The Driving Force Behind her Active Ageing Journey

Family encouragement and support can go a long way in one’s journey to ageing well. 

 

63-year-old Mdm Lim Suan Heoh’s active ageing journey started back in 2016 when she learnt about C3A’s Kopi & Toast programme through the newspapers. It was a practical programme initiated by Council for Third Age (C3A) where seniors would be paired with a trained “Kopi” buddy to support them to discover a new active interest or hobby. 

 

With support from her family, Mdm Lim signed up to become an active volunteer for the programme conducted by En Community Services Society (ECSS), which introduced her to learning opportunities in various topics.

 

The importance of family support

 

“My family is the main driving force in my life. They are very supportive when I decide to volunteer or pick up new skills. They told me that this is beneficial for me to remain mentally fit during retirement. With their support, I feel more confident to pursue these opportunities to keep myself active,” Mdm Lim said.

 

This spurred Mdm Lim to start attending National Silver Academy (NSA) courses since early 2017, where seniors aged 50 and above can enjoy subsidised course fees on a variety of topics. The courses attended spanned topics on building interpersonal relations, enriching community and family life, community singing and self-care massage. She was glad to know that there were NSA courses conducted in Mandarin as she is more comfortable in Mandarin rather than English. 

 

“With the available subsidies, these NSA courses are very affordable. The trainers are also very patient and passionate. With their guidance, I can learn new things to ensure that I won’t lose touch with our society,” she added.

 

Transition to retirement and living a meaningful life

 

When Mdm Lim retired from a secretary position at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, she was keen to pick up knowledge and skills that could help her adjust to this new stage of life. She attended “如何退而不休活得精彩 (Retire, Re-engaged and Rejuvenate)” which provided insights to living well during retirement, and encouraged her to continue pursuing an active ageing lifestyle. 

 

She also attended another NSA course “C3A Mental Well-being Curriculum — Riding the Waves of Change Smiling”, where she learnt how to improve her mental resilience and well-being, which are factors of successful ageing. She feels that taking up such courses has enabled her to gain a positive outlook towards ageing.

 

“Through this course, I learnt that it’s important to live in the moment so that we can appreciate the smaller things in life. It has also taught us how we can stay relaxed through various techniques, and I found them useful,” Mdm Lim shared. 

 

Other than the NSA short courses, Mdm Lim had also attended Intergenerational Learning Programmes (ILP) to learn about current topics in cashless payments, social media and music.

 

“After attending these sessions, they have given me newfound confidence to interact with youths. Now, I feel that my relationships with the younger generations have improved tremendously,” she shared.

 

Mdm Lim strongly recommends others take part in NSA courses: “Lifelong learning is important as it keeps our minds active. Besides that, it is also a good platform to meet new people and make lasting friendships.”

 

Combining interests with community care

 

Mdm Lim is currently volunteering under Silver Friend Community, a volunteering programme run by ECSS and supported by C3A. As part of the Community Ukulele group, Mdm Lim and the other volunteers picked up the essential skills to play the ukulele and contributed back to the community by bringing heartstrings melodies to nursing homes and other events.

 

Recently, the ukulele volunteer group had a performance at Gardens By the Bay and Mdm Lim’s family was also present to show their support for her. 

 

To keep herself active, Mdm Lim regularly goes out for walks. She also recently signed up for a “meridian flapping” exercise where participants use special tools to hit different acupuncture points on their bodies to improve blood circulation. 

 

“Staying physically and mentally active is one of the best ways to keep ourselves healthy. Engaging in these activities can give us a sense of fulfilment and happiness. I highly encourage everyone to go out more often and participate in various activities dedicated to seniors,” she concluded.

 

**Special thanks to Mdm Lim Suan Heoh who accepted the interview, we wish her all the very best in her active ageing journey.

 

If you would like to be a lifelong learner like Mdm Lim, check out the wide range of learning opportunities under National Silver Academy (NSA) here. Or if you are interested in volunteering, do check out the various volunteering opportunities available for seniors here.