Wanted: Seniors with heart

---

Every Monday morning, retiree Che Ah Chiew, 69, visits a very special friend. At 101, Madam Yoe Boh Toh is hard of hearing and sometimes forgets names and faces.

 

But she always recognises Mr Che, her craggy face breaking into a wide toothless smile each time he arrives at her doorstep.

 

On a recent morning, she greets him with a warm hug before settling into an old sofa for their weekly rendezvous.

 

He tells her about his week, she describes her breakfast. They play cards. But in half an hour, she begins to doze off and the visit is cut short.

 

"She tires easily, so we can't chat for very long," says Mr Che.

 

"But I love coming here just to see the smile on her face."

 

The former wanton-noodle seller began visiting Madam Yoe in her Bukit Batok flat last year as part of a befriending programme initiated by NTUC Health to bring cheer to lonely old folk stuck at home.

 

A volunteer since he retired a decade ago, Mr Che now spends around 24 hours a week helping others in Jurong, Bukit Batok and Hougang.

 

But Mr Che may be among a shrinking group of senior volunteers in Singapore.

 

According to the latest Individual Giving Survey by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), only 9 per cent of people aged 65 and above volunteered last year, down from 17 per cent in 2012 and 11 per cent in 2008.

 

The centre's chief executive Melissa Kwee believes this could be because many older folk are delaying retirement.

 

Others may be busy with caregiving duties, be it looking after frail or sick loved ones or grandchildren.

 

"We are working on integrating volunteering into existing life patterns and activities," says Ms Kwee.

 

"For instance, seniors can help out at the nearby seniors' activity centres in their free time or participate in community activities together with their families."

 

Executive director Edmund Song of RSVP Singapore, an organisation for senior volunteers, concurs that the dip in volunteer rates among seniors coincides with a push by the Government to keep older Singaporeans employed longer.

 

"The tight labour market and higher wages have prompted many older Singaporeans to remain in or return to the job market," says Mr Song.

 

Seniors can access a host of volunteer opportunities through RSVP, including engaging lonely older folk and the mentally ill, hosting international students on short visits and serving as guides in public places such as Changi Airport.

 

While RSVP's membership has risen from 650 to 1,100 over the past decade, only around 300 volunteer regularly.

 

Lack of time is not the only major challenge. Some older folk may not have the confidence to sign up for volunteer work, points out Mr Song.

 

Meanwhile, others like Mr Che, Mr Toh Weng Kai and Madam Lo Khuen Neong remain hooked on helping others well into their retirement years. The way they tell it, volunteering nourishes the soul.

 

Mr Che, a quiet, unassuming father of two grown-up children, says simply in Mandarin: "It gives meaning to my life."

 

Mr Toh, 80, a retired photographer, volunteers as a cyberguide, teaching computer literacy to seniors who may find learning from younger people frustrating.

 

When his son gave him a computer a decade ago, "Uncle Toh" tried to get the teenagers in his neighbourhood to teach him how to use it.

 

"But they just did not have the patience for me," he recalls.

 

So he enrolled in computer classes at GoodLife!, a centre run by a volunteer group in Marine Parade that promotes active ageing.

 

He has also rekindled an old passion, holding photography classes for seniors at the centre.

 

"We chat, make friends, bond over a hobby we all love... it's really great fun," says the genial grandfather of six. "I get a lot in return for my time."

 

Madam Lo, 82, who grew up poor, volunteers at the Willing Hearts soup kitchen four days a week.

 

She leaves her Marine Terrace home by 6am for a half-hour commute to Jalan Ubi, where 3,000 meals are cooked and distributed islandwide to the needy every day.

The cheerful great-grandmother of four also spends two evenings a week at an old folks' home in Chinatown.

 

"We grew up poor and have a lot to be thankful for," says the retired bus conductor who took English lessons at 76 to communicate better with her grandchildren.

 

"Volunteering is my way of giving back."

 

Sometimes, it takes a nudge to get seniors to volunteer.

 

Madam Chan Foong Chai, 89, used to help out at a daycare centre for dementia patients that her husband attended, but stopped after he was warded in a nursing home.

 

The Jurong centre was too far from her Telok Blangah home.

 

Voluntary welfare organisation worker Chai Chee Mei, whom Madam Chan had befriended at the Jurong centre, persuaded her to start volunteering again.

 

She now spends at least four mornings a week at SilverACE, a centre for seniors near her home.

 

"I might never have done it if Chee Mei had not reached out to me," says Madam Chan.

 

"I am glad she did."

 

RSVP Singapore and NVPC are planning programmes to get more seniors to volunteer.

 

RSVP wants to engage 5,000 volunteers for 50 events in 50 locations across Singapore. It is also encouraging existing volunteers to bring their friends in a bid to get newbies hooked on helping.

 

NVPC announced last week that it will launch a unified portal in November to make it easier for people to give time and money.

 

It will also hold a Giving Week in early December to promote philanthropy and volunteerism among all age groups, including seniors.

 

"Volunteering is both purposeful and a way to stay connected and relevant, even after one has retired," says Ms Kwee.

 

There may be older folk who want to help but don't know where and how to find these opportunities, she adds. "We hope to reach out to this group."

 

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

---

ALL views, content, information and/or materials expressed / presented by any third party apart from Council For Third Age, belong strictly to such third party. Any such third party views, content, information and/or materials provided herein are for convenience and/or general information purposes only. Council For Third Age shall not be responsible nor liable for any injury, loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly howsoever in connection with or as a result of any person accessing or acting on any such views, content, information and/or materials. Such third party views, content, information and/or materials do not imply and shall not be construed as a representation, warranty, endorsement and/or verification by Council For Third Age in respect of such views, content, information and/or materials.