Tag: elderly

Two weeks before Chinese New Year, the festival was already in full swing. Shops were all decked out in the auspicious colour of red, traditional Chinese snacks filled the markets, and many homes had started on their spring cleaning efforts. On the Sunday morning of 20th January, however, about a thousand volunteers were at the homes of low-income seniors in Tampines, spring cleaning the one-room rental flats to get them ready for the festive celebrations ahead.
Project Refresh
Some of the 1000 volunteers who were spring cleaning the homes of a group of low-income senior residents
As part of the 12th edition of Project Refresh by Young NTUC (YNTUC) and the North East Community Development Council (CDC), volunteers from unions, schools, corporate organisations, grassroots, and fellow residents spruced up the homes with handmade Chinese New Year decor. Red packets and batik paintings of ‘福’, which means happiness in Chinese, were also prepared for them. “When they put [the decorations] up, many people tell me [that it will remain] there until Christmas,” said one of the volunteers Madam Molly, 63, as she deftly folded and stapled red packets into a lantern. To Molly, Chinese New Year isn’t just a family affair but also a community one. “Folding these (lanterns) is a small gesture, but Chinese New Year is nothing without the atmosphere. It makes me happy knowing that my lanterns will brighten up my neighbours’ home.”
Project Refresh
Molly (second from left) and the volunteers with their handmade red packet lanterns.

Project Refresh

Project Refresh
Other volunteers painting batik ‘福’ posters.

A Reunion Under Lanterns

Molly’s lanterns were later hung at the entrance of Mdm Celeste’s home. The 69-year-old retiree said as she looked up at the lanterns, “I don’t usually put these up,” as she shared about the several falls she has had, and how her bad knee prevents her from taking on any chores that require her to climb or lift heavy loads. Which was why she was especially grateful when a group of bustling volunteers came by to clean her windows, change her curtains, and decorate her home. All of those she had been wanting to do, but are too physically strenuous for her.
Project Refresh
Molly’s handmade lanterns were put up in Mdm Celeste’s home.
As a retiree who has been living alone for the past five years, Mdm Celeste isn’t used to the crowd in her living room. However, she welcomed the change. “I usually like my house to be peaceful and quiet, but Chinese New Year is different.” The spring cleaning and decorating was perfect for Mdm Celeste, as she looked forward to surprising her three daughters with the change when they visit during Chinese New Year. “They (the volunteers) really came just in time. Because of my injury, I don’t usually prepare much for Chinese New Year.” This year however, “everyone would be here at the same spot,” Mdm Celeste smiled as she shared how this will be the first time in awhile that her home is all tidied up and ready for the festive season.

“Talking to people feels very ‘shiok’ you know?”

Beyond lending their helping hand, the company of the Project Refresh volunteers were also a significant part of the project to some of the senior residents, and vice versa. “We came here expecting a lot of clutter and many things to do, but her home is actually quite organised already. I think it’s the company that she really misses,” said 29-year-old Zaki. He volunteered expecting a physically taxing morning, but found himself enjoying the conversations with his 67-year-old resident, Madam Mariam. As the secondary school volunteers moved her carpet and mopped the floor, Madam Mariam spoke heartily about her younger days when she ran a food stall. Her sprightly movements left no hint that she had suffered a stroke just two years ago.
Project Refresh
Madam Mariam and her volunteers
Like Mdm Celeste, Madam Mariam lives alone and seldom have so many people in her house. Having the volunteers around that day brought back a familiar sense of warmth. “I grew up in a big family. I was always the energetic and talkative one,” said Mariam. “It’s really nice of them (the volunteers) to help with the cleaning, but really, just having them around makes a difference. Talking to people feels very ‘shiok’ you know?” Having gotten a glimpse of Mariam’s life that day, Zaki shared the realisation of how important it is for these seniors living alone to have company during festive seasons. “It’s during celebrations and festive periods that people living alone can feel even lonelier. And sometimes, just being there to be a listening ear can be more important than physical help.”

Picking Something Up From The Senior Residents

While the project was directed at giving support to the senior residents, some of the volunteers also found themselves taking away something from the residents they helped. “I have only painted once in my life, for my own house. But it’s patchy,” said Gan, a lecturer and first-time volunteer at Project Refresh. Looking at the patchy paintwork he did for his resident, Abdul Malik’s house walls, he added sheepishly, “just like that.” Little did he know, 64-year-old Malik was actually an apartment painter himself, but has had his movements limited ever since he got a stroke just a few years before. And soon enough, Malik became a painting teacher to Gan and the other volunteers in his home. As he muttered ‘aiyo’s and ‘aiya’s at the inexperienced painters (volunteers) getting paint on their own clothes and even faces, he patiently guided them with technical tips like painting with ‘W’ shaped strokes. “They might not know how to paint properly, but they have the heart. It’s very heartwarming knowing that they can use their morning for anything else but they chose to come here to help. They are very willing to learn also,” said Malik.
Project Refresh
Malik and Gan
Throughout the morning, Gan gradually developed a mentor-mentee relationship with Malik. “I feel like I’m the one who actually got more out of it. From just anyhow painting, at least now I know some basic techniques. This is actually nothing. Malik said that last time, he had to paint a whole apartment all by himself in just one day.” Inspired, Gan also decided to bring his students along for the next Project Refresh to gear them up for their Youth Expedition Project overseas.

Filling Homes With Warmth

By the end of the day, 96 households received the Project Refresh treatment. In action, the volunteers are there to declutter, clean, paint, and decorate. However, the significance of them there is more than just the physical help. For these senior residents living in isolation, the commotion and presence of volunteers are rare occasions that fills their home with conversations and laughter that they otherwise lack. And for these residents, it was also a perfect start to their Chinese New Year. “They make my house feel like a home,” said Madam Mariam. This article is contributed by Young NTUC. Also read: 65-Year-Old Mdm Rebecca’s Life: A Look At The Reality Of Singapore’s Privilege Gap.
Her family was torn apart by a big family dispute over property. Today, 65-year-old Mdm Rebecca only has her 76-year-old cousin as family. To avoid getting embroiled in the disputes, Mdm Rebecca decided to sever all ties with her family. The last time she spoke to her only brother was more than 40 years ago. Today, she lives in a one-room rental flat in Punggol. Her 76-year-old cousin whom she cares for is bedridden and suffering from Parkinson’s and stroke among other ailments. In her heyday more than 10 years ago, Mdm Rebecca dabbled in PR, secretarial work, and was once a housing agent. However, a severe respiratory problem left her with no choice but to stop working. Life got more challenging since then. Most of her household ‘income’, which comes from her cousin and her retirement funds, as well as her cousin’s social welfare payout, is spent on her cousin’s medical necessities like medicine and bandages. Then, there’s the struggle of being unemployed and being the only caregiver to her bedridden cousin. Mdm Rebecca’s daily routine includes feeding her cousin milk through a tube seven times through the day, changing his diapers several times, giving him the medications he needs for different conditions, repositioning his body every two hours, and stretching his limbs to prevent his muscles from atrophy and shortening. She also has to monitor him throughout the day for any signs of discomfort. She would then have to use a vacuum-cleaner-like machine and a tube to manually suck the phlegm out from his lungs - a painful but critical process for her cousin that has to be done a few times a day. With the bulk of her time dedicated to caring for her cousin, what little time she has left is spent on reading and praying. A ‘vacation’ for her today is as simple as being able to go out for a meal with a friend. Even so, she has to return home within three hours to care for her cousin. Hiring a caretaker or a maid to do her job is out of the question and it isn’t just the lack of finances. Having had maids who have told her lies, stole from her, and even cursed her with black magic, she could no longer trust them. Bad experiences with nursing homes that led to the passing of her comatose mother and the close-to-death state that her cousin returned in after a 2-day respite care have also left a bad taste in her mouth. Since then, Mdm Rebecca resolved to taking care of her cousin herself.

“My mother had already suffered. I don’t want my cousin to go through the pain of what my mother had to go through.”

Attributing her strength to her religion, Mdm Rebecca emphasised on how a positive mindset helped tide her through the hardships. “Life is temporary and all these challenges are part of life. I don’t cry easily because crying doesn’t change anything. I just do my best with what I have and I pray for the best.” As I chatted with Mdm Rebecca at her doorstep while volunteers from the Young NTUC- North East CDC Project Refresh were cleaning up her unit and giving the walls a fresh coat of paint, I couldn’t help but admire her for her resilience.
Project Refresh
Volunteers painting the walls of Mdm Rebecca’s flat

Her fizzy, greyed hair and gaunt face tells of a woman who is still facing adversity, but Mdm Rebecca’s strong spirit is refreshing and humbling. She spoke about helping neighbours in need and counselling her friends and their children. Her empathy in prioritising other people’s problems above so many of her own made me feel a mix of guilt and respect.  

Having come from a relatively privileged middle-class background, I couldn't comprehend the significance of her struggles until I stepped into her home. Mdm Rebecca’s home is about as big as a typical HDB flat’s living room, with a small corner as kitchen and a toilet right beside it. The only bed in the flat is taken up by her cousin.
Project Refresh
Volunteers painting the walls and tidying up the kitchen area of Mdm Rebecca’s flat
As such, volunteers from Project Refresh brought in a foldable mattress for her and a desk fan. Part of the project’s efforts to improve the standards of living for the underprivileged, volunteers also helped to clean the flat, paint the walls, tidy up the home, and change the flat’s light bulbs to more cost-efficient ones as part of the ‘Switch and Save - Use LED initiative’. Project Refresh’s first session in 2016 started off with just 30 volunteers covering five units. With more and more volunteers coming onboard, the Project Refresh session I was at on 18 August saw more than 350 volunteers coming together to spruce up 38 rental units. Many think that millennials are a strawberry generation of entitled and spoilt ‘kids’. That day, however, 60% of the volunteers I saw were millennials.
Project Refresh
The group of volunteers working on Mdm Rebecca’s flat
For 23-Year-Old Jamie*, what they do “may not change the whole world but at least we’re able to impact someone’s life directly.” As her full-time job requires her to deal with wealthy people who live in luxury and never having to worry about basic necessities, volunteering with Project Refresh and learning about the lives of underprivileged people like Mdm Rebecca is a way for her to “feel like human again.” Year 2 student at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), Kelvan, was another volunteer I spoke to. Kelvan and four of his NYP classmates were painting the walls of Mdm Latifah’s unit (another resident) when I chatted with them. Still recovering from an operation to treat her osteoarthritis of the knee, 56-Year-Old Mdm Latifah is living on just $210 a month from financial assistance, and food rations from a mosque. Divorced for 30 years, she brought up her only son, who was four back then, all by herself. On some days, Mdm Latifah would even go without food so she can save money.
Project Refresh
Mdm Latifah outside her unit while volunteers were sprucing up her home
Like many elderly and the underprivileged, loneliness is one of the many challenges for her. With no one to talk to or help her with problems, she could only cope with the struggles of a single mother without child support from the father by going for religious classes. “I have 9 siblings and my father, but I don’t want (to bother them). Everyone’s got their own problem.” Volunteering projects like Project Refresh goes beyond the physical act of cleaning up the home. It is showing the beneficiaries that there are people out there who do care for them. The interaction among the volunteers and the beneficiaries could create strong emotional bonds too. Volunteering with Project Refresh for the second time on his own accord, Kelvan decided to sign up again because of the sense of accomplishment and the appreciation he got from the family he helped the first time round. “A couple of us from the last project even went back to visit the family. The children and the parents were just so appreciative and warm. It’s back-breaking work, but I came back because it’s very heartwarming and fulfilling.”
Project Refresh
Mdm Latifah’s living room
Mdm Latifah and Mdm Rebecca are just two of the many underprivileged who live in completely different worlds that most Singaporeans will never experience. “Seeing the conditions they live in, it makes us appreciate the things we have,” Kelvan added. Growing up in a comfortable era where we got to enjoy quality education, a stable economy, and a generally more privileged lifestyle compared to our earlier generations, it is hard to dispute the fact that millennials do demand more. However, we are also a generation that wants to do more.

Volunteer with Young NTUC

As millennials, we tend to procrastinate volunteering as much as we want to give back to society. But today, there are many volunteering opportunities available. Besides Project Refresh, there is also the Young NTUC U Heart, which lets you decide your own do-good projects for low-income families, the environment, for workers, the elderly or people with disabilities, and children or youth-at-risk. So you get to dictate the kind of change you want to make! Learn more about Young NTUC’s volunteering programmes here! * Name has been changed for privacy reasons This post is written in partnership with Young NTUC. Also read: To The Generations Before Us – Trust The Millennials With Singapore’s Future.
Dear Minister Ng, Thank you for your <a href=" letter to all working Singaporeans. I am glad to hear that you’ve been going around to visit Singaporeans at their workplaces. You are right to point out that we are living in a fast-changing world and we have to constantly learn on the job. I have a friend who kept encouraging us to second-skill in case robots take over our jobs one day. We laughed and didn’t think much of it but hey, in all seriousness, she actually made a good point. Technology is already replacing some mundane jobs today. Redmart for example, used to have quality assurance managers who would manually record temperature readings in the warehouse and input the data in an Excel spreadsheet. Today, that entire process has been cleverly automated by a forecasting tool. Unless the quality assurance managers had equipped themselves with other skills or found other ways to provide value to their company, they would have been made obsolete. I see many of our generation expecting ideal working conditions from employers. We value finding a job that we are passionate about and at the same time, pays well enough for us to enjoy the occasional luxuries of travel and have leftovers to give back to our parents and fund our savings. As a millennial myself, I admit that many of us need to understand that nobody owes us a living. We have to be versatile and adaptable in venturing into roles that aren’t our main strengths. We have to be more prepared to take on higher-value jobs to make ourselves indispensable. This is the future of work. But what if the pioneers of Singapore have no place in this future? It cannot be the future of a select few. It has to be a future for all Singaporeans. While our millennial generation embrace digital disruptions, we know that the middle-aged and seniors will be hit the hardest. Thank you for remembering our pioneers because in time to come, we will become pioneers ourselves and we definitely don’t want a precedence where seniors are forgotten.
Image Credit: <a href=" Online
The middle-aged group will already be earning a comfortable sum every month, enough to support their growing children and aging parents. If they lose their jobs, they have more to lose than the people of our generation who adopt the “YOLO” mantra of living. Furthermore, they have to once again contend for a new job with the pool of younger generation workers. So you are right to point out the imperative need for everyone to never stop learning, upgrade our skills and train. If people are willing to second-skill, it will help them stay nimble in the face of disruptions. I’m glad that you are also emphasising the need for employers to play their part in embracing the “plug, train and play” mindset. If employers are only hiring workers who have the relevant skills of today, they are ignoring workers who have the potential and possibilities of tomorrow. Senior workers who want to work face a different kind of challenge. How do we nudge them along and not leave them behind as the society progresses? I mean, have you seen that 70-year-old granny who has been delivering food on foot? She is a great example of why we should rethink and redesign jobs for elderly. If they find learning a chore - how can we change the way they view learning? How can we help them take on less mundane jobs yet more value-adding jobs? It’s certainly not easy looking after all segments of working people – the young, the not so young, the middle-aged and seniors. As our labour workforce evolves and matures, the needs of each working group will differ as well. It is heartening to know that you are looking into all these concerns that Singaporeans have been lamenting for years. I commend your promise on being more progressive to improve our livelihoods, and I do hope that you continue to commit on making this real with us. We look forward to seeing you around! - From a hopeful millennial This article is contributed by a guest writer, Ling. (Header Image Credit: Minister Ng Chee Meng's Facebook page) Also read, A Letter To The Singapore Government, From A Young Singaporean.