Yesterday was my second time volunteering with T.H.E.seniors, and once again the 3 hours proved to be a humbling and meaningful experience.
My group consisted of Pin Jin, Bryan and myself, and we were assigned to visit Mdm Ho and Mr Lin. When we arrived at Mdm Ho's house, she greeted us in Hokkien and then we proceeded to help her with the household chores. One thing that struck me was how Mdm Ho remembered and recognised me from my previous visit, and asked me if I had been to her house before. While it was just a mere sentence, it really touched me as despite her old age, she took the effort to remember the volunteers and it also showed how much these weekly sessions meant to her.
After cleaning up the house, we then sat down to chat with Mdm Ho. My dialect is, unfortunately, really bad and I can only grasp a little of what she was saying, let alone communicate back to her. Thankfully, I had Bryan and Pin Jin as my helpful 'translators'. Also, when Mdm Ho realised that I could not understand Hokkien, she tried her best to speak in English instead, just for my benefit, which was really heartwarming. She talked mainly about her children and grandchildren, telling us stories of how successful their careers were, who was getting married, and so on. But apart from all the jokes and laughter, she also voiced out how she felt youths nowadays are becoming less filial to their elders. In her own words: "You only have one set of parents. Without your parents, you wouldn't even be here today." I guess this was the most humbling moment of the 3 hours I spent yesterday; realising that sometimes we take our own parents for granted and we should not take care of them just because it's an obligation but because we want to do so.
Before we knew it, it was time to go and visit Mr Lin. However, when we reached his house, Mr Lin told us that there was nothing for us to clean because there were other volunteers coming on Monday to help him. We then asked if we could go in and chat with him for a while, but he politely rejected us as he wanted to get some rest instead. With the bit of time we had left, we ran a few errands for Mdm Ho before calling it a day.
All in all, these two weeks spent with T.H.E.seniors have been undeniably heartwarming and undoubtedly meaningful. I would just like to say a big thank you to the volunteers for being so welcoming and friendly to all of us and for giving us the opportunity to give back to the society.
Annabel
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Today, my group consist of Joleen, Elizabeth and Jonathan. As Mr Ong's house was nearby, we decided to visit him first.
Upon reaching Mr Ong's house, Mr Ong immediately welcomed us! He mentioned that he was giddish after his surgery, and i could feel that he feels sian, because this giddy problem has been with him ever since he has a brain tumour. He had lots of medication to take, and after this surgery, his right eyelid couldn't close...making his eyes dry at times. Seeing the big plastic bags of medicine and his tearing right eye, I really feel sad for him. Elizabeth and Jon later then helped him to clean the toilet, and then Mr Ong chatted with us a bit more.
Fortunately, after chatting with us about his medical health, Mr Ong seemed to be better and our topics went on a happier mood. We chatted about HDB bills, TV prgs, radio prgs and stuffs. Soon we headed to Mdm Chow Moi's house.
Mdm Chow was sleeping when we reached, and was awaken by us (sorry!). And she always give her best smile to us :D There weren't much cleaning to do, so we sat and chat with her. She have hearing problems, so we usually SHOUT to her. Sometimes, she don't know what we were saying, and she will either O.O! or =D. hahahahah! I think just her smile alone had made our day! She also introduced us a 'wine'(Hua Tou 十补酒？I think the name is something like that） that she drink everyday, and offered us a cup to share. We sip some and felt the wine was quite strong, the stomach burning kind of feeling. Then Mdm Chow was like taking the cup and saying that drinking make her (hop). And she really hop! hahahaha! I am even more impress when I knew that she is 90 years old, hence I may consider buying this wine so that I can also hop when I am 90. hahaha! just kidding!
After the wine-tasting activity, we chatted about her photos, and we spot some photos where Mdm Chow was like dressed up and partying! We asked her what she was doing and she said she was anyhow doing it! Somehow, the way she said it made us laugh!
So this concludes our visit, to Mr Ong, I really wish that he will not be troubled by HDB bills and health problems! and to Mdm Chow, I wish to see her smile everyday!
That's all folks!
Kiah Yeen
Upon reaching Mr Ong's house, Mr Ong immediately welcomed us! He mentioned that he was giddish after his surgery, and i could feel that he feels sian, because this giddy problem has been with him ever since he has a brain tumour. He had lots of medication to take, and after this surgery, his right eyelid couldn't close...making his eyes dry at times. Seeing the big plastic bags of medicine and his tearing right eye, I really feel sad for him. Elizabeth and Jon later then helped him to clean the toilet, and then Mr Ong chatted with us a bit more.
Fortunately, after chatting with us about his medical health, Mr Ong seemed to be better and our topics went on a happier mood. We chatted about HDB bills, TV prgs, radio prgs and stuffs. Soon we headed to Mdm Chow Moi's house.
Mdm Chow was sleeping when we reached, and was awaken by us (sorry!). And she always give her best smile to us :D There weren't much cleaning to do, so we sat and chat with her. She have hearing problems, so we usually SHOUT to her. Sometimes, she don't know what we were saying, and she will either O.O! or =D. hahahahah! I think just her smile alone had made our day! She also introduced us a 'wine'(Hua Tou 十补酒？I think the name is something like that） that she drink everyday, and offered us a cup to share. We sip some and felt the wine was quite strong, the stomach burning kind of feeling. Then Mdm Chow was like taking the cup and saying that drinking make her (hop). And she really hop! hahahaha! I am even more impress when I knew that she is 90 years old, hence I may consider buying this wine so that I can also hop when I am 90. hahaha! just kidding!
After the wine-tasting activity, we chatted about her photos, and we spot some photos where Mdm Chow was like dressed up and partying! We asked her what she was doing and she said she was anyhow doing it! Somehow, the way she said it made us laugh!
So this concludes our visit, to Mr Ong, I really wish that he will not be troubled by HDB bills and health problems! and to Mdm Chow, I wish to see her smile everyday!
That's all folks!
Kiah Yeen
Everyday is Worth Celebrating!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, my group only consisted of me today! Despite being alone, I had loads of fun during today's visitation! I visited Mdm Tan and helped her with sweeping, mopping and cleaning of windows/tables, although her place is generally clean.
I was surprised that I was able to generate conversations for the entire two hours!!, as mentioned during debrief. One of the reason is perhaps I could speak Hokkien and Mdm Tan could understand what I was saying. I really had a great time talking and chatting with her! We've talked about many things, such as the trend of going with the masses; as personified in the recent Hello Kitty craze... to her grandson's enlistment where I also shared with her my army experiences too:)
In the midst of the conversation, Mdm Tan mentioned that more often than not, charitable organizations will give the elderly canned food and staples regularly, but not so much necessities like soap and toothpaste. I have personally witness this as some elderly have too much food and stock them up in their cupboards. She also mentioned that sometimes she will have to go to the store to purchase such necessities if they are not being distributed. This made me rethink the gifts that we should give elderly. (maybe we can consider giving necessities like washing powder and toothpaste next time instead of canned food?)
Anyway, the takeaway for me today is that everyday is worth celebrating! Mdm Tan mentioned that "life is short, don't complain too much, live life contented and be happy". I believe this is indeed true as we often look at the unhappy things in life, and not be contented with what makes us happy. So hope that all fellow volunteers out there and our elderly will celebrate each day and be glad in it:)
I was surprised that I was able to generate conversations for the entire two hours!!, as mentioned during debrief. One of the reason is perhaps I could speak Hokkien and Mdm Tan could understand what I was saying. I really had a great time talking and chatting with her! We've talked about many things, such as the trend of going with the masses; as personified in the recent Hello Kitty craze... to her grandson's enlistment where I also shared with her my army experiences too:)
In the midst of the conversation, Mdm Tan mentioned that more often than not, charitable organizations will give the elderly canned food and staples regularly, but not so much necessities like soap and toothpaste. I have personally witness this as some elderly have too much food and stock them up in their cupboards. She also mentioned that sometimes she will have to go to the store to purchase such necessities if they are not being distributed. This made me rethink the gifts that we should give elderly. (maybe we can consider giving necessities like washing powder and toothpaste next time instead of canned food?)
Anyway, the takeaway for me today is that everyday is worth celebrating! Mdm Tan mentioned that "life is short, don't complain too much, live life contented and be happy". I believe this is indeed true as we often look at the unhappy things in life, and not be contented with what makes us happy. So hope that all fellow volunteers out there and our elderly will celebrate each day and be glad in it:)
Kok Seng
Today’s my second visit and my group visited Mr Chiu and Mdm
Cheng. We went to Mdm Cheng’s first, but she was not in. So we went to Mr Chiu’s,
nearly having to go back as there was no response at first.
Fortunately he was in, and we managed to help him in some
housework. He drinks a cup of coffee every day, and sometimes leaves his coffee
in the fridge to have iced coffee!
After some chitchatting with Mr Chiu, we went to find Mdm
Cheng again. She was at home then, just back from lunch with her friends.
Chicken rice! We talked about many different things, like her children,
grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. The coffee topic appeared at Mdm
Cheng’s too. We found her packet of coffee mix on the sofa. It looked a little
funny as there was a cloth in it. We also discovered her sunglasses inside.
That was when we took this photo.
Cool right! Our 大姐大.
Talking to the seniors and listening to their stories are really interesting
and relaxing. Visiting them is like visiting my own grandparents, where it’s
relaxing to enjoy each other’s company.
-Siying
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Faces of Geylang Bahru #1
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| Wise Mr Lin watches the news and documentaries everyday to follow the current affairs and broaden his horizons. |
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| Mdm Chow seems to look younger each year as she ages but the smile on her face that we are familiar with never changes. |
Sunday, July 07, 2013
new found love
Saturday morning, and i gained a new found love. a lady she is. i had seen her a couple of times, went to her house a few times. i liked her, but the connection i felt this saturday was much stronger than the previous interactions had brought. i really did feel the connection, i felt her liking for me too. i talked to her, chatted about things close to our hearts and our eyes met. through her eyes, i knew she was my new found love. but i couldnt stay for long, so when i needed to leave, i bade her goodbye. i held her hand in mine, in a way i have not done for a long time. i didnt want to leave nor let go. i wanted to meet her again, soon, so i made her promise to let me treat her to a meal next time. she agreed and asked for my cheek. she gave me a gentle peck on my cheeks, and i happily returned the favour.
i had found my new love, my new popo, mdm ho.
i have visited her a few times, but i think she doesnt really rmbr me. we volunteers are rotated week in week out and i do not visit every week. for the previous visits, most of the time i went with other people, sometimes in big groups. usually she spoke in hokkien cos we uds hokkien better in general. and whenever i chatted with her i used cantonese. i didnt really have a chance to have a prolonged conversation like i did on saturday and i didnt uds 70% of the hokkien in previous visits. so i was so glad. my team members were kiah yeen and joleen, and they only also not very good in hokkien and could only speak a little and uds some. i guess i took up most of the air time and conversed with popo in canto while translating some points to them. we talked abt many many things! generally she spoke of her family, and i spoke abt my new job etc. she taught us many valuable lessons.
for one, she reminded us that getting a new job, dont complain about the pay etc. just work hard, somewhat suffer in silence but learn a lot, when u have gathered a lot of knowledge and skills and experience, bring yourself to another company and you will be greatly rewarded. for two, she reminded us to always love our mother, our parents. nine long months in her belly, and a lifetime long of love and tender care. it is impossible to not show love to your mother.
perhaps i was selfish. i kinda hogged onto popo ho. i kept on talking to her, but i couldnt resist. i have never felt so connected to an elderly in kallang before. i knew she was listening, and she knew i was listening. its a truly beautiful feeling. a feeling which i still get goosebumps from now that i think about it. but im so glad i gained a popo this week. i hope she really remembers me, and i have faith that she does now. when i was talking to her about certain stuff, she was surprised that i knew quite a bit about her. im kpo perhaps hahaha. but she remembered me more clearly when i told her that im the guy from hk.
and so i mentioned previously, i promised to treat her to a meal. invitation extends to fellow volunteers (: any ideas or suggestions? normally we buy chicken/duck rice up to her place to makan. i was thinking of something better? but shes not too mobile to go out soit is still better for us to buy to her house to makan right? volunteers who are more familiar with her eating habits and movement etc let me know! i'll arrange and of cos foot the bill etc.
for now, i cant wait to fulfill my promise and meet my new found love again.
year 4.99,
kai him.
i had found my new love, my new popo, mdm ho.
i have visited her a few times, but i think she doesnt really rmbr me. we volunteers are rotated week in week out and i do not visit every week. for the previous visits, most of the time i went with other people, sometimes in big groups. usually she spoke in hokkien cos we uds hokkien better in general. and whenever i chatted with her i used cantonese. i didnt really have a chance to have a prolonged conversation like i did on saturday and i didnt uds 70% of the hokkien in previous visits. so i was so glad. my team members were kiah yeen and joleen, and they only also not very good in hokkien and could only speak a little and uds some. i guess i took up most of the air time and conversed with popo in canto while translating some points to them. we talked abt many many things! generally she spoke of her family, and i spoke abt my new job etc. she taught us many valuable lessons.
for one, she reminded us that getting a new job, dont complain about the pay etc. just work hard, somewhat suffer in silence but learn a lot, when u have gathered a lot of knowledge and skills and experience, bring yourself to another company and you will be greatly rewarded. for two, she reminded us to always love our mother, our parents. nine long months in her belly, and a lifetime long of love and tender care. it is impossible to not show love to your mother.
perhaps i was selfish. i kinda hogged onto popo ho. i kept on talking to her, but i couldnt resist. i have never felt so connected to an elderly in kallang before. i knew she was listening, and she knew i was listening. its a truly beautiful feeling. a feeling which i still get goosebumps from now that i think about it. but im so glad i gained a popo this week. i hope she really remembers me, and i have faith that she does now. when i was talking to her about certain stuff, she was surprised that i knew quite a bit about her. im kpo perhaps hahaha. but she remembered me more clearly when i told her that im the guy from hk.
and so i mentioned previously, i promised to treat her to a meal. invitation extends to fellow volunteers (: any ideas or suggestions? normally we buy chicken/duck rice up to her place to makan. i was thinking of something better? but shes not too mobile to go out soit is still better for us to buy to her house to makan right? volunteers who are more familiar with her eating habits and movement etc let me know! i'll arrange and of cos foot the bill etc.
for now, i cant wait to fulfill my promise and meet my new found love again.
year 4.99,
kai him.
6th July 2013
Are all of you wondering who owns such a fashionable pair of tight-fitting pants?
Throughout my entire time with him, I can tell that Mr Tay really appreciates his weekly visits from our volunteers, seeing how he thanked us so many times while we were with him.
As usual, the visits with Mr Tay would never be complete without him enjoying his weekly massage! Introducing massage therapists Ah Hai (specializing in back massage) and "Ah Feng" (specialty : head massage) from Hai Ting Massage Palour. Soon it was time for Mr Tay's lunch and the end of our visit with him, so we ended our visit with a YUM SENG!(initiated by Mr Tay) I really enjoyed interacting with Mr Tay. It was so relaxing and slow-paced (my kind of thing!), hope to visit him again soon!
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It is none other than our funny and endearing Mr Tay!! Today, my group which consisted of Xue Ting and Chun Hai brought Mr Tay for his weekly ButterCino at the coffeeshop. My curiosity of the taste of ButterCino was also satisfied after I bought a cup for myself at $1.10(Its not bad actually). The time passed very quickly for my group as we chatted with Mr Tay about his life experiences and were constantly amused and entertained by Mr Tay's really animated speeches and sound effects.
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| Mr Tay: WOOOOOOOOOO! |
Throughout my entire time with him, I can tell that Mr Tay really appreciates his weekly visits from our volunteers, seeing how he thanked us so many times while we were with him.
As usual, the visits with Mr Tay would never be complete without him enjoying his weekly massage! Introducing massage therapists Ah Hai (specializing in back massage) and "Ah Feng" (specialty : head massage) from Hai Ting Massage Palour. Soon it was time for Mr Tay's lunch and the end of our visit with him, so we ended our visit with a YUM SENG!(initiated by Mr Tay) I really enjoyed interacting with Mr Tay. It was so relaxing and slow-paced (my kind of thing!), hope to visit him again soon!
Ma-Lily
Saturday, July 06, 2013
The Unofficial Official Visit
It's been 3 weeks since my last visit (dumpling fest celebration!), in light of the cancellation of the previous official visit due to the haze and my work commitment last Saturday. Hence, it is that awesome feeling to step back at Kallang Bahru today and visit the elderly:)
As there were lesser volunteers today due to Project C.A.N., we only visited 4 elderly. My group which consists of Li Jia, Eng Soon and myself, went to Mdm Tan's place! She welcomed us (as always) with her warm persona at the door and we helped her with the usual sweeping, mopping and cleaning.
There's something that I am super excited about! Mdm Tan actually remembers me and Luting (aka Xiao Ting). Mdm Tan always said it is difficult for her to remember volunteers as there are so many of us. Nevertheless, after the previous official visit where we shared a meal with her and also having fun during the dumpling fest celebration, she managed to remember both of us! (Ah Seng and Xiao Ting as she says).
It is always warm and fuzzy when talking to Mdm Tan because she is always so willing to share her stories and she makes an effort to make us feel welcome. Whenever there is a new volunteer, she would welcome them with her endearing smile and by saying "Huan Ying (Welcome!":) For the interaction time today, we talked about the recent haze, upcoming National Day celebration and the activities that she is attending in weeks to come. Apparently, she told us that she has a lot of invitations to go out hosted by the centre but she is reluctant to go at times, as her legs are feeling weak. Nonetheless, we cheered her up and tell her that it's okay if she cannot attend because we will visit her regularly and seeing her happy makes us happy too!
After almost a year being in THES, I feel that every visitation is like visiting an old friend, where you can talk about almost everything! It is the time where you can be yourself, and just chat and laugh together with the seniors. And I look for more of such interactions in time to come!
Cheers!!
Kok Seng
As there were lesser volunteers today due to Project C.A.N., we only visited 4 elderly. My group which consists of Li Jia, Eng Soon and myself, went to Mdm Tan's place! She welcomed us (as always) with her warm persona at the door and we helped her with the usual sweeping, mopping and cleaning.
There's something that I am super excited about! Mdm Tan actually remembers me and Luting (aka Xiao Ting). Mdm Tan always said it is difficult for her to remember volunteers as there are so many of us. Nevertheless, after the previous official visit where we shared a meal with her and also having fun during the dumpling fest celebration, she managed to remember both of us! (Ah Seng and Xiao Ting as she says).
It is always warm and fuzzy when talking to Mdm Tan because she is always so willing to share her stories and she makes an effort to make us feel welcome. Whenever there is a new volunteer, she would welcome them with her endearing smile and by saying "Huan Ying (Welcome!":) For the interaction time today, we talked about the recent haze, upcoming National Day celebration and the activities that she is attending in weeks to come. Apparently, she told us that she has a lot of invitations to go out hosted by the centre but she is reluctant to go at times, as her legs are feeling weak. Nonetheless, we cheered her up and tell her that it's okay if she cannot attend because we will visit her regularly and seeing her happy makes us happy too!
After almost a year being in THES, I feel that every visitation is like visiting an old friend, where you can talk about almost everything! It is the time where you can be yourself, and just chat and laugh together with the seniors. And I look for more of such interactions in time to come!
Cheers!!
Kok Seng
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Madam Khatijah
I went to visit Mdm Khatijah last friday and saturday, so here's a little update on her situation.
She's currently recuperating in the Singapore General Hospital after her left knee operation last monday. When I went on friday, she was just finishing her second lunch serving. Her good appetite signals that her recovery is on track. She also remarked that her stomach wasn't giving her as much problem as before her operation.
Still, her knee is giving her problems. But while she complained about the constant pain in her leg, she was still very cheerful throughout the visit. She is also well-liked by both patients and nurses in the ward.
The sad part is, she remarked that she often feel lonely as her son does not come and visit her often (because he stays in malaysia). So hopefully we can visit her more often in this one month. I heard that she'll be moving to St. Luke nursing home this week though.
Cheers,
Tan Xuan Kai
She's currently recuperating in the Singapore General Hospital after her left knee operation last monday. When I went on friday, she was just finishing her second lunch serving. Her good appetite signals that her recovery is on track. She also remarked that her stomach wasn't giving her as much problem as before her operation.
Still, her knee is giving her problems. But while she complained about the constant pain in her leg, she was still very cheerful throughout the visit. She is also well-liked by both patients and nurses in the ward.
The sad part is, she remarked that she often feel lonely as her son does not come and visit her often (because he stays in malaysia). So hopefully we can visit her more often in this one month. I heard that she'll be moving to St. Luke nursing home this week though.
Cheers,
Tan Xuan Kai
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