The Sparkle and the Samsui Woman
Posted by CSC T.H.E. Seniors on Thursday, January 29, 2015 with No comments
Hi, this is the first time that I am writing in this blog. To me, it is very different from the usual reflection sessions after the visits, as my reflection tend to be very descriptive in nature. Through writing in this blog, it allows me to have a deeper reflection of the visits that I had and be part of a bigger effort to preserving the life stories of the elderly beneficiaries.
On 24th January 2015, Siyao, Sumei and I visited Mdm G. Even though Mdm G is not a beneficiary under TOUCH Community Services (TCS), we visited her as she needed help in changing her bedsheet and cleaning the house. Upon entering her house, what struck me was the cleanliness of the house, as the house seemed to sparkle (The sparkling could be due to the sunlight shining to the room. Nonetheless, it was still very clean) . After exchanging pleasantries, I was asked to clean the light bulbs on the ceiling. While I was cleaning them, she shared with us that she could no longer do so as she would felt dizzy while standing on higher position. On one occasion, she fell down while cleaning the light bulbs. Fortunately for her, her bed cushioned her fall. Her anecdote made me be aware of the difficulties that the elderly may face while performing certain chores, especially when their physique becomes weaker with age. It could potentially become a life-threatening situation should they have a mishap while doing their chores. Such an awareness does provide me with a greater sense of purpose to visit and help the elderly.
After we have finished cleaning Mdm G's house, we went to Mdm W.'s house. As Mdm W. could only speak Cantonese, only Sumei was able to communicate with her (I could understand a bit of Cantonese, but I could not speak the dialect and had to rely on Sumei' s translation to get a better picture). As she was mentioning about her interaction with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Sumei asked her if she had any picture of her with the Prime Minister. She was very happy to show us the pictures. Prior to this visit, I was aware that she likes to show pictures of her with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It makes me wonder why she could be so elated despite repeating the action of showing these pictures many times to different volunteers. Listening to her narration made me realize that she enjoyed sharing her life stories with us and the volunteers. Moreover, the photos that she had kept so meticulously symbolized her desire to treasure and to remember the people that she cared about in the photos.
One particular photo which I recalled vividly was her marriage photo, which was taken at Tekka around sixty years ago. Even through the photo was taken very long ago, the photo was still very well preserved, which showed that she must have loved her husband very much. Unfortunately, her husband died during Japanese Occupation and she had to raise her two children herself during that period. It reminded me of the related life stories that I had heard from other elderly beneficiaries, such as losing their parents during Japanese Occupation and the chaotic situation during that period. I was always told that I was fortunate to be born in this period. However, these advice seems so empty until I listened to the first-person accounts of the people who had experienced Japanese Occupation and how they survived that period.
For Siyao and Sumei, the life stories of Mdm W were certainly an eye opener to them. This was especially so as they were not from Singapore and the life stories of Mdm W required the understanding of Singapore's history, such as Samsui women and the existence of the Tekka market. As Mdm W. mentioned about her life as a Samsui women, it gave them an idea of the life that she had and the life of a typical Samsui women, who were part of the nation-building effort in the past (I had to explain a bit more then to provide them with a better idea, as Mdm W.'s description was a bit abstract for them).
Despite these short visits, each visit allows me to gain insights about the lives of these elderly, and these insights spur me to come for the subsequent visits and makes me realize that the time spent to visit and accompany them is definitely meaningful.
-Yen Sin
On 24th January 2015, Siyao, Sumei and I visited Mdm G. Even though Mdm G is not a beneficiary under TOUCH Community Services (TCS), we visited her as she needed help in changing her bedsheet and cleaning the house. Upon entering her house, what struck me was the cleanliness of the house, as the house seemed to sparkle (The sparkling could be due to the sunlight shining to the room. Nonetheless, it was still very clean) . After exchanging pleasantries, I was asked to clean the light bulbs on the ceiling. While I was cleaning them, she shared with us that she could no longer do so as she would felt dizzy while standing on higher position. On one occasion, she fell down while cleaning the light bulbs. Fortunately for her, her bed cushioned her fall. Her anecdote made me be aware of the difficulties that the elderly may face while performing certain chores, especially when their physique becomes weaker with age. It could potentially become a life-threatening situation should they have a mishap while doing their chores. Such an awareness does provide me with a greater sense of purpose to visit and help the elderly.
After we have finished cleaning Mdm G's house, we went to Mdm W.'s house. As Mdm W. could only speak Cantonese, only Sumei was able to communicate with her (I could understand a bit of Cantonese, but I could not speak the dialect and had to rely on Sumei' s translation to get a better picture). As she was mentioning about her interaction with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Sumei asked her if she had any picture of her with the Prime Minister. She was very happy to show us the pictures. Prior to this visit, I was aware that she likes to show pictures of her with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It makes me wonder why she could be so elated despite repeating the action of showing these pictures many times to different volunteers. Listening to her narration made me realize that she enjoyed sharing her life stories with us and the volunteers. Moreover, the photos that she had kept so meticulously symbolized her desire to treasure and to remember the people that she cared about in the photos.
One particular photo which I recalled vividly was her marriage photo, which was taken at Tekka around sixty years ago. Even through the photo was taken very long ago, the photo was still very well preserved, which showed that she must have loved her husband very much. Unfortunately, her husband died during Japanese Occupation and she had to raise her two children herself during that period. It reminded me of the related life stories that I had heard from other elderly beneficiaries, such as losing their parents during Japanese Occupation and the chaotic situation during that period. I was always told that I was fortunate to be born in this period. However, these advice seems so empty until I listened to the first-person accounts of the people who had experienced Japanese Occupation and how they survived that period.
For Siyao and Sumei, the life stories of Mdm W were certainly an eye opener to them. This was especially so as they were not from Singapore and the life stories of Mdm W required the understanding of Singapore's history, such as Samsui women and the existence of the Tekka market. As Mdm W. mentioned about her life as a Samsui women, it gave them an idea of the life that she had and the life of a typical Samsui women, who were part of the nation-building effort in the past (I had to explain a bit more then to provide them with a better idea, as Mdm W.'s description was a bit abstract for them).
Despite these short visits, each visit allows me to gain insights about the lives of these elderly, and these insights spur me to come for the subsequent visits and makes me realize that the time spent to visit and accompany them is definitely meaningful.
-Yen Sin
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