Posted by CSC T.H.E. Seniors on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 with No comments
Um hi, this is really way overdue and my dearest pubbie Victoria is gonna kill me, but better late than never right? XD
Recently I was asked to reflect about my experience with THES as chairperson and as a volunteer. The first thing that came to my mind was that going for visits every Saturday feels like going back to my second home and meeting my second family. The way the elderly recognise me, greet me cheerfully and tease me, the friendly way in which volunteers banter, the familiar sights, sounds and smells that greet me every Saturday morning, everything about Geylang Bahru just feels so warm and welcoming. Now it feels like my week isn't complete if I don't head to Geylang Bahru for my weekly retreat. I've learnt so much over the past two years from the elderly and volunteers, and I wouldn't swap this experience for anything else.
Over the past two years, I've really learnt a lot about interacting with the elderly, catering activities to the the elderly's abilities and helping them to participate in our activities despite their poorer motor skills. For this week's official visit (I mean 22 March), we had a friendly competition, where the elderly had to decorate a card containing volunteer reflections. When we did this with Mdm C.M., we were initially a little lost with regards to how to communicate with her what we had to do (because for those of you who know me, my Hokkien is just really really bad, and Mdm C.M. can't really hear very clearly sometimes so even Sheng Xian and Wee Chong, who are better Hokkien speakers than I am, had difficulty communicating the instructions to her). Finally, I found an origami tutorial online on how to fold a paper heart, and we folded that and let Mdm C.M. stick it onto the paper. Even though she was hesitant to participate at first, I think she was quite amazed by the origami (we even made a small little paper hat for her, photo in the FB group!), and that we weren't just doing our own stuff with her watching on from the sidelines, which helps to make the activity more meaningful for her. I think this served as a good reminder for all of us that while we may have some special activities or 'missions' that have to be completed during visits, what's more important is that these activities should be a means of facilitating interaction with the elderly as an end, and they shouldn't be the main focus.
Well that kinda sums up what I wanted to share :) I promise not to lag so much in posting in the future! Finally, just a small encouragement to all you volunteers reading this! I know things are getting crazy, with deadlines and CAs piling up, and finals drawing near. But just remember that if you ever need a break from all this craziness, Geylang Bahru and all our elderly will be waiting for you! See you all at our second home!
Love,
Jerry <3 p="">
Recently I was asked to reflect about my experience with THES as chairperson and as a volunteer. The first thing that came to my mind was that going for visits every Saturday feels like going back to my second home and meeting my second family. The way the elderly recognise me, greet me cheerfully and tease me, the friendly way in which volunteers banter, the familiar sights, sounds and smells that greet me every Saturday morning, everything about Geylang Bahru just feels so warm and welcoming. Now it feels like my week isn't complete if I don't head to Geylang Bahru for my weekly retreat. I've learnt so much over the past two years from the elderly and volunteers, and I wouldn't swap this experience for anything else.
Over the past two years, I've really learnt a lot about interacting with the elderly, catering activities to the the elderly's abilities and helping them to participate in our activities despite their poorer motor skills. For this week's official visit (I mean 22 March), we had a friendly competition, where the elderly had to decorate a card containing volunteer reflections. When we did this with Mdm C.M., we were initially a little lost with regards to how to communicate with her what we had to do (because for those of you who know me, my Hokkien is just really really bad, and Mdm C.M. can't really hear very clearly sometimes so even Sheng Xian and Wee Chong, who are better Hokkien speakers than I am, had difficulty communicating the instructions to her). Finally, I found an origami tutorial online on how to fold a paper heart, and we folded that and let Mdm C.M. stick it onto the paper. Even though she was hesitant to participate at first, I think she was quite amazed by the origami (we even made a small little paper hat for her, photo in the FB group!), and that we weren't just doing our own stuff with her watching on from the sidelines, which helps to make the activity more meaningful for her. I think this served as a good reminder for all of us that while we may have some special activities or 'missions' that have to be completed during visits, what's more important is that these activities should be a means of facilitating interaction with the elderly as an end, and they shouldn't be the main focus.
Well that kinda sums up what I wanted to share :) I promise not to lag so much in posting in the future! Finally, just a small encouragement to all you volunteers reading this! I know things are getting crazy, with deadlines and CAs piling up, and finals drawing near. But just remember that if you ever need a break from all this craziness, Geylang Bahru and all our elderly will be waiting for you! See you all at our second home!
Love,
Jerry <3 p="">
Categories: Mdm C.M., Official Visits
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