It was my third time doing visits with T.H.E. Seniors but my first time visiting Mdm Chow Moi and Mdm Cheng.

We went to Mdm Chow Moi's house first and she is a really adorable old lady with a really great smile (despite being toothless). We sat around and chat with her. Yesterday she was in the Hokkien mood and spoke quite some Hokkien though she usually speaks Cantonese. I am not really proficient in speaking these dialects so I did not really speak much to her directly. The fellow volunteers helped to translate the conversations as well. I feel that language barrier does hinder our interactions a little but one does not need to understand the language to tell that she was really happy that we were there to accompany her. After a while, we started to watch TV together. She also told us that recently, there was once she watched TV till 4am in the morning! Mdm Chow Moi smiles and laughs a lot and it is really nice to know such a cheery 90-year-old lady. Furthermore, seeing her stand at her door down the corridor waving goodbye to us till the lift came made me experienced for myself what the other volunteers had shared about during the orientation sessions - that these visits really mean a lot to these elderly and this makes me want to go back more often :)

We visited Mdm Cheng after 11.30am when she got back home from her regular chicken rice breakfast/lunch session with her friend. Mdm Cheng speaks Cantonese and Chinese. To be honest, sometimes I find it a little hard to think of things to say to the elderly as I have not done volunteering in the elderly sector before. However, I attempted to ask some questions and slowly got the hang of it. I hope I will get better at conversing with them as time pass by. We spoke to Mdm Cheng about television shows, her family, food, mooncakes, mid-autumn festivals and etc.

I feel that each visit gives everyone a different personal takeaway. For me, I feel motivated to do more for these elderly who appreciate and cherish all the little things so much. I look forward to learning more from these elderly and listening to their stories :)

Mei Na

A Heartwarming Day

It was my first time participating in T.H.E Seniors and this 3-hour session was a refreshing experience. I felt that it doesn't matter what you do at their house or for them, as long as you are there to accompany and care for them, they are already happy.

During this session, we visited Mr Chew and then Mdm Tan. My first impression of Mr Chew was that he seemed like a very quiet person and did not like to talk much. Throughout the entire time while listening to him and chatting with him, i felt that he was feeling a bit emotional about his situation and about how he feel that he cannot handle his health issues. Us being there to listen to his stories and problems seemed to have cheered him up a bit and for that, I felt relieved that we made a difference even if it lasted for a short while. Mdm Tan, on the other hand,seem to have a bubbly personality. Due to some problems with her eyes, she couldn't see properly and she kept saying how she felt apologetic that she couldn't see or recognize people. Looking at Mdm Tan really reminds me of my own grandmother, being warm and cheerful. I enjoyed the time chatting with her even though it was short. There was this one thing that she mentioned that was interesting. She mentioned that there was once she wore a 3/4 pants out to exercise and one of the other elderly said that it was short. She even said that she like that pants a lot and it was really one that she treasured a lot. We laughed about it.

Overall, it was really wonderful. However, i felt that i wasn't able to join in the conversation. Most of the time, i sat there and listen but i felt happy looking at their smiles. When we were leaving Mdm Tan and Mr Chew's house, i saw the smile on their face. It was warm and i felt really energized. I cannot really express that feeling in words but felt great.

Mei Shan

The elderly who live independently are lonely. I am appreciated by the chance given to visit, understand and show concern for them. They would love to have people to be accompanied and talk to, even though they may not have said it out. There must be some times we have to take the initiative to start a conversation with the elderly.

It is a disadvantage for me as I am not proficient in Cantonese, and as a result, I cannot communicate effectively with Madam Ong. Fortunately, Madam Ong is able to speak a bit of Chinese and very understanding. I am impressed by her because she has vivid memories about her past when flipping through the old photos; this makes me think of my great grandmother. Uncle Wong looks lovely when he is learning how to take videos by using his mobile phone. It is a bit difficult for him, yet he is never giving up learning.

T.H.E Seniors is different from some clubs that I have joined before. It emphasizes the interaction with the elderly. I will learn to be more patient and observe their expression while talking to them, and I hope smiling can brighten their days too. =D

Newcomer,

Lee Chin 

Smile, is so simple

It's my first time joining T.H.E seniors and it was really a great experience!

First, we visited Mr Wong and he refused to open the door. However, the seniors were showing great patience by standing beside the door and started some conversation with him. We knew Mr Wong loves cooking and we started to ask him how to cook chicken rice. He started to share his cooking skills as well as some of his past living experience with us. Although he didn't open the door at the end of our conversation, I felt that he actually accepted us and I think by visiting him more and more, he will open the door! Yeah !

Next, we visited Madam Tan who is really kind and warm. We chat using Hokkien and I noticed that she really loves to talk and laugh! She always try to touch our hand and she can feel our existence! She can cook really well and I hope I have the chance to try the food she cooked! She said I have a very good voice, honestly, this is my first time to have someone praising me! Like!

After that, we visited Mr Tan. Unfortunately, he was not at home that time! We chat with her wife and we found out that one of her favourite singers is Aaron Kwok!!! No wonder she was listening to pop music when we visited her!

I really enjoy visiting the elderly when you know you can really learn a lot from them. They are just like my grandma and grandpa and they are always smiling and feeling happy when someone can listen to them and share their feelings with us! I enjoy using Hokkien to communicate with them and I am pretty sure that I will be meeting them soon!

A great day!

One of the Fresh-girl,
Shuang Shuang(Mandy)

To Leave The World A Better Place Than The One I Found

Saturday was my first time volunteering with T.H.E seniors and I would say it was a great and fulfilling experience for me.

The two elderly we visited were Mdm Chow Moi and Mdm Ho. Mdm Chow Moi is a very cute old lady, she is the epitome of cuteness!  She smiled and waved the moment she saw us by the gate, as if she was expecting our visit. We didn’t have to do any housework for her as her house was quite clean. Instead, we made friendship bands and played some Chinese songs for her to sing along. Even though she doesn’t know the songs, she would just give us a shy smile and a wide grin at times. She even offered us a type of wine that she drinks regularly for better health, which we politely declined.  As we were leaving, Mdm Chow Moi took the effort to shake everyone’s hand and thanked us for coming to visit her.  She waved us good bye, with our handmade friendship bands still intact on her arm and stood by the gate till we were out of sight.  At that moment, I really feel very touched and appreciated by her actions. These simple gestures by her truly made my day!

Mdm Ho was another cheerful old lady too.  We did some housework for her which included mopping the floor and cleaning the fan which she was quite particular about.  Mdm Ho had some difficulty walking due to her weak knee, but she still made an effort to move to her sofa so that we will be able to clean those areas. She also told us a little about her family and the previous volunteers who came to visit her. In all, it was a good and enjoyable sharing session with this joyful old lady!

This isn’t exactly my first time visiting the homes of the elderly.  However, each visit is definitely a unique and different experience, because we will never know what stories the elderly have got to share behind those smiles of theirs.  Some are sad while some are happy.  That is why, we as volunteers, play an important to bring joy and happiness in their mundane lives.  No doubt many of us do not expect anything in return as we volunteer, yet acknowledging the smiles on the faces of the elderly make me realised that I had in my own ways, done something to make their lives a litter better.  It is definitely more blessed to give than to receive, and ultimately we will realise that the one who receive and benefit the most is us- the volunteers.  I will definitely visit these elderly again with T.H.E seniors and I shall look forward to hearing their stories, seeing their smiles and most importantly, feel their warmth.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

 Cheers,

Hazel Wang

Make a difference, Make life better

17th, August, Saturday, 2013. Cloudy and then heavily rainy.

It was my first time to join the T.H.E.seniors and the home visit was a unique experience to me. In this blog, i will first list down some of the activities we did and then share some of my personal feelings and learning points for the day.

Our group visited Mdm Ho at first and then Mdm Chow Moi. My first expression of Mdm Ho was kindly. She had some difficulty moving but nevertheless she tried her best to walk for a few meters on her own. I can see that her mindset was pretty young. Then we helped her do some housework, sweeping and mopping the floor, mopping the tables and chairs and lastly the fan as requested by her. The fan took us quite a while to clean because some sticky thingy on it. While some were doing the housework, the rest had a pleasant conversation with Mdm Ho. She shared something about her past, her grandson as well as the last visits of T.H.E.seniors. In particular, Mdm Ho was strongly interested in Kasuan's boyfriend...HAHA.
Next we visited Mdm Chow Moi who are a few blocks away from Mdm Ho.  She was pretty cute in the sense that she sometimes felt shy and then just smiled with hands covering her face. Her house looked quite clean so we did not do the housework. Instead we dedicated a few songs to her. I guess she liked the songs. Also, the group made her a brace using the string. She was quite happy putting on the brace and she kept shaking our hands one by one when we are about to live. It was the first time I felt that I mean something important to another person.

Well, I have been to some volunteering programs before and have entertained the kids, the youths and the elderly. However, yesterday's experience was just unique. It was unique in the way that we get to visit the elderly's house in a personal touch. In the past, what I usually did was that a group or a class of us prepare a few programs to be performed in front of the elderly. I believe that T.H.E.seniors' personal style is both enriching to the elderly as well as to the volunteer. We did something essential like housework at the same time something intellectually meaningful like the conversation. We had jokes and laughed together. It was really amazing to see that how we can make a difference to other people's life.

Lastly, the people in T.H.E.seniors are really nice. Thank you all the senior volunteers to make this program interesting and successful. After one day's of consideration, I would like to commit to this lovely and friendly program. See you all in the future!

Lu Jiajie

The usual coffee
The usual papers
The usual biscuits
The usual letterbox opening.

some reminders and learning points to note today from the conversations.

1) It is important to have a good heart for good things come to good people.
2) Be filial, have a good heart.
3) Work hard for your future, have a good heart.
4) Have no regrets, have a good heart.
5) Happiness is simple, with a good heart.

Always the same and yet always different. (:

Great to see some new faces today. Good to know that T.H.E.S will always have the X-factor that keeps our volunteers coming back for more. See everyone at Outreach! :D

Tired but still going strong (:
-Criss