The ASEAN implementation team did their part for charity on 8th Dec, 2005 by visiting the old folks staying at The Community Home for Senior Citizens under Asian Women's Welfare Association ( AWWA ) Elderly Services.
Marie, hard at work ( work till hair all messy ) before the visit in the afternoon. "What time are we going? Let me finish this first."
Psst...she didn't know I took this shot of her.
Finally, we make it to AWWA...time to snap some photos.
We have 2 cameras thus 2 sets of photos.
Thanks to the kind sponsorship from MM & Marketing team, the old folks got a special treat that afternoon of 120 freshly baked buns with various delicious fillings eg. apple, yam, vegetables, tuna etc. This is in addition to the swiss rolls that we got for them. Hmm...Yummy!
Steve! Stop hiding & eating & come help!
The Community Home occupies 4 floors at the housing block & they have a special bell that is used for meal times. After we have arranged the food on the long table in buffet style, the bell was rung and the old folks started coming into the pantry to collect their tea. They don't eat in the pantry. Instead they will take the food back to their rooms. If they are too frail to walk to the pantry, their roommates will collect their share. The old folks really look out for each other.
Wow! Looks at Marie's hands! ASEAN implementation team at your service
Although it was such a small gesture, the old folks were very happy to see such a spread for their afternoon tea. The caregiver at the community home explained that they are usually given plain biscuits for tea.
Marie was the perfect sales person, promoting what we have to offer in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese & English. Too bad she didn't have a chance to flaunt her Korean & Japanese.
After the distribution of food, the person in charge, Ms Vijayah, took us on a tour of the premises as well as explain their work to us.
The Community Home only accepts elderly who are able to care for themselves. The old folks have to pay for their lodging and the monthly rental costs range from being fully subsidized by the government to $400 a month depending on the circumstances of the elderly.
Some of the elderly are working & were not around during our visit. For the rest of the elderly, life in the home is not lonely.
Every morning, walks are conducted to the little garden the old folks maintain themselves behind the home.
The garden where sugarcane, papaya & other vegetables are grown.
Sometimes, volunteers take the elderly out on outings too.
Yet others create handicrafts like food covers & bags which are collected by corporate volunteers & sold to staff of the companies eg. Toyota during bazaars. All unsold wares & proceeds are then given back to the home.
There was more than one reason for the elderly to be so excited on that day. One kind soul who owns a shoe factory, has generously donated walking shoes to all the ladies staying in the home.
Ms Vijayah also explained the living arrangements for the elderly.
3 elderly stay in 1 unit and there're some units for couples too. There was even a couple who met at the home, fell in love & are now blissfully married there.
This board has all the names & room arrangements of the elderly staying in the home.
We visited the old folks at their flats
The old folks cook for themselves with rations like cooking oil & canned food provided by the community home. Even rice is packed neatly into 1 kg & 2 kgs bags for them. The government subsidy of $400 a month is hardly enough for an elderly, Ms Vijayah explained. So they rely on donations for some rations too. On this particular afternoon, they were out of sardines and luncheon meat which are the elderly's favourite.
The supplies in the store room. Most of the food is sponsored by well wishers.
During our tour, a situation developed. The emergency bell sounded & Ms Vijayah rushed off to check which unit sounded the alarm. It turned out to be an elderly man who had slipped & fell. Their routine was to send the elderly to hospital for checks to be done to make sure they're all right. Another safety measure the home took is to secure the gates at each lift landing after 10pm.
We came across some boxes of X'mas decorations in the recreation cum TV room. Some student volunteers were supposed to be there that afternoon to help put up the X'mas decorations. Unfortunately, they didn't turn up. We decided to help put up the tree so as not to disappoint the elderly.
We must get the base right for the tree to look good. Livia posing with the bare tree while Steve figures out the lighting
After putting up the tree, we started to hang the X'mas decorations onto the tree while Steve sorted out the lights. There were 3 big stacks of X'mas lights & he had to test them to make sure they work. We smashed a few bulbs along the way ( Oops! ) so it's Steve to the rescue! To remove the broken bits from the lights & replace some bulbs.
Steve still trying to figure it out....this time, Marie poses with the tree
I'm sure I've got it figured out now, Steve thinks to himself
See how pretty the lights are! The light-up ceremony!
Let us girls put the finishing touches to the X'mas tree!
Yea! We're done! Look at our beautiful tree!
Strongman Steve moving the tree out to the lift landing for all to admire
It was hard work but we were proud of what we accomplished at the end of the day. When Steve moved the tree from the recreation room out to the lift landing, we were greeted by enthusiasm from the elderly who all exclaimed how the tree brings out the cheer of X'mas.
This blog has been created for the purpose of sharing pictures & events for the ASEAN implementation team.
