me since I could not discern what he said when he spoke. Mr Tan, a resident from block 61, mirrored my grandpa in some ways.

Quiet as he was, he would not hesitate to tell tales of his past. Age and years of illness had tormented him, but could not steal away the fact he was once an avid marathoner, body builder, brave world war 2 fighter against the japanese and in every sense, a proud Singaporean.

People born under such war circumstances underwent many untold hardships and took pride in who they were, what they did and cherished what they owned. And for the stories I missed out from my grandpa, I would not want to miss out from these old residents who had tales of their own to share. And so, in that little cozy unit of Mr Tan, we recounted tales of his dashing and heroic days. He has also been given an English name by Wen Hui; Johnny.

To end this post, I will share a quote from the movie Ip Man 2. It is a value that strikes chord with lessons I picked from my late grandpa and from encounter with Mr Johnny Tan. It is nothing spectacular, but nonetheless deeply meaningful.

'人的地位有高低之分，但是人格不能有贵贱之别‘

Guohao :)
23/06/10

Hi everyone!

Since Vanessa and I are in the same group, I’ll share about our visit to kam po’s house and Van will share her thoughts on our visit to Madam Cheong’s house :)

We first visited kam po and helped her cleaned her house. She was in a pleasant and cheerful mood and invited us to sit down and talk to her. Unfortunately only Hui Ting in our group could speak Cantonese so she had to talk to kam po for most of our time there. The rest of us sat at one side and could only understand some parts. Hui Ting was telling kam po about her family’s wanton business and most of us could understand the word wanton so we guessed that they were talking about food and that’s about all since our understanding was minimal :) I guess I’ve got to learn Cantonese so I can better communicate with the elder generation. That’s all and here’s a quote to end off~ “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” By Edmund Everett Hale

Have a good day ahead!

:D

One of the elderly my group visited was Mdm cheong.
She is very nice and courteous. We helped her to clean her windows and mop the floor. We also tried to pick up a conversation with her. Then, she told us about her late daughter and even showed us pictures of her and her daughter. We were afraid that she would feel sad and start tearing when she started talking about her daughter and all the things she has done with her. However, she seemed to have accepted the fact that it has happened and moved on with life. Mdm cheong also commented that she is really happy living there as she has lots of friends to keep her company.

Life is short. let's treasure those around us and make the most out of the time we have.


“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw

see you all soon :D


Vanessa

Double experiences for me on the 22nd may. Being it is my first time being a facilitator, going around knocking the doors. And knowing more elderly from the canto group. Merely knocking the doors got me excited in the morning, because I have never been assigned such task. It’s an experience gained. And from it, I realize I should really go brush up my dialect so that I can communicate with those elderly as most of them speak dialect.

I’ve never been in the canto group before. Having watching some Hongkong dramas do help, sometimes one can get to learn and listen, and know what the conversation was about. We visited Madam Chua, coping with the language barrier over there was fine as she speaks Hokkien. As usual, helping her with housechores, sat down and talk to her. She’s very caring, keep asking us to drink water but we just keep rejecting. I can remember her keep saying she is “lo shuo”; naggy. I think when one ages, what she need is a company and a person to listen to her, one should bear with it when talking to any elderly. Heard from the senior volunteer that often she may look optimistic, but deep inside her heart, she’s still grieving and got upset easily especially when she is alone. She misses her husband a lot as she was rather attached with her husband when he is around. She spoke to us about her granddaughter and family. One will not feel good when she speaks about her grand-daughter. I guess no one would know what will happen next. Unpredictable. We should always live life to the fullest. (:

Second visiting to Madam Cheong, a pro supervisor, giving and guiding us the housechores to do. She will always treat the volunteers drinks after every visiting to her house. I remembered receiving packet drink from her. A small action like this is valueless; it’s her way of expressing ‘thank u’ to the volunteers. Appreciate it though it’s just a drink.

Third visiting, Madam is a very friendly cheerful elderly. When she gets shy, she will cover up her face with her hands. Quite adorable. Both Hui Ting and Wynne did the talking. It’s like canto vs hokkien. The conversation was funny with the mixture of canto and hokkien. She has poor listening, we need to speak to her in a louder volume. She may look petite, but she can speak really loud.

That's all for the visit!!(: Drink more water and take great care of ourselves ya. The weather is scorching hot...

Pei Jen(:

22 May Visit!!!

Yo, I'm supposed to write a blog entry for last saturday's (22 May) visit!

1st place: Mdm Lim Ah Neo
She's feeling kinda depressed, cuz she had a fever the night before. Although her fever has subsided in the morning, she was still feeling a bit of discomfort. She shared with me how she cleared the fever by drinking a bottle of cold Yakult and then a packet of cold Soya Bean drink!

2nd place: Mr Tan (not Johnny)
My first time visiting him. Very friendly uncle. He's suffering from a prostate disorder. He likes watching TV and spends a lot of time doing that. When we were at his house, he was watching 'Zhong Yi Da Ge Da". He knows quite some bits on Mandopop idols!

3rd place: Mdm Tan
She requested that we help her with her house cleaning on alternate visits. We spent quite some time talking about her life experiences. She went through a lot of hardship in her various jobs when she was young. She told us that she was really happy that the town council has allowed her to stay in her current flat.

4th place: Mdm Lim Chuey
She 'complained' why we came to her house so late. I think next time we have to arrange our visit to her house between 11-12pm! We did the usual cleaning of chairs, windows and floors. Jerome did a very impressive job of wiping the chairs squeaky clean!

By Ah Hua

Hi guys!! I guess I should start with an introduction abt myself! =) I'm Wen Hui, a new volunteer with you guys =) but I'm from NTU. hahas. I have been staring at this page for super long!! (Still can't escape from blogging) =X Pardon me if this post is boring cause I'm not really good with words =(

Okay, I gave my first time to you guys ! LOL. My first volunteering experience. =) The day started with Mr Johnny Tan's home. Honestly, I’m impressed with his fluency in English language. He shared with me about his past experience though I couldn’t really make out what he was trying to say at times but I love his facial expressions when he was speaking. He looked so sincere about sharing his experience with us. It was REALLY warm that day yet he rotated the fan towards us. I'm touched with this little action of his because it reflects his appreciation towards us. <3

Next was a visit to Mr Chew's home and lastly Mdm Tan's home. Mdm Tan greeted us at the door with a warm smile =) We did some cleaning for her. I love the way she smile and talk to us, it really made me feels good about what I am doing.

Simple things that we do for a short duration could really help someone in need and bring smiles onto their face. I love this feeling of giving and making a difference. Thanks to you guys for opening the door to this wonderful experience! <3

-Wen Hui-

Overwhelmed with enthusiasm, smiles, and gratitude

Enthusiasm. It was really a wonderful experience last saturday to begin with. Totally overwhelmed by the elders' enthusiasm for the event. Their radiant smiles, warm greetings, and jovial laughter did hyped up the whole atmosphere thoroughout the entire event. Not forgetting the volunteers as well, the responses were spontaneous and totally awesome I would say.

Smiles. I could not recall a moment that I had failed to capture the smiles on the faces of the elderly. They were always there; ever ready for my camera to flash at. Never daunted by the humidity and the blazing sun, elderly and volunteers should be applauded for their perseverance in completing the walk.

Gratitute. Having said that, though many were tired after the walk, their spirits did not seem to dampen at all. Smiles, slight nods, and waving goodbyes were their forms of expression of gratitude to us; and arguably the most sincere and heart felt. Last by not least, I am really grateful for the volunteers who came down last saturday, and to my friends in Touch Seniors as well, thanks for making it possible and successful!

-All the best for your revision!- -ken-

Henderson Waves Outing

Hello to all !!! Last saturday was a good day for a walk in the park and CSC did just that, bringing the elderly from Henderson Waves to HortPark.

The whole journey covered many slopes but we can see that the elderly were generally very happy and enjoyed the whole process. As for myself, I was taking care of the old lady who was more than 80 years. Whoa, that is an impressive age, and I wonder what I'll be when I'm her age ( i.e. if I have the fortune of living to that ripe old age. )

From the conversation, I can tell that she is very proud of her grandchildren, one of which is going to graduate from some overseas uni this year. This set me thinking, our grandparents are actually proud of our achievements, even though a uni degree may be something that we take for granted. Hence, we ought to be grateful for whatever we have, especially when our family are rooting and supporting us without expecting any payback.

I think most people nowadays are not very close to their grandparents. This is sad, as they are a vast source of knowledge and experience. True, they may not have studied much, but they know how to appreciate kindness which greatly touched me. When the volunteers offered them cakes and biscuits, they insisted to share them with us, even though we declined profusely. And from their expression and gestures, it is apparent that they are very happy and grateful about the whole trip.

Initially, I had apprehensions about how to break the ice and talk to them. But I soon realised what matters is not the language, but the heart and thought that matters. As long as we are sincere about making their day, we will naturally click and the conversation will just flow. And it definitely helps that the walk goes through nature which makes everyone feels light-hearted with the fresh air and nice scenery surrounding us.

Lastly, I would like to end this post with this video. This is a Hokkien song by this Taiwanese singer: 蕭煌奇. This song was written for his grandmother whom he was very close to and which he was overseas when she died, hence he couldn't appear by her deathbed.

Enjoy the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8kaGjzeKs&feature=PlayList&p=2035EFC9FE564410&playnext_from=PL&playnext=6&index=5

Signed:

Huixiang