Senior volunteers: At 89, she still cycles around Tiong Bahru to befriend seniors

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SINGAPORE - Madam Teow Swee Cheow is an experienced befriender, with 20 years of helping seniors who live alone under her belt.

And at 89 years old, she is also social service agency Lions Befrienders' oldest volunteer.

The sprightly octogenarian, who currently befriends about 20 seniors in their 60s to 90s living near her in Tiong Bahru, phones them and also visits them in person regularly, cycling to their homes.

The retired seamstress said in Mandarin: "I chat with them and check that they are okay. They have all become my friends.

"If anyone asks me to help, I help them if I can. This is my nature."

Madam Teow started joining activities run by Lions Befrienders, which serves elderly people, after her husband died about 20 years ago.

At the time, she was asked if she would like to be befriended by volunteers. She answered instead that she would prefer to volunteer as a befriender.

Madam Teow, who lives alone as her two daughters are both living in Malaysia, said: "I'm a very active person. I would be very bored if I stayed at home.

"When I volunteer, I feel happier and it's easy to pass the time."

While the Covid-19 pandemic has put a stop to some activities, such as group outings organised by Lions Befrienders, Madam Teow hopes to continue volunteering for as long as she can.

She also distributes food rations, given to her by people she knows, to the seniors she befriends.

Madam Teow, who is fully vaccinated, said: "I take more precautions, such as avoiding crowded places or places where there is a cluster of cases."

Retired washerwoman Yap Lian Hua, 78, one of those befriended, said she looks forward to Madam Teow's visits.

"She is very good and very helpful. I enjoy her visits and I'm so happy to have her as a friend."

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

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