Before I attempt this week's visit's post, I have finally cleared my backlog of reading past entries. I haven't been reading for... Close to a month >.< But I must say my all-time favourite reading is the T.H.E.S blog. I enjoyed reading the full posts by our volunteers and I like to guess who wrote the post (hopefully you guys will know who am I by just seeing how I began the post hahaha) The entries are really awesome, and hopefully this one won't disappoint you guys ;)
***
Today is 10/11/12 and a group of students and their teacher-in-charge from Ngee Ann Secondary School joined us for our visit. The belated Hari Raya and the upcoming Deepavali saw the return of missions in the form of art and craft. The session kickstarted with me teaching everyone how to make ribbon ketupats (okay by now you really should know who I am). The situation was a bit too overwhelming so I felt I didn't really do a good job teaching you guys so pardon me for the mess! :P And after distributing the paper plate rangolis we headed off to our seniors' homes to pay them a visit.
***
My group consists of 2 students from Ngee Ann Sec, their teacher-IC (sorry can't remember all their names!), Wynne 大美女 and myself. After collecting all the old newspapers, we were off to visit Mr Tay. Upon greeting each other...
1) Asked if we have eaten
2) Offered us canned drinks
3) Repeated 1 & 2 indefinitely
4) Asked if we brought newspapers
5) Kirh lim kopi loh!
(Tang, 2012)
(For 4, thanks a lot to those who have contributed their newspapers! The stack was about 1m in height so good job guys!)
Mr Tay complained to us about his persistent abdominal pain. Nevertheless he was elated as usual when we brought him downstairs to have his buttercino. The kopitiam auntie needed no instructions and automatically brought the special brew to Mr Tay. And the priceless expression on his face after each sip; it's like his pains and problems disappeared at that very instant as the taste of the caffeine warmed his body.
Side quest: buying Lux soap (sap boon in hokkien) for Mr Tay using his $10 Fairprice vouchers. Apparently he uses up one soap bar in three days. While queuing up for payment, I realised that the vouchers had expired. Thankfully, the cashier closed one eye and allowed the use of the voucher. Lesson learnt: don't just check for expired food of the elderly, but also check for expired vouchers.
One major discovery of the day: Mr Tay knows KARATE AND MARTIAL ARTS (which explained the choice of title of the post. Cue Kungfu Fighting music~). This revelation was after telling him that the Ngee Ann Sec students were from their school's Wushu club. Not sure about his grading and whether he has a black belt but he sure had the seh when he showed us the on-guard stance.
"Martial arts is for self-defence. People may hit you, but you do not hit people." - Mr Tay
When asked whether he got into fights when he was young, Mr Tay replied no. But the fact that he peed into his principal's coffee/drink was still... O.o
Questions to think about regarding Mr Tay. What if... Someone assaulted him? Okay that may not seem realistic. BUT WHAT IF. Some people claim themselves to be volunteers and break into his flat? The consequences is unthinkable. So it is our duty, to constantly remind not just Mr Tay, but all our elderly, not to allow anyone suspicious into their flats.
Like other seniors, Mr Tay remembers our volunteers by where they stay. For me, although it's only my 3rd time bringing him to the kopitiam, he remembers my voice. I'm also remembered as the kid who shares the same surname as him. This... Really means a lot.
 |
| All perked up! |
After Mr Tay finished his buttercino, the Ngee Ann Sec students and their teacher left (thanks so much for coming!), Wynne and I brought Mr Tay back to his flat. Dilemma: to tell or not to tell him that we'll be breaking for exams and will not be visiting in the next 2 weeks. The common topic during kopitiam sessions is the loneliness Mr Tay faces day in day out, and how he had to wait so hard for us to bring him downstairs to chillax.
I told him anyway. I didn't want him to be disappointed when the time comes.
But. I know there'll be 有心人 to visit him right? :)
I'll add a number 6 to Kai Him's Mr Tay routine:
6) Thanking us non-stop
***
Next up my group joined Sheng Xian's group and we visited Mr Chiu together.
Volunteers, please ensure that when the floor is wet, never. NEVER. Let the elder get up and move around. Our dear Mr Chiu slipped and almost fell not just once, but twice. Oh the horror.
We chatted with Mr Chiu and talked about the prospects of him joining 黄金年华 singing contest, and he laughed it off. A suggestion was to one day bring the seniors to the show's set and recording in Mediacorp. Hope to see it happen one day!
We did the rangoli art together too!
 |
| Masterpiece |
 |
| They say we look like father and son :3 |
After watching TV together for a while, we said goodbye to Mr Chiu and went for debrief.
***
I really, really enjoyed today's visit.
After sending Mr Tay home, we dropped by Mdm Cheong's place to say hi to her, and she was showing the other group her wedding photos which I have never seen before. So next time when I visit her, I will request for her to show it to me. While looking for Mr Chiu's flat, I led my group the wrong way and ended up at Mdm Tan's clean and bright flat and she was in good mood, talking to her group. She was all smiles when she saw us. When I was writing visitation report downstairs, Mr Lee sneaked up to me (and I jumped in shock lolol). He had received the photos I helped him develop and the mike I gave him is working fine.
I hope that the seniors liked the ketupats and rangolis in one way or another. While this initiative wasn't exactly flawless, I am learning from every minute spent volunteering and interacting with the elderly, and I will not stop learning. There is no such thing as an "experienced volunteer". I love what I'm doing. Because of all the above-mentioned elderly. And the others whom I don't have a chance to but will visit soon.
 |
| Happiness on a plate |
There's something about this tranquility at Geylang Bahru blocks 61 and 62.
-Jeremy
PS: As part of a CSC Day IX initiative, I will be featuring T.H.E.S during the OC meeting. I'll share my slides here or somewhere! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment