10:30a.m. on 8 Aug this year, armed with unwanted clothes and a dialect-spewing mouth, I arrived at Geylang Bahru, ready to help the elderlies in whatever way I can. Although there were only 2 freshies on that day and it was our 1st time doing TOUCH, we did not feel left out as all the people there were nice and friendly :D. After a brief briefing, all of us went up to the 1st home to visit, only to be chased out as there were too many people in the room haha. We then split into 2 groups to visit different units as the turnout rate was way too good.
1st unit: Mdm Chua
Mdm Chua is a very happy-go-lucky person who had just lost her husband a month ago. I was expecting her to be depressed and emotional but she seemed to be quite strong mentally and i really have to salute her for that. When we arrived in front of the door, Mdm Chua shocked us with the fact that a group of students came yesterday and helped to tidy up the entire house. Oh man no use for my unwanted clothes T_T. Pin Chuan then asked her whether we can come in and have a little chat. She agreed and our talkathon commences.
Luckily for me Mdm Chua speaks Hokkien, which is my dialect, and I was able to talk to her in "half bucket of water" hokkien. She was complaining about all the stuffs that she bought and how much space they are taking up. She also went on to talk about her past and how life is much better now in Geylang Bahru as there were always people and volunteers showering her with care and concern. Words like this make me feel that we are doing something for a good cause and it has a huge impact on the lives of the elderlies.
Throughout the entire conversation, Mdm Chua was constantly asking us if we need any drink or coffee. She then offered to treat us to coffee at the kopitiam downstairs - "I treat, you all pay, haha". Actually I really don't mind going for the coffee as I didn't have much for breakfast but looking at Zhen Xiu's stern face, I realised that it was wrong to do so :P. Mdm Chua also gave us some packets of cold ice lemon tea and white chrysanthemum tea which none of us touch at all. In the end, Pin Chuan told Mdm Chua that we are going to visit the next unit at on the fourth storey. Conincidentally, Mdm Chua and Mdm Cheong already knew each other as they were always playing board games together in the TCS centre so Mdm Chua followed us to the next unit.
2nd unit: Mdm Cheong
Unlike Mdm Chua, Mdm Cheong is more of a quiet and introverted person. She lost her husband 7 years ago and I heard that she was hospitalised due to depression at that time. Time heals all wounds and Mdm Cheong seemed to have gotten over her husband's death. Together with Mdm Chua, we went into Mdm Cheong's house and again no cleaning T_T. I will really like to know which cleaning company the group of students are from.
Mdm Cheong speaks Cantonese and this time round I cant really understand what she was saying. I can only grasp bits and parts out of the mixture of dialects used in her conversation with Mdm Chua. Occasionally she will try to explain what she was saying in Mandarin to us and we would laugh together with them. I still remember Mdm Chua whispering to me that she thought her house was messy but Mdm Cheong's house was even more untidy! Haha they still can't beat me if they compare my house with theirs.
Mdm Cheong was cooking her lunch when we visited her and the smell of spring onions on the steamed fish filled the entire room. I really pity Shi Tien who was sitting beside the fish and he told me the smell was overwhelming over there. She also showed us some of the pretty artworks that she have created and how to write her name in Chinese. She then proceed to write her phone number under her written name and she exchanged numbers with Mdm Chua. Oh so sweet! :) But Mdm Chua was saying that it was quite unnecessary to do so because they see each other everyday haha!
Time really flies when we were having fun. It was already 1 o'clock and we had to leave already. We took a quick photo together and bade farewell to both ladies. All the volunteers then met together downstairs for the debrief where Pin Chuan announced that Chen Hua and him are stepping down and the upcoming chairman and vice chairman. Although we only interacted with the elderlies and never really helped them in their daily chores, it was a fun and fufilling experience for me :D.
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Mdm Chua on the left and Mdm Cheong on the right
-Jerome
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