Serve China 2007: Serving the elderly in Singapore

The Serve China 2007 Community Service Trip is not just about visiting Bo Ai School and Hua Mu home. Its about engaging the community through voluntary service. Where better to start than our very own 'backyard' such as the St Luke's Eldercare Home in Clementi West where 20 Serve China 2007 students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic School of Business and Accountancy visited yesterday.

St Luke's is a day care activity centre for the elderly. The elderly from among the community spend their day here doing physical therapy, interacting and conversing with one another during tea and lunch breaks. The centre has a well equipped gym where the elderly can do physical exercises at their own time. For $2.50, anybody else from the community can make use of these equipment! Furthermore, there are outdoor exercise equipment, playground style, and the mandatory pebble path.

I spent the day here with my students. Let's be frank. We were required to visit such homes as part of our preparation for the Serve China 2007 Comm Service trip. But after the day, I went away taking back memories of how I used to visit a home for the aged in Red Hill in my days in JC as part of the Social Service club activities, of which I was a member.

It is amazing how the aged can be quite happy with just passing a ball around to the sound of music and 'suffering' penalties for having it in their hands when the music suddenly stopped. Yes, it is poison ball. It is a common enough game that the young also play with much fun. Some of these elderly folks were game to sing a song or do something when they got 'caught'. It isn't about singing that song well, or doing something else fantastic that warms the heart. It is participating in the process that makes the whole activity fun, engaging and meaningful.

The elderly in Singapore are lonely most of the time because of how Singapore society is structured. Usually, both husband and wife work, so the care of the elderly is often foisted upon domestic helpers. Furthermore, when once the elderly may have had their hands full looking after their grandchildren (which can be physically and mentally challenging), many of these young ones are in childcare centres, away from their grandpa and grandma. I wonder whether such 'efficient' compartmentalisation is a good thing for society in the long run. But then, there aren't many grandchildren to look after nowadays anymore because couples do not want to have too many children. Some stop at two, others insist that they do not want any.

No wonder that the elderly will get increasingly lonely. In time to come, we will become the elderly...

lsc.