TOUCHed!

25th August, 2007, 10:00am
Mass Rapid Transit Station
Kallang, Singapore

!!!Time For Touch!!!

At Kallang we met
Before we set
off to the bus stop
For Twenty-Six
A group of People
A myriad of faces
A union of hearts
As we set off for Touch
Hold on! One last man...
Khoon Hong!
Running and waving
He reaches, steps up.
The door closes.
Adventure begins!

My first experience at Touch, and it was certainly a MOST memorable and meaningful one!

After reaching the TOUCH Senior Activity Centre, we were given a short tour of the centre and its facilities. Most of the facilities there were donated by people, and knowing this really brings to us a certain assurance that here in Singapore there are really many who care. We also learnt about some of the difficulties the elderly face in their lives, caused by physical disabilities, language barriers, and fast pace technological advancements that have left many unable to participate readily with the environment.

We were split into three groups of Mandarin/English, Cantonese and Hokkien speakers. As part of the Hokkien group, we visited Mdm Lim first. We found her collecting breakfast at the void deck of the next flat. While waiting for her, we got to know some of the other elderlies who are there. They sure look happy!

This time, the weather was fine. We followed Mdm Lim up to her flat. There was a very homely feel to her place. We sat down on the floor, talk about many topics such as religion and food. She mentioned that she has heart problems, which causes pain that comes and goes, lasting sometimes up to an hour. Not only is it very uncomfortable, at the same time also causes her to feel very weak, and drowsy. But every time, she hangs on, knowing that if she goes to sleep, there is a chance that she might never wake up again. Such is the spirit of life in a physically frail lady! By the way, Mdm Lim loves coffee! But too much coffee is bad for the heart too, so Derui told her not to consume too much. There were a few moments when no one could think of any topics to share, but luckily those are few and far between. Mdm Lim also mentions that she has to take so many pills that sometimes she really, really simply do not want to take them. Food to Mdm Lim has also gotten a little monotonous,either bread, bee hoon, noodles or rice. She yearns for nicer food I guess, maybe we can find some other suitable food the next time we visit her? When Mdm Lim speaks, I felt carried back in time, to years when she was younger, stronger, a young adult or teenager as we are. Guess it's in the old ages that we look back and realize that how wonderful life had been? We also cracked some jokes, such as one of the freshie "who stays in the zoo". Had a hard time trying to guess what's "zoo" in Hokkien! However Mdm Lim was very patient and tried to guess what we are talking about.

The visit ended quite soon. It was about time too I guess, for Mdm Lim to have a rest and her lunch. Amidst our collective goodbyes, she was smiling ever so happily.

Next!

Mdm Tan's a cheerful old lady who's all smiles! Her smile radiates into the entire room I guess! She was really hospitable too. She kept mentioning about not having drinks for us or chairs for us to sit on though we are definitely more than happy to sit on the floor!! Then she would adjust the fan so that everyone's got a fair share of air. Though she may be old, she is still very alert and young at heart. She even guessed our ages correctly, taking into account details such as 2 yrs of army for guys and all that. Overall we had a very fun session, telling jokes and trying to get some of the seniors to sing songs! Amily told her famous riddle about the cross-eyed patient who went to the doctor. What did the doctor say? (Guess!) Jian Cong also told some joke which I lost him somewhere in the middle. Sorries! It was "Way Too Chim". Mdm Tan says she loved to sing songs long ago, but she finds it harder to sing or talk for long periods of time now. Never mind! Next time before we visit her again, we shall prepare a session of music and dance, shall we?

The session ended all too soon, and we went back to the gathering spot outside the centre for a quick debrief. We shared some of the things we have learnt, some of the suggestions which we might have. We then went off to the nearby coffee shop to have lunch. The fried kway teow there was nice! Do go try it if any of you join us ok?

The visit brought us a whole new world of understanding about the lives that the elderly lead, the problems they face, the many things that they have gone through. And even then I would say that what we see is only be a tiny glimpse, a snapshot through a window into the lives of these people. Through communicating with them, we learn of many stories, of a time long ago, a different age, when the world was different. That they were once, like us, young before. Conversely, how would our lives be as we grow up? Would we be here many long years down the road, to share the stories of life with the young?

The TOUCH Seniors program brings helping hands, and most importantly, listening ears to the elderly. It gives the elderly a short, but enjoyable 2 hrs of company each Saturday, moments of joy to know that though some of them might not be mobile enough to travel easily round Singapore, there are many people who still care for them. That they are not forgotten. That they are loved by many, many people. Through the many activities that the centre organizes, the elderly have still rich lives to lead ahead.


Khoon Yi

1st Orientation Visit on the 18th of August'07

Today is our first orientation visit and we welcomed 15 new freshies. =)

Very Glad to see all the new faces!! Welcome to TOUCH, and hope all of you will enjoy the visits and find meaning in these visits.

After gathering at Kallang MRT station, we then set off for the TOUCH centre. Upon reaching our destination, all the volunteers were then split into three groups according to the dialect that they speak.

Group One was the Hokkien speaking group led by Jessie and they visited Mdm Lim and Mdm Tan.
Group Two was the Canto Speaking group led by Denise and Yong Sheng, who visited Kam Por and Mdm Lim.
Group Three was the Mandarin Speaking group led by Hui Ting and they visited Mdm Ong, Mr Chiu and Mdm Lim as well.

I was with group two, the canto speaking group and in my group were 4 freshies and 4 seniors incuding myself. I shall let photos do the talking of what we did...

Adrian helping to mop the floor at Kam Por's place. It was his first attempt, and Kam Por actually praised him for doing a good job!!

Btw's Adrian is an exchange Student from Canada, but he knows how to speak Canto as he was previously from Hong Kong.

Vincent is also an exchange student from Hong Kong. His Canto is li hai de lor!! haha....

Group two chatting with Kam Por.

Taking Turns to help masssage Kam Por's Feet, and You can see her happy face!! See how widely she is smilling =D

From Left to Right

Last row behind: Yong Sheng, ZhenQin

Middle Row: Kam Por, Vincent, Adrian, EnQi, Denise, PinChuan

Front: JASmine (Me!! =p)

After visiting Kam Por, We then went over to visit Mdm Lim.

Mdm Lim was really happy to see us, however the previous group who visited her already did everything she needed help with, so we just hanged around and chatted with her.

We were chatting very happily and in the blink if an eye, it was time to leave. We had no choice but to leave Mdm Lim's place for the debrief. After the very short debrief, we then invited all the freshies to join us for lunch.

After lunch, Denise came down with a cheesecake made by her!! It's really nice, and those who left early missed it!! TOO BAD.... =p But really, it's very nice... Denise, must show me the receipy k!!

Our next visit is on the 25th of Aug!! Looking forward to the next visit and to seeing all our volunteers (new and old)!!

18th August TOUCH!

Touch was so meaningful!

Before going to the old folks home, we had a briefing and introduction because it was the outreach session. All the freshmen interested in Touch could check it out. It wasn't easy remembering all those names, but besides that, I had alot of "fear of the unknown"! I can't speak hokkien, but because all my friends went for the hokkien group, I tagged along too. It'll be good to expose myself more to the dialect, anyway, I thought.

So we splitted into three groups. One group for Mandarin speaking folks, one for Cantonese, and the last Hokkien. For the Hokkien group, we were due to visit Mdm Lim first, and then Mdm Tan. An association was distributing food at the void deck of the opposite block, so we went over there to introduce ourselves to Mdm Lim. She has a back problem which causes her pain whenever she stands up. Some of us went over to queue up for her. She's an old lady with big spectacles and she laughs like little ripples! Very adorable. Jiancong asked if she remembers him, and she said she remembers him by his voice, and "ripples" again.

After recieving the food, we made our way up to her flat. It was raining heavily then, so we had to walk under the shelter. But from the shelter path, the only way for Mdm Lim to get back to her flat was by walking up a flight of stairs and than take the lift up to her flat. To us, it may seem easy. For an old lady with back pains, she had to hobble up. You'd feel a pinch in your heart when you see her walking up the stairs, one step by one step. It makes you feel like giving her a piggy back up the stairs!

When we reached her flat, she slowly reached for her keys and we noticed a cross at the top of her door. We asked her if she was a Christian, and she smiled widely(no eyes seen) and answered with a big YES. Mdm Lim was very hospitable. She wanted to serve us, make us comfortable despite her inconvenience in movement. While we sorted her medicine, she shared how much trouble she had in just buying food for herself. She shared how difficult life was, and how God was her only source of strength. At this time, it was best to divert topic! So the seniors who faithfully visit her fortnightly helped us participate by asking each of us to ask Mdm Lim a question or talk to her about something. I tried to tell her a joke, about a bird flying from one point to the other. Please do keep in mind, that I have very poor command in Hokkien. Mdm Lim obviously was more amused by the attempt than the joke itself. But she was nice. When asked if the joke was funny, she said it was okay, and "rippled" again. She was patient, and didn't mind poor attempts of us communicating with her. At the end of the visit, she said, "God bless you all," and some of us shaked her hands, or hugged her. It's really heartwarming when she hugs you back and laughs lightly. You know that she's happy when she has company. It matters alot to her.

Mdm Tan! She's adorable too! She looks very healthy but she has cataracts. But it's not noticeable because she looked so optimistic! She greeted us with a big "Hey you're here!". It sure makes you feel good. Her room mate wasn't in, but we heard from the seniors that her roommate doesnt like visitors. Probably inconvenient to have strangers around. Mdm Tan was so warm and friendly! Her flat is super neat and clean, and she brought out a fan for us so that we wouldnt be too warm. She also brought out her photo albums with her sons and daughters, or her nephews and nieces, wedding photos. She also had one of her during a Touch activity! She wore glasses with fake eyes pasted on the glasses! So cute! I told her she looked nice in that and she proudly told me she won 1st in that event! She told us stories during the war while she had to take care of her young sisters, and till date, her life. She's a very happy person, optimistic, and waay cool. Her perspectives are so modern, I'd think she's much younger than 70! I tried the joke again, and this time, she was funnier! She started saying, she was wondering why the bird was flying outside her window to and fro! We explained it was a joke, and only after hearing that it's supposed to be a joke, she laughed. I guess it wasn't that funny. So we could all try again the next time.

After the whole visit, I really had a new perspective on old people. Not all are old and cranky. They have high level of humour too! Being old may be tiring, with all the old ailments. Company brings alot of joy to them, to know that they are cared for and loved by people, even though they aren't related to them. Well, to sum it all up, old people rock.


Amily Low